The bulk of the population of Honduras lives a generally isolated existence in the mountainous interior, a fact that may help to explain the rather insular policy of the country in relation to Latin and Central American affairs. Honduras, like its neighbours in the region, is a developing nation whose citizens are presented with innumerable economic and social challenges, a situation that is complicated by rough topography and the occasional violence of tropical weather patterns, including the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

Four geographic regions may be discerned:

The climate is generally hot, with high humidity in the tropical coastal lowlands becoming modified by elevation toward the interior. Lowlands below 1,500 feet (460 metres) have mean annual temperatures between 79 and 82 °F (26 and 28 °C). The north coast is occasionally affected from October to April by cool northern winds of continental origin. Mountain basins and valleys, from 2,000 to 4,000 feet (600 to 1,200 metres), have mean annual temperatures of 66 and 73 °F (19 and 23 °C). At Tegucigalpa, located on hilly terrain at an elevation of 3,200 feet (975 metres), the rainy season starts in May and continues until mid-November, with temperatures sometimes reaching 90 °F (32 °C) in May and dropping to 50 °F (10 °C) in December, the coolest month. Around 7,000 feet (2,100 metres) mean annual temperatures are about 58 °F (14 °C). In the northern and eastern coastal and alluvial plains and on adjacent mountains, mean annual precipitation ranges from 70 to 110 inches (1,800 to 2,800 mm) or more, with a less rainy season from March to June; these areas occasionally have summer hurricanes that are accompanied by heavy rains. Pacific plains and mountain slopes get 60 to 80 inches (1,500 to 2,000 mm) of rain annually but from December to April receive little or no rain. Interior sheltered mountain basins and valleys receive 40 to 70 inches (1,000 to 1,800 mm) annually.

In eastern Honduras the coastal and lagoon swamps have mangrove and palm forests, and west of these are low, rainy, sandy plains with pine (Pinus caribaea) savanna, extending inland for 40 miles (65 km) or more. West of the pine savanna, in low valleys and on lower mountains, which are rainy all year, and on the low, rainy northern mountains are broad belts of dense evergreen broad-leaved forests with many species of large trees, including mahogany, lignum vitae, Spanish cedar, balsa, rosewood, ceiba, sapodilla, and castilloa rubber. The high, rainy mountain slopes of highland Honduras support excellent oak-pine forests. Open, dry, deciduous woodlands and temperate grasslands are spread throughout the interior highland basins and valleys. The Pacific plains and adjacent mountain slopes have deciduous tropical forests and savannas. Mangroves occupy the low coastal swamps.

Insects, birds, and reptiles are the most conspicuous animal forms. There are many species of butterflies, moths, beetles, bees, wasps, spiders, ants, flies, and mosquitoes, many of them beautifully coloured. Waterfowl in large numbers inhabit the coastal areas. Crocodiles, snakes, lizards (giant iguana and others), and turtles are found in the tropical forest areas. The fauna also includes deer, peccaries, tapir, pumas, jaguars, and ocelots. Fish and mollusks are abundant in lagoons and coastal waters. Deforestation of some interior regions since the Spanish conquest has led to serious soil erosion, and, since the mid-20th century, pesticides used by banana producers have caused environmental damage along coastal regions.

To safeguard native flora and fauna, numerous national parks, protected forests, and biological reserves were established in the late 1980s and '90s, including Mount Bonito National Park (1987), which covers 434 square miles (1,125 square kilometres), and the protected forests Cuero y Salado (1987) and Isopo Point (1992). Extending more than 60 square miles (155 square km) near the Guatemalan border is Mount Azul de Copán National Park (1987), an area of rainforest that surrounds the famous Mayan ruins of Copán. La Tigra National Park was established in 1980 and covers 92 square miles (238 square km) of cloud forest near Tegucigalpa.

