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118-709: The Mayangna today are divided into the Panamahka, Tawahka and Ulwa ethno-linguistic subgroups. They live primarily in remote settlements on the rivers Coco, Waspuk, Pispis and Bocay in north-eastern Nicaragua, as well as on the Patuca across the border in Honduras and far to the south along the Río Grande de Matagalpa. The isolation of these communities has allowed the Mayagna to preserve their language and culture away from

236-529: A possible future transoceanic canal through Nicaragua , and claimed it for the Mosquito Kingdom. The commander of the port was kidnapped and abandoned in a deserted beach, and the civilian population was told to leave the place by March 1842. The Nicaraguan government protested and the British did not carry on the threatened evacuation of the port, but neither did they take action against MacDonald for

354-635: A British protectorate was established over the Mosquito Kingdom. Britain's primary motive and the most immediate result of the treaty was to secure an alliance between the Miskito and British for the War of Jenkins' Ear , and the Miskito and British cooperated in attacks on Spanish settlements during the war. The most notable being the Raid on Matina in August by 1747 – the main fort (Fuerte de San Fernando de Matina)

472-530: A Tawira, controlling a region on the extreme south from Pearl Key Lagoon down to around Bluefields . The Miskito king Edward I and the British concluded a formal Treaty of Friendship and Alliance in 1740, and Robert Hodgson, Senior was appointed as Superintendent of the Shore. The language of the treaty includes what amounts to a surrender of sovereignty, and is often taken by historians as an indication that

590-674: A canal through Central America before the United States did. The protectorate was claimed to extend from Cape Honduras in the north to the mouth of the San Juan River in the south, including San Juan del Norte. Nicaragua protested again and sent forces to San Juan del Norte, which the Miskito King George Augustus Frederic II replied to with an ultimatum demanding all Nicaraguan forces to leave before January 1, 1848. Nicaragua appealed to

708-665: A deal with the Spanish. In order to prevent Stephen from seizing power for himself, General Robinson spirited George II's young heir George Frederic Augustus I to Jamaica by way of Belize and established a regency in his name. With Spanish power over the Mosquito Coast vanished and British influence rapidly returning, the Captaincy General of Guatemala sought full control of the shore from Spain. The Colombian Ricardo S. Pereira, writing in 1883, considered this act

826-555: A deliberate move to secure British support, marked the end of the regency. Meanwhile, Spain lost rule over New Granada in 1819 and over Central America in 1821, when the First Mexican Empire was proclaimed. As internecine conflicts seized both Gran Colombia and Central America post-independence, the potential of any regional power to threaten the Miskito kingdom declined. Miskito Kings renewed their alliance with Great Britain, which in 1801 had merged with Ireland to form

944-423: A fact already acknowledged by the British in 1660 when they crowned a chieftain called Oldman as the ‘Miskito King,’ recognising him and his descendants as the legitimate authorities on the coast. In the eighteenth century the Spanish managed to penetrate the central Nicaraguan highlands, where they converted and permanently settled many of the indigenous Matagalpas . However, these attempts were made difficult by

1062-404: A half dozen entities speaking related but distinct dialects occupying the various river basins of the region. During the 16th century, Spanish authorities issued various licenses to conquer Taguzgalpa and Tologalpa in 1545, 1562, 1577, and 1594, but no evidence suggests that any of these licenses resulted in even brief settlements or conquests. The Spanish were unable to conquer this region during

1180-623: A historian who visited this area in 1855–1856 the name Matagalpa means Cabeza Principal (Main Head) or Pueblo Grande (Big Town) from the Matagalpa indigenous language words: Maika=Head, Calpul* Town- But according to the Matagalpan linguist father Guillermo Kiene , a Catholic priest and missionary who lived from 1898 to 1959, the word Matagalpa comes from the Sumo language , and means "let's go where

1298-487: A miscalculation on the part of the Real Audiencia of Guatemala , and if they had simply raised an army and marched on the Mosquito Coast, nobody would have questioned that the area was part of the Captaincy General once Spanish power was fully restored. Instead, the Spanish government heeded the old advice espoused by Gil de Taboada and Ezpeleta, and decided against Guatemala's request on November 30, 1803, reaffirming

