Trujillo (Spanish: Trujillo) is a city in the northern part of Honduras, on the Caribbean coast at the foot of the Calentura and Capira mountains. Administrative center of the Department of Colon. The motto of the city: “The first capital of Honduras” (Spanish: La primera capital de Honduras).

History
During his fourth and final expedition to the shores of America, Christopher Columbus landed on the coast where the modern city of Trujillo is located on August 14, 1502. Prior to this, having explored the islands of the Caribbean, he first set foot on the American mainland. Columbus called this part of the sea the Gulf of the Depths (Spanish: Golfo de Honduras), because the depth of the sea here was very great. Subsequently, the Gulf of Honduras, as it is customary to call it, first gave its name to the colony, and then to the state of Honduras.

The history of the modern city begins in 1524, shortly after the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortes. Cortes instructed Cristobal de Olid to find a suitable location for a Spanish stronghold in order to further conquer Honduras. However, Cristobal de Olid, having agreed with the Cuban governor Velasquez, left the subordination of Cortes in order to jointly, in the name of the king, conquer and rule Honduras. The conspirators agreed that the military command would remain with Cristobal de Olida, while the civil administration would be transferred to Diego Velazquez. Arriving on the coast of Honduras, de Olid founded near modern Trujillo, the city of Triunfo de la Cruz, from where he launched an offensive inland. Upon learning of the betrayal, Cortes sent Francisco de Las Casas, who arrived from Castile, with five ships, to Honduras. Las Casas lost most of his fleet in a storm, however, he managed to plot against Olid and execute him. After the removal of Cristobal de Olida, Las Casas moved the city to its present location, since the natural harbor here was larger in size. At the same time, Triunfo de la Cruz was renamed Trujillo. Soon Cortes himself visited the city to make sure the success of the Las Casas expedition.

In the following years, Trujillo became an important shipping point for gold and silver mined inland. These treasures also attracted pirates, and the city began to be frequently attacked by them.

Under Spanish colonial law, Trujillo became the capital of Honduras, but because of its vulnerability, the capital was moved inland, to the city of Camayagua. Around 1550, the Fortaleza de Santa Barbara Fortress was built to protect the city, at the entrance to the bay, but it was not always able to protect Trujillo from pirates, whose attacks peaked in 1683. The city was repeatedly destroyed between 1633-1797.

After the independence of Honduras in 1821, Trujillo transferred the functions of the capital to the city of Camayagua.

In 1860, the political adventurer William Walker, who seized power in neighboring Nicaragua, was caught and executed in Trujillo. His grave is a local landmark.

The American writer O. Henry, hiding in Honduras from US law enforcement for six months, lived mainly in Trujillo. He later wrote many stories that took place in the fictional city of Coralio, based on the real city of Trujillo. Most of these stories appear in his book Kings and Cabbage (1904).