Tela
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Tela Tella |
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Tela main street and park
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 Tela
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| Coordinates: 15°47′N 87°28′W / 15.783°N 87.467°WCoordinates: 15°47′N 87°28′W / 15.783°N 87.467°W | |
| Country | Honduras |
| Department | Atlántida |
| Foundation | 2 June 1876 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,163.3 km2 (449.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 99,294 |
| • Density | 85/km2 (220/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Central America (UTC-6) |
| Website | www |
Tela is a town in Honduras on the northern Caribbean coast. It is located in the department of Atlantida.
Tela was founded by the Spanish conquistador Cristóbal de Olid on 3 May 1524 near an indigenous town named Tehuacán, ruled by a cacique named Cucumba which had a very good source of clean water, food and medicinal plants. Olid named his town Triunfo de la Cruz (Triumph of the Cross) as it was founded on this Catholic holy day. The name Triunfo de la Cruz continues to be used to day to refer to a small promontory in the bay. There are historians who say that the origin of the name is a contraction of Tetela, which in the Nahua language means "land of hills and craggy mountains." Tela, like other towns on the northern Honduras (Atlantic) coast was part of the Western Caribbean Zone and although there was a light Spanish presence was connected powerfully to the world of that zone. Thus, English privateers and later pirates frequently operated in the area, and independent or nearly independent indigenous groups also frequented the area. At the end of 16th century, Tela Bay was frequented by buccaneers who roamed the Caribbean Sea, looking for ways to attack the Spanish schooners that hauled fortunes in precious metals and stones, from Trujillo, Puerto Cortés, Havana, and other Atlantic ports.
In 1797, the English exiled the Garifuna, a group of Afro-Carib origin from St Vincent to the island of Roatan. Later they were moved to Trujillo and from there they are migrated along the coast. In 1808, they settled in Tela where they founded their own community. One of these communities was east of the El Triunfo hills, which they named Triunfo de la Cruz and another west of town named San Juan.
In the political division of 1825, Tela was part of the department of Yoro, and in 1876 was classified as a municipality. With the creation of the department of Cortés, 4 June 1893, Tela became part of Cortés. Subsequently, on 17 July 1894, it was reassigned to the department of Yoro, but in 1902, it was incorporated in the department of Atlántida. The port of Tela was given city status in March 1927.
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Wikipedia