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1416-555: A number of settlements of English traders. Although English accounts refer as well to various noble titles, Miskito social structure does not appear to have been particularly stratified. The 1699 description noted that people holding titles such as "king" and "governor" were only empowered as war leaders, and did not have the last word in judicial disputes. Otherwise, the author saw the population as living in an egalitarian state. M. W. mentioned titled officers in his account of 1699, but later sources define these superior offices to include

1534-709: A peace treaty where it ceded San Juan del Norte to the Mosquito Kingdom, who renamed it Greytown after Charles Edward Grey , governor of Jamaica . With the Mexican–American War concluded, the new US delegate in Central America, E. G. Squier , tried to get Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras to form a common front against the British, who were now threatening to annex Tiger Island ( El Tigre ) in Honduras' Pacific coast. After British and American forces nearly clashed in El Tigre, both governments reprimanded

1652-443: A pledge of good behavior in the future. When the terms weren't met, the crew bombarded Greytown , then landed and burnt the town to the ground. Damage was extensive but no one was killed. With its attention seized by the ongoing Crimean War and the firm opposition of Britain's merchant class to a war with the United States, the British government only protested and demanded an apology that was never received. By 1859 British opinion

1770-690: A purely rhetorical acceptance of the ‘differences’ on the Coast towards a practical commitment to embrace them as part of the process of constructing a new society. After President Daniel Ortega announced in December 1984 that the Sandinistas would recognize the Atlantic Coast's right to autonomy, the Mayangna ethnic organisation SUKALWALA began direct negotiations with Tomás Borge , the head of

1888-399: A referendum, seeking international recognition. It also addresses the needs of the impoverished Moskitian communities, such as drug addiction among youth as the coast is slowly gaining influence as a corridor for drug trafficking. However, the allure of possible Narco funding might be a tempting method of supporting independence should the movement find no support. The movement was backed by

2006-530: A shifting agriculture, to come together and settle permanently in new, compact and accessible communities, centred around a church. This disruption of their old lifestyle had a negative effect on the Mayangnas' attachment to many aspects of their traditional culture, while the proximity of the new settlements to Miskito communities, and the missionaries’ policy of preaching the Gospel and teaching literacy only in

2124-600: A single, unified language. The language spoken around Rosita and Bonanza in the north-eastern part of the RAAN , and today known as ' Mayangna ', is in fact two closely related dialects, Twahka and Panamahka. Meanwhile the ulwa people of Karawala in the RAAS , who were also formerly regarded as 'Sumu', speak a closely related sister-language called Ulwa . Both languages belong to the Misumalpan language family. The name "ulwa"

2242-464: Is 1,200 to 1,900 mm (47 to 75 in). Matagalpa is twinned with: 12°55′N 85°55′W  /  12.917°N 85.917°W  / 12.917; -85.917 Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast (also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore ) is an area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras . It was named after the local Miskito Nation and

2360-549: Is a city in Nicaragua which is the capital of the department of Matagalpa . The city has a population of 112,697 (2022 estimate), while the population of the department is 606,643. Matagalpa is Nicaragua's seventh largest city, the largest in the country's interior, and one of the most commercially active outside of Managua . Matagalpa is known as the "Pearl of the North" and "Land of Eternal Spring." According to Jeronimo Perez,

2478-487: Is known for its coffee, its cattle, milk products, vegetables, flowers and mountains popular with ecotourists . It is the location of such storied mountain tourist resorts as Aranjuez , Santa Maria de Ostuma , and Selva Negra Mountain Resort . A large part of the economy in Matagalpa depends on eco-tourism. Nature hikes, walks, and excursions are very common throughout Matagalpa, and the northern region on Nicaragua. One of

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2596-536: The 1786 Convention of London , Britain agreed to evacuate British settlers and their slaves from the Mosquito Coast to their as yet informal colony in what was to become British Honduras; later treaties recognized Britain's commercial, but never territorial rights in the region. Some of the settlers and their slaves remained after they swore loyalty to the King of Spain , especially in Bluefields . The Mosquito Coast