The official language of Honduras is Spanish, and the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism, more than four-fifths of the population being adherents. The largest of the remaining groups are Protestant, with notable congregations in the east and on the Bay Islands. There has been rapid growth in Protestant churches, especially since the upheaval caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

A pronounced shift in population took place during the early part of the 20th century from the interior to the hot, humid northern coast, where employment opportunities were provided by the United Fruit Company. These northwestern lowlands and the western and southern highlands constitute the most densely populated parts of the country. The population grew extremely fast during the mid-20th century, posing a considerable problem in employment and housing. Although the rate of growth slowed somewhat by the 1990s, it remained well above the world average. The majority of the population is rural, living in small villages or isolated settlements, but nearly half of Hondurans are urban residents. During the 1980s and '90s there was an especially rapid increase in urban population in and around Tegucigalpa, with accompanying overcrowding of housing, suburban development, air and water pollution, and rising crime rates. In the rest of the country, the mountainous, forested terrain and poor roads added to the local isolation.

Honduras is a poor country, and the majority of Hondurans work under extremely difficult conditions. The government has, however, adopted more active economic policies since the mid-20th century. In 1954 striking banana workers led the trade union movement to one of its most resounding triumphs, which resulted in the promulgation (in 1955) of a labour code that is considered one of the most complete instruments of its kind in Latin America. The code has generally resulted in a higher standard of living for the worker and better operating conditions for business; labour laws are not always strictly applied, however, and some workplaces are substandard.

The country's natural resources include agricultural lands along the northern coast and interior river valleys, extensive pine forests, and small deposits of silver, lead, zinc, and low-grade iron ore. The economy is geographically divided between the highlands, where subsistence farming, stock raising, and mining have long dominated, and the lowlands, where plantation agriculture based largely on bananas is the chief occupation. In 1998, however, Hurricane Mitch devastated large portions of Honduran agriculture and transportation infrastructure, requiring major reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Early in the 21st century agriculture contributed little more than one-tenth of the gross domestic product (GDP) but still employed the biggest slice (about two-fifths) of the labour force. Two U.S. corporations—Chiquita (formerly United Fruit Company (Chiquita Brands International, Inc.) and United Brands) and Dole (formerly Standard Fruit and Steamship Company and Castle & Cooke)—hold a disproportionate amount of the country's agricultural land and produce a substantial part of the national income by growing the majority of the country's banana crop. Important export crops other than bananas include coffee beans, tobacco, and sugarcane. Corn is the chief staple crop. Honduran farmers also plant genetically modified corn (illegal in the rest of Central America), which has helped combat food shortages and rising corn prices. Cattle raising is the main livestock activity, and beef has become an important export.

About two-fifths of the country's land is covered by forests, making forest products a potentially large source of national income. The extensive pine forests were attacked by blight in the 1960s, and mahogany—the major timber export—began declining in importance. The practice of shifting agriculture, employing widespread burning of forests and the cutting of wood for fuel, has caused a depletion of forest resources. Present commercial practices of forest exploitation are inefficient. A substantial portion of timber harvested for commercial purposes does not reach the sawmill, and less than half of the timber that arrives at the mill is processed into lumber. To help alleviate the wasteful forestry practices, the government put all forest trees under state ownership in 1974, but forests continue to be depleted at a rapid rate.

Fishing is a small but developing industry, carried on mainly off the Caribbean coast. Shrimp and lobster are the most important parts of the catch, the largest portion of which is shipped to the United States.

Manufacturing, which accounted for about one-fifth of the GDP in the early 21st century, is dominated by small-scale firms that operate with intermediate levels of technology and possess limited processing capabilities. Dozens of foreign-owned maquiladoras (maquiladora) (duty-free manufacturing plants) were opened in the late 20th century, and by 1997 they employed as many as 75,000 workers, mostly women. The major products manufactured and processed are food products, beverages, textiles, clothing, chemicals, lumber, and paper products. The production of capital and heavy intermediate goods is minimal. Industrial plants are located largely in the urban areas of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.

Mineral resources are limited but include silver, gold, lead, zinc, antimony, iron, mercury, and copper. From the 19th to the mid-20th century, the economy was largely dependent upon the production of silver and gold, particularly from El Mochito mine, which was the largest in Central America. Mining accounts for a tiny percent of the GDP, with zinc the leading mineral export.

