The restored Mayan ruins of Copán in the west, first discovered by the Spaniards in 1576 and rediscovered in dense jungle in 1839, reflect the great Mayan culture that arose in the 4th century. It had declined when Columbus sighted the region in 1502, naming it Honduras, meaning "depths", for the deep water off the coast. Hernán Cortés arrived in 1524 and ordered Pedro de Alvarado to found settlements along the coast. Comayagua and Tegucigalpa developed as early mining centers. In a war (1537-38) between Spain and the indigenous population, Spain crushed the resistance after the death of the native leader, Lempira.
             In 1821, Honduras gained independence from Spain and became part of Iturbide's Mexican Empire; from 1825 to 1838 it was a member of the Central American Federation. Thereafter, conservative and liberal factions fought bloody wars to control the republic, and Honduras was subjected to frequent interference from its Central American neighbors. Great Britain long controlled the Mosquito Coast and the Islas de la Bahía; William Walker attempted "liberation" in 1860. Although Honduras often sought to reestablish Central American unity, the attempts were frustrated by political and personal animosities.
             Foreign capital, plantation life, and conservative politics constituted a trio of dominant forces that held sway in Honduras from the late 19th century to the end of the regime (1933-48) of Tiburcio Carías Andino, when the liberal movement was reawakened. The rights of workers were not effectively defined and protected until a labor code was adopted in 1955 and a new constitution was promulgated in 1957. That year Ramón Villeda Morales became the first liberal president in 25 years.
             Shortly before the scheduled presidential election in 1963, Villeda was overthrown and replaced by a military junta under Osvaldo López Arellano. The illegal immigratio...