2714-1006: The Caribbean . ( Nicaragua 's Spanish colonization originated from the direction of the Pacific Ocean, which was called the Southern Sea by the Spaniards. Matagalpa is located in the continental divide between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea . Many stories are preserved from colonial times about the British-controlled Mosquito Coast , and the Spanish-colonized Pacific area. Gold was discovered around Matagalpa by 1840. Along with many Spaniards and Mestizos, it attracted German, American and British immigrants. Two of

2832-537: The FDN with around two-hundred other Mayangna troops. Most other Mayangna guerrillas deserted soon after, but they faced serious threats from MISURA which, angered and worried by the desertions, tried to forcibly recruit the reluctant Mayangna back into its ranks. For the Mayangna, an escape from the conflict was only possible after a genuine shift occurred in the Sandinistas’ own nationalist ideology, which moved beyond

2950-568: The Northern Zelaya Autonomy Commission, and won the exemption of the Mayangna from the draft . Soon after, in April 1985, the recently elected Assemblea Nacional passed an amnesty decree, proposed by Mayangna leader Ronas Dolores Green amongst others, which specifically covered 'miskitos, sumos, ramas y creoles.' This helped to restore Mayangna trust in the Sandinistas, and paved the way for the return to Nicaragua of

3068-541: The Sandinista Front in 1961. Currently the department of Matagalpa is the second most populous in Nicaragua after the national capital ( Managua ), and the most diversified in production. Over the past few years Matagalpa has experienced a large influx of migrants (mainly peasants ) from other departments, causing stress on infrastructure and the environment. Matagalpa has a panoramic highway that starts in

3186-522: The Scottish con man Gregor MacGregor pretended to have been named " Cacique of Poyais " by George Frederic Augustus I and sold forged land rights to eager settlers and investors in Britain and France. Most settlers suffered from the lack of infrastructure and died from tropical diseases , MacGregor having led them to believe that the area was already developed and just in need of skilled workers. In

3304-704: The Treaty of Managua on January 28, 1860, which transferred suzerainty over the Caribbean coast between Cabo Gracias a Dios and Greytown to Nicaragua. Attempts to decide the sovereignty over the northern bank of the Wanks/Coco River which cuts Cabo Gracias a Dios in half, began in 1869, but would not be settled until ninety-one years later when the International Court of Justice decided in favor of Honduras. The 1860 treaty also recognized that

3422-573: The United Kingdom , and Belize replaced Jamaica as the principal British connection to the kingdom. George Frederic Augustus I's 1816 coronation in Belize was imitated by his successor Robert Charles Frederic in 1845. The Miskito kings allowed the settlement of foreigners in their lands as long as their sovereignty was respected, opportunity that was seized by British merchants and Garifuna people from Trujillo, Honduras . Between 1820 and 1837

3540-452: The 16th century and in the 17th century sought to " reduce " the region through missionary efforts. These included several attempts by Franciscans between 1604 and 1612; another one led by Fray Cristóbal Martinez in 1622, and a third one between 1667 and 1675. None of these efforts resulted in any lasting success. Because the Spanish failed to have significant influence in the region, it remained independent of outside control. This allowed

3658-624: The 1830s and 40s King Robert Charles Frederic also appointed small traders, notably William Hodgson and brothers Peter and Samuel Shepherd, as his agents to administer his claims to tribute and taxes from lands as far south as Panama . At the same time, the mahogany trade peaked in Europe, but the supply in Belize, a main exporter, was becoming scarce. The Miskito Kingdom became an alternative source to Belize-based traders and wood cutting companies, who acquired concessions and land grants from Robert Charles Frederic. In 1837, Britain formally recognized

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3776-584: The Atlantic Coast, which had long been an internal colony of Somoza's Pacific-oriented Nicaraguan state, which exploited the region's resources but otherwise neglected it. Proclaiming as one of their primary targets the ‘integration’ of the Atlantic Coast, the Sandinistas dramatically increased the presence of the State in the most remote corners of the region. Early Mayangna experiences of the Revolution were largely positive, as new roads and clinics were built and

