Olanchito

Olanchito is a municipality in the department of Yoro, Honduras, and a town with a population of 49,750 as of 2023.[3] The municipality was founded in 1530 and comprises 70 villages, approximately 300 hamlets, and a population of 124,286.[2] It is located 107 miles (172 km) northeast of Tegucigalpa, the country's capital. Olanchito operates in the Central Time Zone, with a UTC offset of -6 hours. The city is the birthplace of many popular figures of Honduran literature such as Ramón Amaya Amador, whose manuscripts, collection of books, writing table, and ashes are located in Olanchito.[4] Known locally as the Civic City, Olanchito's main industry is agriculture. The conquest of Honduras began with the arrival of several expeditions sent by Hernán Cortés to extend the domain of Spain in Central America. In 1525, he seized the town of Trujillo, which would later become an important Atlantic port and the first capital of Honduras. Trujillo served as an outpost for the colonization of the hostile territory of Olancho Valley. Hernando de Saavedra, Governor of Honduras, had a dispute with his counterpart in Nicaragua Pedro Arias Dávila over the rich gold deposits and rivers of Olancho. After several battles between rival Spanish groups for control of the area, the town of San Jorge de Olancho was established. The Olancho natives were mistreated, and unexpectedly rebelled and attacked the Spaniards; and Captain Juan de Grijalva, one of the conquerors of the Aztec empire, was killed in the rebellion. In 1526, the survivors scattered; some went to the town of Caceres,[clarification needed] and others to the Valley of Aguan.