Diario las Américas., 1958-03-20
Know thy
Neigh.bor
BY ANT RUIZ

HONDURAS - The first Europ-
can men to see Honduras were the
members of the fourth expedi-
ton made by Christopher Column
bus to the New World. From the
Island of Guanaja, where they
touched in August, 1902, they made
out the mainland thirty miles away
across the Caribbean, and forth
with set sail and anchored off Cape
Honduras, named by Columbus
Punta Cazinas. On August II, in
the name of the Spanish Crown,
they took formal possession of
the land, which they described as
"yerdant and beautiful, although
low, and there were many pines,
oaks, seven kinds of palms." and
also an abundance of puma, deer,
and gazelles." They next sailed
along the entire Caribbean coast
of Honduras, as far as Cape Ora
cias a Dios (Thanks to Cod, which
owes its name to the Great Ad-
miral's celebrated exclamation of
thankfulness upon rounding up the
point.
Columbus discovery was follow
ed by the attempts at conquest of
de Soils, Pinzon, Gil Gonzalez Da-
villa, Cristobal de Old, Francisco
de las Casas, and the great Her
nan Cortes himself. Spanish rule
was first established in Honduras
under fernando de Saavedra,
whom Cortes had named Governor
of the Port of Trujillo, close to
Cape Honduras. After 1914, iuris-
diction over Honduras was in the
hands of an "Audiencia" or tribu-
nal set up briefly first in Gracias,
then at Panama City, and finally
permanently established at the ca.
pital of Guatemala.
In April, 1879, the President of
the Audiencia, Garcia de Waiver
de, wrote a letter to the King of
Spain, concerning "the good name
and reputation of the silver mines
of Honduras, and the little it is
possible to do to exploit them"
However, he said, a commissioner
was to be sent to look at the
mines and be present at tests, so
as to decide what was the best
that could be done. The Audien-
cha later informed the King that
deposits near Tegucigalpa and else
where were indeed very rich, but
work in them was failing for lack
of labor.
In June, 1879, the Audiencia de.
cided to establish in the settlement
of Tegucigalpa an "Alcaldia Ma.
yor," or mayoralty, and act con.
firmed in 1887 by Philip II. The
full name of the town at first was
"Real de Minas de San Miguel dc
Tegucigalpa" = Tegucigalpa being
a word of Indian origin, the mean
ing of which has been always in
dispute among scholars, and the
San Miguel possibly implying that
the mines were first discovered on
Saint Michael's Day, September 20.
In a description of Tegucigalpa
written in 1928, the Carmelite
monk Fray Antonio Vasquez de
Espinosa, says:
"The rich silver-mining town
of Tegucigalpa lies Is leagues to
the east of the city of Comayagua,
It built in the midst of great pine
forests; its climate is springlike
the whole year. 1t has abundance
of wheat, native and Spanish. The
city is beautifully supplied with
cheap and delicious provisions. In
its district there are many farms
and ranches Of cattle, sheep, hogs,
mules and horses. 1t has a Parish
church, a Franciscan convent, a
hospital, and other churches and
shrines."
On July IT, 1853, Charles III
confirmed the title Of "Villa' first
conferred by the President of the
Audiencia, Alfonso Fernandez He
redia, and the grateful town there,
after styled itself Villa de San Mi
guel de Tegucigalpa de Heredia,
Continued tomorrow
Spanish Version Page ,