Puerto Cortés, Honduras

Puerto Cortés, Honduras
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_Malecon_Puerto_Cortes_Honduras..jpg
Author: Dennis Garcia


Puerto Cortés is the main seaport of Honduras. It is located on the northwestern part of Honduras facing the Caribbean Sea. The city has a population of 165,000 people (2011 estimate).

Puerto Cortés traces its history to 1524, when conquistador Hernán Cortés established the town of La Natividad. The initial settlement suffered a major attack launched by a native leader, Çiçumba, who destroyed the village and took a woman captive. He was eventually defeated by conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, who then established a new town a short distance across the lagoon, calling it Puerto de Caballos.

Puerto de Caballos was also vulnerable to attacks, particularly by English pirates that regularly raided the Honduran coast. Due to the volatile aspect of living close to shore, the people of Puerto de Caballos eventually retreated inland, to the town of San Pedro de Sula. There were very few people living in Puerto de Caballos until the 18th century, when the Spanish built a fort at Omoa to beef up security along the coast. This helped to repopulate Puerto de Caballos. In 1869 it was renamed Puerto Cortés in honor of Hernán Cortés.

Before the Panama Canal was constructed, a plan was made in 1850 to build a railroad from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. Puerto Cortés was intended to be the Atlantic terminus. However the railway construction was plague with problems and by 1876, the railway line had only reached San Pedro Sula.

When the Panama Canal was built, it made the railroad project redundant. It however help to spur the agricultural development of the Honduran hinterland. As a result, the region became a major producer of fruits, particularly bananas.

Visiting Puerto Cortés

You can reach Puerto Cortés by bus from San Pedro Sula as well as from other major cities in Honduras.

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