Except along the northern coastal plain, where railroads serve the banana plantations, the country's rugged terrain favours the development of roads instead of railroads, and roads in Honduras carry the vast majority of the freight tonnage and almost all the passenger traffic. The heart of the primary road network is the north-south highway that links the Pacific port of San Lorenzo and the Caribbean port of Puerto Cortez, stopping at Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. The highway provides access to important agricultural areas in the Sula and Choluteca valleys and along the Caribbean coast. The Inter-American Highway (part of the Pan-American Highway) cuts across southern Honduras for about 100 miles. Highways also run southwest from San Pedro Sula to the El Salvador border and along the northern coast from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba. Hurricane Mitch caused enormous damage to the Honduran road system.

The Honduras National Railway, which is owned by the government and extends from Puerto Cortez (Puerto Cortés) to San Pedro Sula, hauls timber and agricultural products. The Tela Railway, once owned by the United Brands Company and acquired by the Honduras government in 1975, provides service for plantations in the eastern Sula Valley and the coastal plain. Another government-owned railroad runs east along the coastal plain to Balfate, with a branch extending into the Aguán Valley.

All Honduran ports are operated by the National Port Authority. The major ports in the country are Puerto Cortez, Tela, La Ceiba, and Puerto Castilla. The Pacific coast provides deepwater anchorage at Amapala on El Tigre Island and at the mainland port of San Lorenzo, completed in 1978.

Domestic air travel, although declining, supplements rail and highway travel, which includes intercity bus and truck service. Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport at San Pedro Sula is the largest airfield. The airport at Tegucigalpa has a substantially shorter runway and is minimally suitable for modern jet travel.

Since acquiring independence in 1821, Honduras has constitutionally been a democratic, representative, unitary state with power divided among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The country's constitution was rewritten 17 times between the years 1821 and 1982. However, power has often changed hands by violent, undemocratic means. Although the legislature is given the power to pass laws, practically all important legislation is drafted by the president and other members of the executive. The National Assembly in theory has great authority to check the administrative activities of the president, but only during the period 1925–31, when several cabinet ministers appointed by the president were forced to resign through censure, was such authority effective.

The president, who is head of state and of the government, is elected directly by popular vote for an unrenewable term of four years. The single-house National Assembly is composed of 134 legislators elected to four-year terms. The major political parties are the Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras) and the National Party (Partido Nacional). All citizens over 18 years of age are permitted to vote.

For purposes of local administration, Honduras is divided into 18 departamentos. Governors are appointed by the president, one for each department, to carry out central government decisions. The departments are divided into municipios (municipalities), which are further partitioned into aldeas (villages, or hamlets). Rural areas are grouped into caseríos (settlements), which are subdivisions of aldeas. Localities may elect a mayor, a legal representative, and a council.

The justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president. The Supreme Court exercises centralized control over the lower courts, including the appointment of justices, and has original and exclusive jurisdiction to declare acts of the legislature unconstitutional.

The Honduran educational system follows the European model of centralized control through the Ministry of Public Education. According to law, education is free and, at the primary level, compulsory for all children. Efforts have been made to combat illiteracy, which affects more than one-fourth of the population over age 15 and is especially prevalent among older people. Higher education is centred at the National Autonomous University of Honduras in Tegucigalpa (founded 1847).

By the end of the 20th century, Honduras, like most other Latin American countries, had moved increasingly in the direction of the interventionist, or welfare, state. In 1955 the Honduran basic labour code came into effect, granting the right to work, a minimum wage, an eight-hour workday, the freedom to form labour unions, collective bargaining, conciliation, and the right to strike. Social security and social welfare benefits were not improved appreciably, however: many Honduran workers outside the public sector and not employed by business or industry are not covered. Health care also is generally inadequate for the poor urban and rural labourers. Death rates are high among the lower economic groups, who suffer from two severe health problems in particular, malnutrition and malaria.

The art and architecture of the pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial periods are strongly evident in Honduran culture. Of special interest is the great Mayan (Maya) city of Copán, which represents the height of the Mayan Classic period. Discovered in the early 16th century, Copán was partly excavated and restored in 1839. Spanish architecture reflects Moorish, Gothic, and, especially, Baroque styles. Modern Honduran culture has not produced many strong representatives of its art, the country's widespread poverty being a major impediment. Most contemporary artists reflect their colonial heritage, and the pre-Columbian heritage is seen mainly in Indian crafts. Social themes may also be reflected in paintings and literary works, the latter generally represented by poetry and short fiction.

