Honduras was part of the ancient Mayan civilization, and the city of Copan was the center of Mayan arts and sciences. The numerous Mayan writings which have been found in Copan make clear their mathematical achievements and reveal a great deal about their culture and society. In the years after independence from Spain, the Honduran leader Francisco Morazan played the leading role in the unsuccessful attempt to build a single Central American nation. Honduras has for many years been a poor country, dependent on the export of bananas and other traditional agricultural products, although tourists and the U.S. textile industry have had an increasing presence in recent years. During the 1980s Honduras suddenly found itself in the center of the world stage, after the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. Until the resulting conflict was settled, Honduras became the scene of a massive U.S. military and intelligence-gathering operation.
