31-691: Omoa is a town and municipality with a population of 10,550 (2023 calculation) in the Department of Cortés in Honduras . Omoa is located on a small bay of the same name 18 km west of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea coast. Omoa is both a municipality and a small town located along the Northwest Caribbean coast of Honduras. It is populated by about 30,000 people distributed within an area of 382.8 km². In 1536 Omoa
62-413: A French privateer had just captured an English brig. Porcupine set out in chase and quickly recaptured Diamon , of Aberdeen, George Killer, master. Draper sent a prize crew aboard with orders to take Diamon into the nearest port, and then set out after the privateer. The privateer put on such a press of sail that she lost her maintopmast, which enabled Porcupine to come up. Coureur , of 144 tons (bm),
93-524: A sovereign state such as the Principality of Monaco , to a small village such as West Hampton Dunes, New York . The territory over which a municipality has jurisdiction may encompass: Powers of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state . Municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax , property tax , and corporate income tax , but may also receive substantial funding from
124-427: A while as she tried to get closer. The bombardment from the sea, supplemented by fire from some guns which had been landed from Pomona , continued on the night of 19 October, occupying the garrison which did not notice storming parties of seamen, marines and soldiers infiltrating the fort. The surprise was complete and there were only six British casualties. The treasure found in the fort and on board two treasure ships
155-657: Is derived from French municipalité , which in turn derives from the Latin municipalis , based on the word for social contract ( municipium ), referring originally to the Latin communities that supplied Rome with troops in exchange for their own incorporation into the Roman state (granting Roman citizenship to the inhabitants) while permitting the communities to retain their own local governments (a limited autonomy). A municipality can be any political jurisdiction , from
186-404: Is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term municipality may also mean the governing body of a given municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district . The English word
217-650: The Barbary coast . The two-hour engagement was indecisive and the British broke off the engagement. Porcupine was stationed at Gibraltar during the Great Siege . In June 1782 the garrison there launched 12 gunboats. Each was armed with an 18-pounder gun and received a crew of 21 men drawn from Royal Navy vessels stationed at Gibraltar. Porcupine provided crews for five: Europa , Fury , Scourge , Terrible , and Terror . On 13 and 14 September and 11 October,
248-514: The pirates that targeted the silver cargos originating from the mines of San Miguel of Tegucigalpa that often left from Omoa to Spain. Ironically, the construction of the fortress did not end until piracy had significantly declined. After the independence of Honduras in 1821, the fortress was used as a prison by the Honduran authorities through the 1950s. The English briefly occupied the town in 1779 and reportedly burned its 200 buildings. In
279-458: The 1820s when the place was destroyed a couple of times by fires, the bay began to silt up, and nearby Puerto Cortes was developed. Then the first railroad connecting Puerto Cortes with San Pedro Sula was developed in the 1880s, reducing Omoa to a fishing village. Historically, Omoa had a cattle industry, with most of the cattle being maintained for Honduran use. Omoa has a large fishing industry. Other sources of income come from tourism and of
310-724: The French East Indiaman Modeste in the Bay of Biscay. Modeste , of 1000 tons, 26 guns and 95 men, was returning from China and richly laden. Her cargo was valued at £300,000, half of which was insured with English underwriters. Modeste became the East Indiaman Locko , which later made three voyages for the British East India Company . On 15 March 1779, the British warships Apollo , Porcupine , and Milford captured
341-542: The French privateer cutter Tapageur . The Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name. She came under the command of Captain Sir Charles Knowles around February 1780 and fought an action against two 36-gun xebecs off Valencia on 22 July 1781. On 30 July 1780 she and the xebec HMS Minorca engaged the French frigate Montréal , the former British frigate HMS Montreal , off