The family is central to Honduran daily life and society, and strong emphasis is placed on family loyalty. Not only do family ties form a vital part of social identity, but they provide assistance in business and in finding one's path through government bureaucracy and red tape. Particularly close, trusted friends are often brought into family circles by being designated compadres (“godparents”), an honour (and a mark of responsibility) that is often conferred at marriages and baptisms. In addition to religious marriages, civil ceremonies are common, as are free unions. Many couples eventually have a religious ceremony, but typically only after their funds allow for a grand wedding celebration.

There are many comidas típicas (“typical foods”) associated with the various regions of the country, including sopa de hombre (“man's soup”) and other seafood dishes in the south, queso con chile (“cheese with chili peppers”) in the west, and cazabe (mashed cassava) among Garifuna in the north. Found throughout the country are such dishes as tamales and yuca con chicharrón (fried cassava and pork). Among the poor the dietary staple is corn, often eaten as tortillas. Beans, cassava, plantains, and rice are common, but meat and green vegetables are not. The gap between the wealthy (and even the middle-class) and the poor is pronounced. Impoverished families in rural areas typically live on tiny parcels of land, and urban poor often inhabit cramped, unsanitary rows of dirt-floored rooms called cuarteríos.

Cultural institutions in Honduras include the National School of Music and the Republican History Museum (founded 1993), both in Tegucigalpa, and the Archaeological Museum of Comayagua. The Autonomous National University of Honduras (1847) in the capital enrolls more than 30,000 students. Some other institutions produce theatrical works in both Spanish and English.

There is general freedom of the press in Honduras, and daily newspapers are published in the principal cities of the country. Those of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula are the most noteworthy, and several have Internet editions. The progressive and rapid development of radio and television has provided the country with excellent facilities for speedy and effective communication. There are radio and television networks that cover the entire country.

The programming on several radio stations features rock and popular music from the United States and Europe. Many television programs are imported and dubbed into Spanish as well, and motion pictures are typically Hollywood imports with Spanish subtitles. Family recreation often revolves around religious festivals honouring local saints. On February 3, Catholics throughout the nation celebrate the patron saint of Honduras, the Virgin of Suyapa, named for the village near which her venerated image was found.

Football (soccer) is a passion for many Hondurans. There is scarcely a village that does not sponsor a team or club at some level of competition, and international matches often arouse great emotion. The national team has remained a strong contender; it advanced to the semifinals in the 1998 World Cup, and it took second place at the 1999 Pan American Games after defeating the United States, Uruguay, Cuba, Jamaica, and Canada in turn.

Many of Honduras's better sports and recreational facilities cater to the tourist trade. Scuba diving, swimming, and sport fishing (especially for tarpon) are popular in the resort region around Cannon Island, on the northern coast.

The following history of Honduras focuses on events since European settlement. (For regional treatment, see pre-Columbian civilizations: Mesoamerican civilization (pre-Columbian civilizations); Latin America, history of; and Central America.)

When the Spanish arrived to colonize (colonialism, Western) Honduras, the land was occupied by a variety of indigenous peoples, the most advanced of whom were the Maya. Gold stimulated Spanish conquest of the area early in the 16th century, and the Honduran gold-mining town of Gracias became the capital of Spanish Central America (the Audiencia de los Confines) in 1544. By 1548, however, the Spaniards had exhausted the gold, and Santiago ( Antigua Guatemala) became the new capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala. Honduras, with its capital at Comayagua and agriculture the base of its economy, was a province of that kingdom ( audiencia) within the Viceroyalty of New Spain. In the 1570s, a silver strike in the highlands brought a rush of prospectors to Honduras, resulting in the rise of an important population centre at Tegucigalpa, which competed thereafter, especially in the 18th century, with Comayagua. However, agriculture, the enduring economic base of Central America, was slow to develop in Honduras. Development of Spanish society in the Honduras area was hindered by coastal attacks from the pirates and buccaneers endemic to the Caribbean Sea and eventually by a concerted British effort to control the coastal areas of Central America. For long periods the Spanish utilized a soft defense against the Caribbean threat, falling back to the highlands and to the Pacific coastal areas, which were generally closer to their network of communication and transportation. Thus, the British (British Empire) came to control the Caribbean's Mosquito (Mosquito Coast) coastal region. The Sambo- Miskito peoples along the coast were the indispensable allies of the British in this endeavour. In the 18th century, however, the Spanish Bourbon kings made a sustained effort to recover the Caribbean coastal areas, and their success in the Gulf of Honduras was manifested by the completion of a fort at Omoa on the gulf by 1779.

