San Juancito Minero

The history of San Juancito is inextricably linked to the mineral wealth of the mountains in which it stands. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the descendants of the Tolupan / Jicaque people today exploited, on a small scale, the minerals of the region. In the 16th century, the Spaniards made a short-lived attempt to extract ore from the mountains in the area. Using the indigenous population as labor, they proceeded to extract gold and silver from the mountainside; However, after a few years, the indigenous population was so devastated by abysmal diseases and working conditions that the Spaniards, without a reliable source of labor, packed and moved to other seemingly more viable sites in Honduras.