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#1732765531229372-524: The Spanish term ayuntamiento , referring to a municipality's administration building, is extended via synecdoche to denote the municipality itself. In Moldova and Romania , both municipalities ( municipiu ; urban administrative units) and communes ( comună ; rural units) exist, and a commune may be part of a municipality. In many countries, comparable entities may exist with various names. HMS Porcupine (1777) HMS Porcupine
403-408: The bay at Omoa as the most defensible location along the coast west of Trujillo (which already had a fort). Omoa was founded again in 1752 as a Spanish colonial town. The then-governor of Honduras, Pantaleón Ibánez, described that the town they planned would include a hospital, a building for the royal treasury, a church, warehouses, barracks for soldiers, and houses for the officers. The town itself
434-534: The community living in the area and the common interest. These include terms: The same terms "Gemeente" (Dutch) or "Gemeinde" (German) may be used for church congregations or parishes, for example, in the German and Dutch Protestant churches. In Greece, the word Δήμος ( demos ) is used, also meaning 'community'; the word is known in English from the compound democracy (rule of the people). In some countries,
465-499: The difficulties of marching first through swamps, and then wild, mountainous country and only covered three miles during the night. However, when they reached the town the following afternoon it soon fell, but they were unable to take the fort because the Baymen had dropped the scaling ladders they were carrying. They were supported during the attack by fire from Charon and Lowestoffe , the latter being badly damaged when she grounded for
496-648: The fortress of San Fernando, the largest of Central America and one of the few surviving colonial fortresses in the Americas. Omoa's most striking feature is the Fortaleza de San Fernando de Omoa , an 18th-century Spanish fort, though there are actually two forts there. The earlier Fort Real was started in 1752, and remodelled in 1759. Next to Fort Real, the Fort of San Fernando de Omoa was constructed from 1756 through 1775. A naval packet ship ( paquebote ) mounting 18 guns
527-580: The garrison destroyed a number of floating batteries. In December 1784 there was a distribution of £30,000 in bounty money for the batteries and the proceeds of the sale of ships stores, including those of San Miguel . A second payment of £16,000 followed in November 1785. A third payment, this of £8,000, followed in August 1786. June 1788 saw the payment of a fourth tranche, this of £4,000. Porcupine ' s officers and crew shared in all four. Porcupine
558-615: The guns of the fortress of San Fernando de Omoa, and an unsuccessful attempt was made to capture the town from the sea. They fell in with the sloop HMS Porcupine and some troop transports returning from driving the Spaniards from St George's. On 16 October, this was followed by a landing some 9 miles away at Puerto Caballo by seamen and marines from the ships, a detachment of the Royal Irish Regiment and 250 Baymen to make an overland attempt on Omoa. They underestimated
589-399: The late 18th century, Omoa had a diverse population of Spanish, Indians (mostly from central Honduras), enslaved Africans (the four contracts of royal slaves deployed to build and maintain the fort), mulattos, and free blacks (escaped English slaves, mostly from Belize). For a very long time, Omoa was one of the most important ports in Honduras . Nevertheless, that importance began to fade in
620-525: The next month. Captain Andrew Evans assumed command in October 1798. Porcupine and St Albans shared in the capture on 8 November of the brig Molly . Porcupine returned from Halifax on 15 December 1800 having escorted the merchant ships America and Diamond . Porcupine was carrying Commissioner Duncan, whom she landed at Plymouth. On 6 April 1801 Porcupine left Portsmouth as one of
651-525: The region declared its independence. The Spanish fort was captured by the Central American Republicans under Colonel Juan Galindo . The fort was one of the few structures left standing after 1974's Hurricane Fifi destroyed the town and was a point of rescue operations afterward. 15°46′26″N 88°02′11″W / 15.77389°N 88.03639°W / 15.77389; -88.03639 Municipality A municipality
