I spoke with old heads in Trujillo, taxi drivers in La Ceiba, shop keepers in Olancho, and doctors in Tegucigalpa. Apparently, that basic question was far from the minds of Hondurans. Some felt it was curious no one ever asked them that before, or taught them in school.
The concept of a country’s founder is universally accepted. Just about all Americans will agree that George Washington was their country’s founder. Mexicans will say it was Hernán Cortés – like him or not, he had that honor. Nicaraguans will say it was Francisco de Córdoba. Both Guatemalans and Salvadorians will point to Pedro de Alvarado as the founding figure of their nation. But Honduras, when asked about their country’s founder, find themselves perplexed. After traveling across Honduras, we have concluded that the basic concept of “father of a nation” is foreign to most of Hondurans.
There was an attempt to point to Honduras’ founder. Some of those interviewed by us would say this man is Christopher Columbus. That could not be, however. The fact is that Christopher Columbus discovered Honduras in 1502, but left without leaving settlement behind or much of a mark.
Others said the founder is chief Lempira, the leader of the Lenca people who fought Francisco de Montejo in 1530s. Yet Lempira, if not a fictional figure, is a symbol of indigenous resistance to Spanish colonization who fought for tribal self determination, and who resisted today’s Honduras being organized into any type of larger entity. He was definitely not a founder, but more like someone would resist founding of any entity resembling the state of Honduras.
Christopher Columbus discovered Honduras in 1502, but left without leaving settlers behind or much of a mark.
Some people said the founder of Honduras was Hernán Cortés. Cortés even has a Honduran department named after him, a fact which supports that claim. Yet, Cortés sailed to Honduras in 1525-6 for a brief stay and only after several other Spanish captains preceded him more than a year earlier.
Some Hondurans suggested that Francisco Morazán is Honduras’ founding father. Yet José Francisco Morazán Quesada was more of a visionary thinker and political martyr. Morazán was a liberal politician, general, and a freemason who served as the president of the Federal Republic of Central America after he was head of state of Honduras. He was also head of state of El Salvador and Costa Rica. Morazán is much more a symbol of Central American unity other than Honduran nationhood.
I’ve also had someone tell me that Honduras didn’t really have a founder. Well, that would make Honduras a nation born without a father, an idea not only sad, but impossible. A nation that doesn’t have a father, or grows up without knowing who the father was, is at a great disadvantage. It is like not knowing where you came from, not knowing your roots or ancestors.
Studying Honduran history in some detail, one finds out quickly that there is a man who can place a rightful claim on being Honduras’ founder. A brave, handsome, and adventurous man born in 1487 in Andalucía, whose body has been buried in an unknown place somewhere around Naco, Cortés. His name was Cristóbal de Olid.
One historical fact has been confirmed by several credible historical sources: 500 years ago, on May 3, 1524 Cristóbal de Olid landed on modern day Tela, and with settlers and religious figures, he founded a town he named Triunfo de la Cruz, or Triumph of the Cross. Cristóbal de Olid claimed the land for Hernán Cortés and later for himself.
Olid came with 400 Spanish and launched what was to be a Christianization and spreading of Western Civilization that bore fruits in churches, cities, and universities. While forgotten, and called a traitor by Cortés, de Olid should be called the father of Honduras.
1524 was a pivotal year in Honduran history. There were in fact three conquistadors roaming the country’s northern coast, bringing in settlers and planting flags. In March 1524, Gil González Dávila landed near Puerto Cortés and founded a town he named Natividad de Nuestra Señora. A few months later, Cortés sent Francisco de las Casas with more men and ships to quell Olid’s ambitions.
In a three way confrontation, it was de las Casas and Dávila who gained the upper hand and had Olid tried for treason in the town of Naco. Olid was found guilty and beheaded. His head was displayed on a wooden spike in the town’s main plaza. While the execution of 36-year-old Olid was later condemned by a Mexican court, none of his executioners suffered punishment.
Olid should be called the father of Honduras.
Having a father of a nation accused of treason is nothing new. One only has to look at Nicaragua and Panama to prove that. Nicaragua celebrates executed Francisco Hernández de Córdoba as a founder of their nation.
Also, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the founder of Panama, was tried and executed by his countrymen and his remains are still missing. Olid, Córdoba and Balboa were executed as traitors and their headless bodies were missing for centuries.
Only Nicaraguans were able to locate the body of the country’s founder. In the year 2000, Córdoba’s headless skeleton was discovered in a crypt of a church in León Viejo. Panamanians are still looking for Balboa’s grave and Hondurans didn’t seem to care much where Olid was buried. The Catrachos are even less interested in acknowledging Olid’s parental rights to their country.
Hondurans stand in sharp contrast to Panamanians and Nicaraguans as far as their pursuit of recognizing their Spanish ancestors. One diversion is how the three countries call their currencies. Nicaraguans replaced their peso in 1913 with, Córdoba notes, acknowledging the contribution of the Spanish Conquistador in bringing in Christianity and civilization to their country. Gaining independence from Colombia in 1904, Panama replaced their Colombian Peso with Balboas.
Honduras did the exact opposite, and in 1931 it replaced their peso note with the Lempira note. The currency named after a cacique figure who opposed the Spanish conquistadores.
Naming currency after a Spanish fighting cacique is unique in Central America, and in fact Latin America in general. It’s a bit like if the US would rename their dollar to Geronimo, acknowledging the Apache chieftain resistance to American western conquest.
Spanish speaking nations either called their money after Spanish like Columbus in Costa Rica, Córdoba in Nicaragua, or Balboa in Panama. Several countries like Mexico and Argentina left their currency name peso like the original Spanish currency. Guatemalans went for something neutral and named their currency after a national bird.
So here is an idea. While El Salvador is stealing everyone’s thunder in Central America, there is something Honduras at least can do and reclaim its rightful father all in one sweep. What about creating a new Honduran currency, tying it to Bitcoin and laming it Olid?
