DEFENSE. Military service is obligatory upon every able-bodied citizen between the ages of eighteen and forty. The active army is very small, being estimated at only about 500 men. The militia numbers over 40,000.
The population of llondnras was 587,500 in 1900, exclusive of (uncivilized) In dians. .Nlost of the population are called abori ginal 'Indians.' The number of persons of pure European descent is very small. Religious free dom is provided for by the Constitution, and no religion is officially recognized by the State. The prevailing religion is Roman Catholic. but there are also a number of Protestant churches. Education is supported by the State to a con siderable degree, but the present facilities are far from adequate. In 1901 there were nearly 800 primary schools, of which 700 were na tional, all attended by about 29.000 pupils. There are also a high school for girls, and a normal school. both situated at Tegucigalpa, besides six national colleges and seven other educational institutions that receive subventions from the Government. There is also a national industrial school. Most of the departments of the republic are provided with national (lolloges, and there are also some institutions for higher education. As regards penal and charitable institutions. there are a penitentiary and general hospital at Te gueigalpa ; also a hospital at Amapala.
1148Toar. The coast of Honduras was discov ered by Columbus in 1502. The first settlement was made in 1524, by Cristobal de (Aid, a lieu tenant of CortCts, sent to take possession of the country in the name of his commander. ()lid founded the town of Triunfo de la Cruz, and set up an independent government. •orttts set out in person to bring I did to terms, and after a tedious march of six months over the mountains and rivers of lexico and Central .\ineri•a, he reached the little colony in the spring of 152.. There he rei:nforeed the colonists and founded the town of Natividad de Nuestra Senora, on Caballos Bay, returning to Mexico in 1520. A royal Gov erwr was appointed to rule the province. The mines of Honduras were valuable. but. under Spanish government the colony developed slowly. lu 1539 the province was made an andiencia of the Captain-Generaley of Guatemala. The laws enaeted for the protection of the natives were systematically disregarded. In 18•1 Honduras
revolted from Spain, and was annexed to the Mexican Empire. In 18•3 it joined the federation of Central American States which was formed in (tetober of that year, and lasted until 183q, it was virtually- dissolved. although the President's term did not expire until February I, In IS-19-31 formed a union with Salvador and Nicaragua. which ended in 180:3 in war between the contracting parties. Between 1850 and 1800 the usual course of internal dis sension interrupted by• the filibustering ex ploits of 'William 'Walker (q.v.). In 1871 war broke out between Honduras and Salvador and (Inatentala, and after peace was declared, in 1874, a revolution in the interests of the ex President, took place. Other States in terfered, and the Guatemalan candidate. Soto. acted at lirst as provisional President, and to that office in .\pril. 1877. In 1880 the national capital was removed from Coma yagua to Tegucigalpa and Soto was reIdected President. In 1890 General Sierra was chosen President for the term ending, in 1003.
13111I.IladtAt'll Y. Froeltel, Set-en ears' Traci/ in Central America 1853); \Veil A. Ex plorations and .1drentures in Honduras (New York. 1857) ; Selterzer. irandrrtingen (lurch die mit lel,' Inerika isch I /I Frf ighrol ten Honduras wort San Salrador (Brunswick. 18571; Squier, 17ondura.v: Deseriptire, Historical, and Statistical (London, 1870) : Garcia, San Salra dor nail Honduras int .lai• 1•7;76 (Berlin. 1873) ; Gonzalez, Gcografia de Crntro-.1mirira. (San Salvador. 1878) : Bales. r'entraf and South Amer ica (London, 1882): Iminhard. Tht Hon duras (New York. 1887) ; Polakowsky, "Die Ile publiken C'entralamerikas. in Zeit r Gust fiir Erdkundr zu It( rlin (Berlin, 1889) : Bancroft. History of r tral America (San Francisco. 1890) : Charles. Hon duras (Chicago, 149(1) ; Spanish laterican I.'rpublirs (New York. 1891). "lIondurn Bureau of .Itarriran Mt-publics, Bulletin .7,7 ('Washington. )892) Lentils and Bourgeois. Brcre notiria sobre Honduras (Tegucigalpa, several articles by Gordon in Pe,rbody Mu seum lirmoirsg vol. i. (Cambridge. 1898) ; Perry. Dirertorio nacional dr Honduras 'New York. IS99); Sapper, flax nordliehe ilittel-Antrrika (3 vnls.. Brunswick, 1899).