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Tegucigalpa

(Encyclopedia)Tegucigalpa tāgo͞osēgälˈpä [key], city (1997 est. pop. 897,000), capital and largest city of Honduras, in a small valley in the mountains of S central Honduras. The city has diverse light indust...

Sánchez Hernández, Fidel

(Encyclopedia)Sánchez Hernández, Fidel ārnänˈdās [key], 1917–2003, president of El Salvador (1967–72). An army general, he served as minister of interior under President Julio Rivera. As president, he na...

Mosquito Coast

(Encyclopedia)Mosquito Coast or Mosquitia məskēˈtēə, mōskētēˈä [key], region, east coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. The name is derived from the Miskito, the indigenous inhabitants and remnants of the Cho...

Motagua

(Encyclopedia)Motagua mōtäˈgwä [key], river, c.250 mi (400 km) long, rising in S central Guatemala and flowing NE to the Gulf of Honduras. The longest river within Guatemala, it waters a valley where hemp and b...

Lempa

(Encyclopedia)Lempa lāmˈpä [key], river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rising in Guatemala and flowing S through Honduras into El Salvador, then generally S to the Pacific Ocean. An important stream, it waters the fer...

Carías Andino, Tiburcio

(Encyclopedia)Carías Andino, Tiburcio tēbo͞orˈsyō kärēˈäs ändēˈnō [key], 1876–1969, president of Honduras (1933–49). A strong-handed dictator, his term was twice extended by congress. Some improvem...

Walker, William

(Encyclopedia)Walker, William, 1824–60, American filibuster in Nicaragua, b. Nashville, Tenn. Walker, a qualified doctor, a lawyer, and a journalist by the time he was 24, sought a more adventurous career. After ...

Caribs

(Encyclopedia)Caribs kărˈĭbz [key], native people formerly inhabiting the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. They are also known as Island Caribs; their Domincan descendants called themselves Kalinago. They seem to h...

Hernández Martínez, Maximiliano

(Encyclopedia)Hernández Martínez, Maximiliano mäkˌsēmēlyäˈnō ĕrnänˈdĕs märtēˈnĕs [key], 1882–1966, president of El Salvador (1931–44). An admirer of fascist theories, he seized power during a p...

González de Ávila, Gil

(Encyclopedia)González de Ávila, Gil hēl gōnthäˈlĕth dā äˈvēlä [key], d. 1543, Spanish conquistador. Despite the opposition of Pedro Arias de Ávila, he conquered Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua in ...

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