History of Honduras
Independent in 1821 and a republic ever since.. 3 eras, 1542 to today.
Captaincy General of Guatemala, 1542–1821 Draft, not yet reviewed
It was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America. Honduras was organized as a province of the Kingdom of Guatemala. In 1609 the area became a captaincy general, when the governor and Audiencia president was also granted the title of captain general to deal with foreign threats to the area from the Caribbean. The Captaincy General ended in 1821 with the signing of the Act of Independence of Central America.
Seat of power: Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala
Rulers
- Carlos Luis de Urrutia, Captain General of Guatemala, 1818–1821
Federal Republic of Central America, 1823–1841 Draft, not yet reviewed
It was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. It was composed of five states: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. It adopted a constitution, based on that of the federal government of the United States, in November 1824. A second civil war from 1838 to 1840 ended with the states of Central America declaring independence and the federal republic ceasing to exist.
Seat of power: Guatemala City
Rulers
- Juan Vicente Villacorta Díaz, President of the Federal Republic of Central America, 1823–1824
- Manuel José Arce, President of the Federal Republic of Central America, 1825–1828
- Mariano Beltranena y Llano, President of the Federal Republic of Central America, 1828–1829
- Francisco Morazán, President of the Federal Republic of Central America, 1829–1839
- José Francisco Barrundia, President of the Federal Republic of Central America, 1829–1830
- José Gregorio Salazar, President of the Federal Republic of Central America, 1834–1835
- Diego Vigil y Cocaña, President of the Federal Republic of Central America, 1839–1840
Honduras, 1841 to today Draft, not yet reviewed
Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821 and was a part of the First Mexican Empire until 1823, when it became part of the United Provinces of Central America. It has been an independent republic and has held regular elections since 1838. In 2009 a constitutional crisis resulted when power was transferred in a coup from the president to the head of Congress. On 27 January 2026, Nasry Asfura was sworn in as president.
Seat of power: Tegucigalpa
Rulers
- Juan Lindo y Zelaya, President of Honduras, 1847–1852
- José Santos Guardiola, President of Honduras, 1856–1862
- José María Medina, President of Honduras, 1863–1872
- Marco Aurelio Soto, President of Honduras, 1876–1883
- Luis Bográn, President of Honduras, 1883–1891
- Policarpo Bonilla, President of Honduras, 1894–1899
- Terencio Sierra, President of Honduras, 1899–1903
- Francisco Bertrand, President of Honduras, 1911–1919
- Tiburcio Carías, President of Honduras, 1933–1949
- Juan Manuel Gálvez, President of Honduras, 1949–1954
- Ramón Villeda Morales, President of Honduras, 1957–1963
- Oswaldo López Arellano, President of Honduras, 1963–1975
- Juan Orlando Hernández, President of Honduras, 2014–2022
- Xiomara Castro, President of Honduras, 2022–2026
- Nasry Asfura, President of Honduras, 2026 to today
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.