About Roatan and it's History

The Insular Department of the Republic of Honduras, located in the splendid Caribbean Sea consists of three beautiful islands: Roatan, Guanaja and Utila, surrounded by various cays and smaller islands.

Roatan is the biggest of the islands, and was home to the Paya Indians in 1502, when Christopher Columbus arrived in Guanaja on his fourth and last trip and discovered this region. None of the European countries claimed ownership of the islands for the following century, so French, English and Dutch pirates took advantage of the situation and used them as a base to attack Spanish ships crossing the Caribbean Sea.

During the Colonial period, Spanish and English colinizers lived together on the island; however, the discovery of the new continent and its richness lad to constant attacks from pirates, who assaulted the cities and forced the colonizers and the Indians to leave the islands in order to turn them into their strategic headquarters.

Many famous pirates settled in Roatan, eaving their everlasting footprint in the history of the island, where you can still hear their names. For example the famous pirate Henry Morgan and the renowned pirate Captain John Coxen, as well as many others from different countries. It has been estimated that during those years about 5,000 pirates lived on the island and ruled it for many years.

In 1650, under the command of Don Francisco Villalba Toledo, Spain attacked the pirates in Port royal. After several violent battles, in spite of a good defense, the pirates had seriously decreased in numbers, and fearful of continuing the battles against the Spainards, who would always come back with more back up, they surrendered to the Spanish Crown and its authorities.

In 1742, under the command of Mayor Caufield, the English settled again on the island and reconstructed the old Port Royal, which was recovered in 1782 by the Spainards that regained control over the island. The English completely abandoned the island in 1788.

For 15 years the English did not return to Roatan, and it was not til 1797 when 5000 Caribbean natives (a mix of African natives and Caribbe Indians) were taken to Port Royal. It was a mix of Africans with Caribbean and Arawak Indians from the island of St. Vincent, who gave orgin to the Garifuna people that is a part of the cultural heritage of the island today.

By 1821, the Central American Federation claimed the Bay Islands as part of its territory, and independence from Spain was declared.

In 1827 the English began to return to Roatan and the other islands. Many of them came from other neighboring islands such as Grand Cayman and the United States. In 1852 the English population was about 600 people and some leaders requested the English government to declare the islands an English colony.

Considering the geographic position of Honduras and in order to assure a neutral status for the islands. In 1859, the British royalty agreed to recognize the Bay Islands as part of the Republic of Honduras. A covenant was made that recognized them as part of the Honduran territory, with which the government of Honduras committed not to grant this territory to any other country.

It's long history of mixed peoples resulted into a mixture of very diverse cultures that prevail on the island today.