3894-516: The British presence, seizing the settlement at Black River , and driving British settlers from the isle of Roatán ; however, this ultimately failed when armed settlers led by the Anglo-Irish soldier Edward Despard retook the settlements . Although Spain had been unable to drive the British from the coast or occupy any position, in the course of the diplomatic negotiations following the war, Britain found itself making concessions to Spain. In

4012-552: The English called the "Mosquito Kingdom" was present on the coast in the early seventeenth century. One of the kings of this polity visited England around 1638 at the behest of the Providence Island Company and sealed an alliance. In subsequent years, the kingdom stood strongly against any Spanish incursions and was prepared to offer rest and asylum to any anti-Spanish groups that might come to their shores. At

4130-514: The Karawala settlement within the Rio Grande basin of Matagalpa . Established since 1853, this indigenous group holds great significance, comprising approximately 3500 individuals. The evidence provided by an analysis of the Misumalpan language family, to which the Mayangna languages belong and which also includes Miskito and the extinct Matagalpan and Cacaopera tongues once spoken in

4248-465: The Mayangna came at the beginning of the twentieth century with their conversion to Christianity, a task undertaken by missionaries from the Moravian Church , who arrived in the region from Germany in 1847 but only began to make a real impact on the native population after the departure of the British. During the so-called ‘Great Awakening’ of the 1880s much of the Miskito population converted to

4366-574: The Mayangna refugees and ex-combatants in Honduras, harassed there as they were by the Miskito. In the Mayangna language, ‘autonomy’ translates as “alas yalahnin lani” – ‘to live our system of life.” However, the current autonomous political system falls far short of this ideal in the eyes of the Mayanga, who feel that despite countless sacrifices they are still caught between two fires; with the advancing ‘agricultural frontier’ of mestizo peasants, who invade their communal lands and despoil their forests, on

4484-519: The Miskito - the Moravian Church and MISURASATA , both of which had come to play an important part in Mayangna cultural and political life - joined the Miskito guerrilla forces , prompting the Sandinistas to arrest Mayangna leaders and occupy various Mayangna communities. More than 3000 Mayangna - around half of the total Mayangna population - subsequently fled to squalid refugee camps in Honduras, where many were then drafted (often forcibly) into MISURA,

4602-469: The Miskito language brought the Mayangna into increased contact with both the Miskito themselves and with Miskito culture in general. This increased the tendency of Mayangna individuals to try to shed their original identity either by marrying out of the group or by abandoning their original language in order to move higher within the Coastal ethnic hierarchy, in which the Miskito had a higher position, and by

4720-450: The Miskito's "King's Son" visit to England during the reign of Charles I (1625–1649). When his father died, this son returned home and placed his country under English protection. Following the capture of Providence Island by Spain in 1641, England did not possess a base close to the coast. However, shortly after the English captured Jamaica in 1655, they recommenced relations with the coast, and Oldman went to visit England. According to

4838-745: The Mosquito Coast (instead, the British occupied the Archipelago itself in 1806 during the course of the war against Spain), the Royal Decree of 1803 became the reason for territorial disputes between the United Provinces of Central America and Gran Colombia after Latin American independence , and between Nicaragua and Colombia for the rest of the 19th century. In the meantime George II's brother Stephen made some overtures to Spain, who reciprocated by calling Stephen king and giving him

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4956-532: The Mosquito Kingdom as an independent state, and took diplomatic measures to prevent the new nations that left the imploding Federal Republic of Central America in 1838–1841 from interfering with the kingdom. The expansion of the economy attracted and benefitted from the arrival of capital from the United States, and immigrants from the States, the West Indies , Europe, Syria and China. Especially abundant

5074-439: The Mosquito Kingdom, now reduced to the territory around Bluefields, would become an autonomous Miskito reserve, usually called Mosquito Reservation or Mosquito Reserve . The municipal constitution of the reserve, signed on September 13, 1861, confirmed George Augustus Frederic II as ruler of the territory and its inhabitants, but only as hereditary chief and not king, a title that, along those of general, admiral and governor,

