Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE MOSQUITIA
Some legends say that the Miskito nation originated in the Miskito Keys, then took control of the
Miskito Coast of Nicaragua and Honduras, more properly known as the Mosquitia. The keys first
appeared on a European map in 1630, labeled the Musquitu Islands, '14 leagues from Cabo de
Gracias,' where the Miskitos first made contact with pirate captain Sussex Camock in 1633.
The Miskitos quickly grasped the potential of firearms and, in return for the new technology,
aided in the sacking of Spanish strongholds up and down the Río San Juan and Río Coco. In 1687
the English monarchy was pleased enough to help found the Miskito monarchy, and by the
mid-1800s most of the Caribbean territory between central Honduras and Limón, Costa Rica, was
under Miskito and British control. When the crown hosted King Jeremy in England, his tutors
were surprised that he looked more African than Indian.
Miskito culture has historically embraced outsiders, and not always figuratively. Most trace
their African roots to a Portuguese slave ship that wrecked on the keys in 1640, though waves of
escaped slaves and West Indian banana workers are almost certainly part of the mix.
The Miskitos did not submit willingly to Nicaraguan rule in 1894, and their discontent at dom-
ination by the 'Spaniards' in Managua was brought to a head by one of the most horrific chapters
of Sandinista rule. President Somoza had been somewhat popular in the region mainly because he
left the Miskito to get along with their business. However, being off the radar meant the region
was also seriously neglected and did not share in the profits from the exploitation of Nicaragua's
natural resources.
Thus the Miskitos' loyalty was split, and when the revolution triumphed, some joined the
Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (Sandinista National Liberation Front; FSLN)-backed
group Misurasata (MIskito, SUmo, RAma, SAndinista & AslaTAlanka), hoping to help with the
literacy campaign. Volunteers were soon informed, however, that the Sandinista-led government
had decreed Spanish the official language, which few people spoke, much less read. The FSLN
then declared the Mosquitia's natural resources to be public property, 'to be exploited efficiently
and reasonably.' Tensions simmered.
At the same time, Somoza's Guardia Nacional regrouped in the Mosquitia. The Sandinistas got
intelligence that they would be meeting in San Carlos on December 23, 1981, and sent 7000
troops to evacuate the people, burn the houses, kill the animals and destroy the wells. Every
single town on the Río Coco was burned to the ground, and no one knows how many civilians
died. It is remembered as Red Christmas.
Some 20,000 people became refugees, moving to Honduras, Bilwi, San José de Bocay and
what's now known as Tasba Pri ('Free Land'), the impoverished string of roadside towns that
stretches from Rosita to Bilwi.
The Sandinistas backpedaled and apologies were issued, but it was too late. In 1987 the Na-
tional Autonomy Law granted the Región Autónoma Atlántico Norte (North Atlantic Autonom-
ous Region; RAAN) and Región Autónoma Atlántico Sur (South Atlantic Autonomous Region;
RAAS) official independence in response to local pressure. The major international gold mine in
Las Minas is not part of the autonomous zone, however, even though it is in the center of the re-
gion. Anomalies such as this have led some locals to believe that the central government legis-