Independence from Spain came in 1821 and from Mexico in 1823, when Honduras joined in the formation of the United Provinces of Central America. Friction between Liberal and Conservative factions soon undermined the federation, however. In general, the Liberals favoured republicanism, freer trade, less government regulation, removal of the Catholic clergy's political and economic powers, and imitation of foreign models of development. Conservatives defended the clergy, leaned toward monarchism, mistrusted foreign models, and were generally more traditional and pro-Spanish in their outlook. In 1830 a Honduran Liberal, Francisco Morazán (Morazán, Francisco), became president of this federation, and for a decade he promoted Liberal policies that curtailed the traditional power and privileges of the clergy and increased agricultural exports. Conservative and popular opposition to Liberal policies led to the collapse of the federation, and Honduras declared its absolute independence on November 5, 1838. The prochurch Conservatives in Honduras took control under Francisco Ferrera, who became the first constitutional president on January 1, 1841. During the mid-19th century, despite its declaration of sovereignty, Honduras supported efforts to restore the Central American union, while its real independence was severely limited by its more powerful neighbours. Conservative domination lasted until the 1870s, during which time the church regained its former position and the Honduran government signed a concordat (1861) with the Holy See in Rome.

After 1871 the ascendancy of Justo Rufino Barrios (Barrios, Justo Rufino) in Guatemala influenced a return to liberalism in Honduras, where Marco Aurelio Soto, a Liberal, assumed the presidency (1876). In 1880 the Liberals promulgated a new constitution that sought to undo the work of the Conservatives, and they also moved the capital from Comayagua to Tegucigalpa. Five years later, Liberals in Honduras and elsewhere proved to be nationalists first and blocked an attempt by Guatemala to unify the isthmus by force. Liberals continued to dominate the country well into the 20th century, encouraging foreign investment and economic growth, although Honduras remained the poorest state on the isthmus.

In the first decade of the 20th century, Nicaraguan strongman José Santos Zelaya put Miguel Dávila into the Honduran presidency. This led in 1911 and 1912 to something more serious than periodic revolutions. The U.S. president, William Howard Taft (Taft, William Howard), sent marines to protect American banana investments, which by this time had grown considerably, with three companies exploiting this Honduran product. All three made large capital outlays in the form of improved port facilities, railroads, workers' settlements, and similar developments.

In 1918 Honduras declared war on Germany but took no active part in World War I. Thereafter, disenchanted Liberals and Conservatives formed the National Party to challenge continued Liberal rule. In 1932, following political unrest and economic decline caused by the Great Depression, National Party leader General Tiburcio Carías Andino was elected president and remained in office until 1949. Carías's policies, however, differed little from Liberal political or economic policy.

Honduras declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy in December 1941. The wartime curtailment of shipping brought much economic distress; export surpluses of bananas, coconuts, and copra piled up, leading to widespread unemployment and consequent unrest. But the government was able to maintain itself, and it promulgated some beneficial reforms. Carías survived a revolution in 1947, but he soon turned the government over to his minister of defense, Juan Manuel Gálvez (ruled 1949–54).

Julio Lozano Díaz (1954–56) continued National Party rule, but political turmoil and military revolt in 1957 led to the congressional election of Ramón Villeda Morales (1957–63), a Liberal who brought some modernization to the transportation system and to labour legislation. In 1963 Colonel Osvaldo López Arellano overthrew Villeda and declared himself head of state, returning the National Party to power. In the summer of 1969 the Soccer War with El Salvador broke out, triggered indeed by a soccer (football) game but caused by severe economic and demographic problems. Though brief, the war dampened hopes for economic and political integration in Central America.

Honduras was ruled by military governments from 1963 until the election of Ramón Ernesto Cruz (1971–72). Cruz's election resulted from the Soccer War, which Honduras had lost militarily. But López, chief of the armed forces, retained real power, and in December 1972 he removed Cruz from office. Pressured toward modernizing reforms by younger military officers, López astonished many by announcing, in January 1974, a reform program that included land redistribution. His program had little success, however.

