Trujillo

/trooh hee"oh/; Sp. /trddooh hee"yaw/, n.

1. Rafael Leonidas /raf"ay el' lee on"i deuhs/; Sp. /rddah'fah el" le'aw nee"dhahs/, (Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina), 1891-1961, Dominican general and politician: president 1930-38, 1942-52.

2. a seaport in NW Peru. 240,322.

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▪ Honduras

      city, northeastern Honduras, on Trujillo Bay, sheltered from the Caribbean Sea by Cape Honduras. Founded in 1524, the historic city was the first capital of the Spanish colonial province of Honduras, flourishing especially in the early 17th century. In 1531 it was made a bishop's see, but that office was removed to Comayagua in 1561. Dutch pirates sacked Trujillo in 1643; it lay in ruins until it was resettled by Galicians in 1787. William Walker (Walker, William), the American filibuster who attempted to conquer Honduras, was shot nearby in 1860. The town never regained its 17th-century prominence, though it is a commercial centre and exports bananas, coconuts, mahogany, and hides. Since 1920 it has lost most of its port trade to Puerto Castilla to the north. In the 1970s a fishing industry developed, and a packing and refrigeration plant was built. A sawmill also has opened, processing lumber for export. Tourism has grown in importance because of fine beaches nearby. Trujillo is accessible by air, and highways link the city with the north-coast cities and also with Olancho department. The city suffered major damage by Hurricane Mitch (Mitch, Hurricane) in October 1998. Pop. (2001) 10,123.

▪ Peru

 city, Peru, lying in the coastal desert, 343 miles (552 km) north-northwest of Lima.

      The second oldest Spanish city in Peru, Trujillo was founded in 1534 by Diego Almagro; the following year it was elevated to city status by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, who named it after his birthplace in Spain. It sustained heavy damage from an earthquake in 1612. Following 19th-century foreign investment in sugarcane plantations, Trujillo's population swelled, until it became one of Peru's largest cities.

      The irrigated lands of the surrounding Moche River Valley produce sugarcane, rice, and asparagus. The city's industries include sugar refineries, knitting mills, and breweries. Trujillo is on the Pan-American Highway and is linked by road to inland communities and nearby beach resorts. The city has an airport and is connected to major agricultural areas and its seaport of Salaverry by rail. Trujillo is the site of the National University of Trujillo (1824) and an archaeological museum. The ruins of Chan Chan, capital of the pre-Inca Chimú empire, are situated 4 miles (6 km) west. Pop. (2005) 276,764.

▪ Spain

ancient (Latin)  Turgalium 

      town, Cáceres provincia (province), in the Extremadura comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), western Spain, on the Tozo River, a tributary of the Tagus River. It is sited on a hill 25 miles (40 km) east of the provincial capital Cáceres. Trujillo was a town of importance in the European Middle Ages, and Francisco Pizarro (Pizarro, Francisco), conqueror of Peru, was born there about 1475; his palace still stands, and his tomb is in the Church of Santa María de la Concepción. The town also has Roman remains, an impressive Moorish castle, and the 15th-century Gothic Church of Santa María. Trujillo is an agricultural trade and road centre, with food processing and milling. The town has a cheese and wine museum, and it hosts an annual cheese festival featuring hundreds of cheeses native to Spain. There is also a bullring in the town. Trujillo's service industry has mixed with that of Cáceres city. Pop. (2007 est.) mun., 9,766.

▪ Venezuela

      city, capital of Trujillo estado (state), northwestern Venezuela. The city lies on a northern outlier of the Cordillera de Mérida, 2,640 feet (805 m) above sea level. Founded in 1556, Trujillo was the site of the 1813 proclamation by the liberator Simón Bolívar, which promised a “fight to the death” for independence from Spain. In colonial times a thriving way station between Táchira and Mérida, it has been outstripped in size and commercial importance by Valera, which lies 12 miles (19 km) to the west-southwest. Trujillo is a market centre for a fertile agricultural region in which cacao, corn (maize), coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, and fruit are cultivated. Flour mills are among the city's industries. The Pan-American Highway passes near the city. Pop. (2001) 40,000.

▪ state, Venezuela

      estado (state), northwestern Venezuela. It is bounded on the west by Lake Maracaibo and by the states of Portuguesa on the east, Mérida on the southwest, Barinas on the south, and Zulia on the north. Covered with mountains over most of its area of approximately 2,900 square miles (7,400 square km), Trujillo is one of the truly Andean states of Venezuela and ranks high agriculturally despite the restriction of cultivation largely to narrow valleys and alluvial terraces. The principal crops produced in the state include coffee, corn (maize), garlic, sesame, sugarcane, wheat, and cassava. The state capital, Trujillo, is a regional market centre for the agricultural products of the surrounding area, although in the 20th century Valera became more important commercially and is the state's largest city. The state is served by both the Pan-American and the Trans-Andean highways. Pop. (2007 est.) 711,392.

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