Olancho Department
Olancho (from Nahuatl: Ollalko 'In the land of rubber') is a department of Honduras. Its departmental capital is Juticalpa, being the largest of all. It is located in the eastern part of the country. The first capital of Olancho was the municipality of Manto, in the viceregal era.
History
Honduras became independent from the Spanish Crown on September 15, 1821. In 1822 the territory of what is now Olancho was known as Partido de Olancho and was led by the captain of the national militias Don Juan Antonio Urmeneta; Later, Honduras is declared a State, electing its first head of State, Dionisio de Herrera.
In the National Assembly, the first Political Constitution was issued and the division of the national territory took place, where the department of Olancho was officially created on June 28, 1825. In the year 1869, the territory of Olancho was reduced, due because the municipality of Danlí became part of the department of El Paraíso.
Olancho was for a long time the wealthiest region in Honduras due to its livestock and agricultural production. This provided him with great commercial and political influence within the government of the declared republic of Honduras, in the middle of the 19th century. This commercial influence occasionally gave rise to political struggles in the department.
Olancho War
On December 7, 1864, the arrest of a deputy named Rosales caused a rebellion against the highest authorities of the department and the central government. Led by Colonels Barahona, Zavala and Antúnez, more than a thousand rebels marched towards Tegucigalpa in 1865.
Faced with this situation, the then president of the republic, General José María Medina, organized a military expedition and took charge of it, to counteract the rebels. At the end of the confrontation, Medina and his men prevailed over the rebels, capturing the leaders whom he shot, beheaded and buried. Several of the towns and villages in the department of Olancho were burned along with their inhabitants and many of the rebels were shot and killed in combat.
After this event there were many deportations and a mass exodus of Olancho people to other parts of the country, leaving the Department of Olancho with a diminished population. Manto lost its title as departmental head, which was transferred to Juticalpa. Three years later, in 1868, the young man Serapio Romero, known as Cinchonero, rose up in Juticalpa along with a group of men against the mayor of the square: Nazario Garay.
Both men had a duel with machetes, with Serapio Romero ending up the winner. Then, defying the central government, the 'Cinchonero' He unearthed the heads of Colonels Barahona, Antúnez and Zavala and paid them a posthumous tribute. To this new rebellion, the government responded by sending a military contingent, who ended up defeating, capturing and beheading Serapio Romero. After these bloody events, Olancho became an almost unpopulated department and, therefore, quiet.
Geography
Olancho has an area of 24,038 km², which in terms of area is similar to that of the island of Sardinia, in Italy. It extends between 14° 03' and 15° 35' north latitude and 85° 00' and 86° 59' west longitude. The population of Olancho is approximately 777,670 people with a density of 24.55 inhabitants per km², low in absolute and relative terms.
It is the largest department of the 18 that make up the Republic of Honduras. It has greater territory than the nearby republics of El Salvador and Belize, also greater than countries like Israel, and is the fourth largest Central American subnational entity by surface area, after Petén (35,854 km²) in Guatemala, the Autonomous Region of the Northern Caribbean Coast (33 106 km²) and the Autonomous Region of the Southern Caribbean Coast (27,260 km²), both in Nicaragua.
Olancho is located in the northeastern part of the country. It limits to the north with the departments of Yoro and Colón; to the south with Paradise and the Republic of Nicaragua; to the east with the department of Gracias a Dios and to the west with the departments of Francisco Morazán and Yoro.
The geography of Olancho is made up of a series of mountain ranges that are part of the Central American Mountain Range. Among these, the following stand out: La Esperanza, Agalta and the Patuca mountains, among others. The department is also made up of the Guayape, Catacamas, Lepaguare, Agalta and Patuca valleys bathed by the Guayape, Tinto and Patuca rivers.
Administrative division
Municipalities
| Municipalities of the department of Olancho | |||
 | |||
| No. | Municipality | Head | Population (2020) |
| 1 | Camp | Camp | 23 471 |
| 2 | Catacamas | Catacamas | 133 896 |
| 3 | Concordia | Concordia | 8 733 |
| 4 | Sweet Name of Culmí | Sweet Name of Culmí | 31 885 |
| 5 | The Rosary | The Rosary | 4 334 |
| 6 | North skips | North skips | 12 614 |
| 7 | Gualaco | Gualaco | 23 355 |
| 8 | Guarizama | Guarizama | 8 087 |
| 9 | Guata | Guata | 12 801 |
| 10 | Guayape | Guayape | 13 536 |
| 11 | Jano | Jano | 5 511 |
| 12 | Juticalpa | Juticalpa | 142 711 |
| 13 | The Union | The Union | 8 310 |
| 14 | Mangulile | Mangulile | 9 513 |
| 15 | Manto | Manto | 11 868 |
| 16 | Patuca | Froylán Turcios or New Palestine | 28 307 |
| 17 | Salaam | Salaam | 8 101 |
| 18 | San Esteban | San Esteban | 27 591 |
| 19 | San Francisco de Becerra | San Francisco de Becerra | 11 005 |
| 20 | San Francisco de la Paz | San Francisco de la Paz | 20 910 |
| 21 | Santa Maria del Real | Santa Maria del Real | 15 556 |
| 22 | Silca | Silca | 8 256 |
| 23 | Yocón | Yocón | 13 120 |
Tourism
- Part of the Rio Plátano Biosphere Reserve is located in Olanchano territory.
- National parks of:
- Patuca
- Sierra de Agalta
- The Wall
- The armed
- Caves of Talgua (Catacamas)
- The Boquerón
Communication
Olancho is connected by land with the rest of the country through the main highway that begins from the city of Catacamas towards Tegucigalpa. This journey is approximately 215 km.
In addition to this highway, Olancho is linked to the northern coast of Honduras through the highway that leads to the municipality of San Esteban. This continues through Bonito Oriental until reaching the highway that connects the city of Trujillo with the port of La Ceiba.
There is also land communication between the municipality of La Unión and Olanchito, department of Yoro, through the northern towns.
Economy
The economic activity of the department of Olancho is based on agriculture, livestock raising with cattle, pigs and horses and the exploitation of wood, an area for which it has large sawmills throughout the department. Its main crops are: corn, coffee, beans, maicillo, soybeans, rice and tomatoes.
Deputies
The department of Olancho is represented before the National Congress of Honduras by 7 deputies:
| Representative | Party |
|---|---|
| Rafael Sarmiento |  Freedom and Refoundation
|
| Carlos Zelaya | |
| Luis Amador | |
| Reinaldo Sánchez |  National Party
|
| Carlos Cano | |
| Teresa Calix | |
| Samuel García |  Liberal Party
|
Personalities of Olancho
- Juan de Grijalva (f. 1527)
- Froylán Turcios (writers and poet)
- Manuel Bonilla (President of Honduras and founder of the National Party of Honduras).
- José Manuel Zelaya Rosales (President of Honduras in the period: 2006-2009).
- Porfirio Lobo Sosa (President of Honduras in the period: 2010-2014).
- Clementina Suárez (poet and writer, 1902-1991).
- Héctor Figueroa (N. 1994)
- Serapio Romero
| Northwest: Yoro | North: Columbus | Northeast: Columbus Thank God |
| West: Department of Francisco Morazan |  | This: Department of Thank God |
| Southwest: The Paradise | South:  Republic of Nicaragua
| Sureste: Republic of Nicaragua
|