López was discredited and forced to resign in 1975 because of an international bribery scandal; he was replaced by Colonel Juan Alberto Melgar Castro (1975–78). Honduras prospered modestly under Melgar, largely because of high earnings from the elevated world coffee market during those years. His administration was weakened, however, by a series of scandals.

General Policarpo Paz García, who attained power through a bloodless military coup in late 1978, pledged to continue Melgar's policies, but he soon faced harder times. Central America entered a cycle of violence with the revolution in Nicaragua that overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle (Somoza family) in July 1979 and the revolution in El Salvador that was under way in that same year. Honduras appeared to be an island of stability as its neighbours experienced guerrilla warfare. In November 1981 the country elected a civilian government after 17 years of almost continuous military rule.

The new Honduran president, Roberto Suazo Córdova of the Liberal Party, was a noted anticommunist who favoured strong relations with the United States. Hopes ran high for internal improvements, but these were dashed as Honduras became embroiled in the growing regional conflicts. Protests grew over the presence of Nicaraguan Contras (guerrilla fighters), who were using U.S.-sanctioned Honduran border areas as bases for attacks against Nicaragua's Sandinista government. There was also dissension over U.S.-run camps for training Salvadorans in counterinsurgency to combat the growing civil war in their country. (Honduras banned these camps in 1984.) The U.S. presence supported the further militarization of Honduras, and Honduran army chieftain Gustavo Álvarez Martínez appeared to be the real power there until 1984, when younger officers loyal to Suazo ousted the chieftain amid anti-American demonstrations in Tegucigalpa. Suazo's government continued, however, to cooperate with the anti-Sandinista activities of the United States, and he received substantial economic aid in return, including U.S. construction of airports and other military installations. In the late 1980s Honduras joined the other Central American governments in a cooperative movement for regional peace. This brought increased pressure to restrict Contra activity and to reduce the U.S. presence in Honduras.

The U.S. government had hoped that its relations with Honduras would help establish the country as a model Central American democracy, but that image was tarnished in 1986 when another Liberal, José Azcona Hoyo, succeeded Suazo despite having received far fewer votes than the National Party candidate, Rafael Leonardo Callejas. In 1989, however, Callejas won election and took office in 1990, the first time in 57 years that an opposition government had taken office peacefully.

Callejas's administration faced labour disputes, rising crime and violence, and charges of corruption. A major conflict between independent banana producers and Chiquita reduced banana exports in 1990, and by 1992 the annual per capita income in Honduras was only two-fifths of what it had been prior to the conflict. Severe economic and financial decline allowed the Liberals to sweep back to power in 1994 with Carlos Roberto Reina, whose conciliatory approach did not solve all the nation's problems but nevertheless gained him wider support than Callejas had enjoyed, and the Liberals were able to win again in November 1997. The new president, Carlos Flores Facussé, an engineer with close ties to the United States, represented the more conservative wing of the Liberal Party and promised to continue the probusiness policies of his predecessors. In October 1998, however, Hurricane Mitch (Mitch, Hurricane), one of the worst storms to strike the Western Hemisphere in recorded history, dumped torrential rains on the country, washing away crops, roads, and population centres throughout Honduras. The storm killed several thousand Hondurans, displaced in excess of a million persons, ruined the country's economy and infrastructure, and caused widespread misery and unemployment. A massive international relief effort supported the reconstruction efforts, which occupied Honduras for the next several years.

Ricardo Maduro Joest of the National Party won the 2001 presidential elections. During his time in office, Honduras received debt relief and ratified the implementation of the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA–DR) with the United States. José Manuel Zelaya Rosales of the Liberal Party took over the presidency in 2006. Zelaya focused on fighting crime and the ongoing drug trade in the country. His administration extended the protection that allowed hundreds of thousands of Hondurans to continue working legally in the United States. Remittances from workers there accounted for about one-fourth of the Honduran gross domestic product. A longtime boundary dispute with Nicaragua was settled in 2007 by the United Nations, and it resulted in Honduras gaining sovereignty over four Caribbean islands.