History of Haiti
Following the arrival of Europeans, La Hispaniola's indigenous population suffered greatly to near extinction, in possibly the worst case of depopulation in the Americas. A commonly accepted hypothesis attributes the high mortality of this colony in part to European diseases to which the natives had no immunity. A small number of Taínos were able to survive and set up villages elsewhere. Spanish interest in Hispaniola began to wane in the 1520s, as more lucrative gold and silver deposits were found in Mexico and South America. Thereafter, the population of Spanish Hispaniola grew at a slow pace.
Spanish conquest of Honduras
After 1530, it was the colonists themselves who held the keys to power, installing new governors and removing them from office. By 1534, the Spanish colony in Honduras was close to collapse. Trujillo had a population of less than two hundred; it was the only Spanish settlement in Honduras, and very little territory beyond the town itself had been conquered. The Spanish were beset by infighting, and had provoked widespread indigenous uprisings. Simultaneously, the native population had collapsed as a result of disease, mistreatment, and the export of large numbers to work on the sugar plantations of the Caribbean islands.