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#1732765531229682-478: The state. In some European countries, such as Germany, municipalities have the constitutional right to supply public services through municipally-owned public utility companies . Terms cognate with "municipality", mostly referring to territory or political structure, are Spanish municipio (Spain) and municipalidad (Chile), Catalan municipi , Portuguese município . In many countries, terms cognate with "commune" are used, referring to
713-791: Was a 24-gun Porcupine -class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy built in 1777 and broken up in 1805. During her career she saw service in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars . Porcupine cost £5,443.0.11d to build, plus £4,604.13.8d for fitting and coppering. She was commissioned under her first captain, William Finch, in December 1777. On 29 September 1778, Porcupine , Captain William Clement Finch, captured
744-709: Was a small "pueblo de indios" allocated in repartimiento by Pedro de Alvarado to Luis del Puerto along with the nearby Indian town of Chachaguala; by 1582 Omoa had ceased to exist as a viable community. Repeated pirate raids on coastal towns along the Caribbean coast of Central America led the Spanish Crown as early as 1590 to begin looking for a new defensible port for the Captaincy General of Guatemala to export its goods to Spain. This initial study by Antonelli , and many subsequent ones, all pointed to
775-587: Was built here for the Spanish Navy in 1757 that also carried the name San Fernando . On 15 October 1779 the Royal Navy ships HMS Lowestoffe and HMS Charon were with a small squadron which arrived off the Honduras coast. They were accompanied by HMS Pomona , HMS Racehorse , a schooner and other small craft, and were hoping to intercept some treasure ships in the bay of Dulce. They found two Spanish ships which took shelter under
806-847: Was one of 46 ships at Plymouth that benefited from the seizure of several Dutch merchantmen and East Indiamenn on 30 January 1795. The next day a squadron under Captain Sir John Borlase Warren detained the Dutch East India Ship Ostenhuyson , and Porcupine benefited from that too. In August Captain John Draper replaced Dixon. On 26 September Porcupine and Minotaur recaptured the Walsingham Packet . The French corvette brig Insolent , of 18 guns and 90 men, had captured Walsingham Packet on 13 September as Walsingham Packet
837-636: Was paid off in 1783. Between August 1784 and June 1786 she underwent repairs and fitting. She was recommissioned for service off Scotland. She then underwent fitting for Channel service, but then was off Scotland again. In 1788, Porcupine took part in commemorations marking the hundredth anniversary of the siege of Derry. Porcupine was at Plymouth between November 1791 and January 1792. Captain Edward Buller recommissioned her in August. Captain Manley Dixon replaced Buller in 1793. Porcupine
868-678: Was pierced for 14 guns but only carried eight. She and her crew of 80 men had left Saint-Malo the day before. In addition to the brig Coureur had captured, Coureur was in chase of another merchant ship as Porcupine came on the scene, and there were other merchant vessels in sight as well that the privateer might have taken. Between November and December 1796 Porcupine captured the Spanish vessels La Merced , St Ignacio , Nostra Senora de la Rigla , Monserrat , Trinidad , and Santa Eulatia . In July 1797 Captain Charles Pater replaced Draper. Pater sailed her to Halifax, Nova Scotia ,
899-469: Was sailing from Falmouth to Lisbon. Insolent narrowly escaped being herself captured at the recapture of Walsingham Packet , getting into Lorient as the British ships came into range. On 20 March 1796 Porcupine captured the French privateer Coureur . Porcupine was about three or four leagues (14 or 19 km) south southwest of the Lizard when the revenue cutter Fox informed Porcupine that
930-432: Was to house the people who would build and occupy the two Spanish forts (El Real, and San Fernando de Omoa) which would guard the bay. Construction of El Real began in 1752 and was finished around 1756. El Real was used to defend the port town while the much larger fort of San Fernando de Omoa was built next to it. San Fernando de Omoa was finished around 1774. This historic place had as its main purpose to protect against
961-465: Was worth some two million dollars. Two hundred and fifty quintals (equivalent to 14 metric tons) of mercury were also found in the fort. The fort itself was abandoned by the British at the end of November before a Spanish counterattack arrived. The craters from the British bombardment are still visible in the walls of the fort today. Omoa was the last Spanish stronghold in Central America after