5192-580: The Mosquito region started around 1630, when the agents of the English chartered Providence Island Company —of which the Earl of Warwick was chairman and John Pym treasurer—occupied two small cays and established friendly relations with the local inhabitants. Providence Island , the company's main base and settlement, entered into regular correspondence with the coast during the decade of company occupation, 1631–1641. The Providence Island Company sponsored

5310-511: The New Granadan Viceroy José Manuel de Ezpeleta , who succeeded Taboada in 1789 and considered that Hodgson's influence among the Miskito was vital to avoid a revolt. Hodgson Jr. was the son of Robert Hodgson Sr., the first British appointed Superintendent in 1749–1759, and he had occupied himself this post from 1767 to 1775, when his political enemies persuaded Lord George Germain to replace him with James Lawrie,

5428-539: The Nicaraguan government. The death of George Augustus Frederic II in 1865, after only half that time had passed, led to a dispute between Nicaragua and the reserve's government. As indicated in its name, the position of hereditary chief was not completely elective like the title of King that preceded it, but had to be occupied by a member of George Augustus Frederic II's lineage of full Miskito ancestry. The council argued that none of George Augustus Frederic II's wives

5546-523: The Nicaraguan highlands and southern El Salvador, indicates the continuous presence of these groups in the region from around 2000BC. In fact, until the migration from southern Mexico of tribes speaking Oto-Manguean languages who arrived on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua in the ninth century AD and the Nahua groups from even further north that followed, Misumalpan languages were probably spoken across

5664-650: The North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCN) and the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCS) in 2014. The Miskito continued to enjoy a certain autonomy under Nicaragua, though there was considerable tension between the claims of the government and those of the indigenous people. This tension was expressed openly during Sandinista rule, which sought greater state control. The Miskito were strong supporters of U.S. efforts to undermine

5782-585: The Rio Kukalaya , including the king's residence near Sandy Bay, was a Sambu, as was the general, who ruled the northern portions of the kingdom, from the Wanks River to nearly Trujillo. The Governor, who was a Tawira , controlled the southern regions, from the Cucalaya River to Pearl Key Lagoon . In the later 18th century (post 1766), another title, Admiral , was recorded; this man was also

5900-533: The Sandinista-led 'Literacy Crusade', which eventually included teaching in local native languages, led to many Mayangna learning to read and write – 1,449 according to a government report – and the birth of Mayangna itself as a written language. However, after fighting broke out between the Sandinista state and Miskito, some Mayangna, under pressure from two seemingly neutral institutions dominated by

6018-558: The Sandinistas and were important allies of the Contras . Miskito dissidents declared the independence of the unrecognized Communitarian Nation of Moskitia in 2009. The movement is led by Reverend Hector Williams, who was elected as "Wihta Tara" (Great Judge) of Moskitia by the Council of Elders, its governing body composed of traditional leaders from within the Miskito community. The council advocates for independence and has considered

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6136-456: The Spanish to submit them, even at the time of Nicaragua Independence in 1821, there were many Cacaopera free in the central mountains of Nicaragua. In 1856 they were decisive to defeat William Walker's filibusters in the Battle of San Jacinto on 14 September 1856, where a column of 60 Cacaopera people with bow and arrows fought at the side of Nicaraguan Patriots winning that battle, which marked

6254-562: The United States, but the Americans, then at war with Mexico , did not answer. After the ultimatum expired, Miskito-British forces led by the King and Patrick Walker, and backed by two British warships, seized San Juan del Norte. They also destroyed Serapaqui , where the British prisoners captured during the first attempt on San Juan del Norte were interned, and advanced to Lake Nicaragua , during which Walker drowned. On March 7 Nicaragua signed

6372-420: The Zambo gained a more dominant position and the king's domain was inhabited primarily by Zambos. They also assisted the government of Jamaica in hunting down Maroons in the 1720s. Although English accounts referred to the area as a "kingdom", it was relatively loosely organized. A description of the kingdom written in 1699, notes that it occupied discontinuous areas along the coast. It probably did not include

6490-416: The area. In 1923 some Danish immigrants also came to Matagalpa, and settled in the highlands as well. Most of the Danish families went back to Denmark. Three families stayed: the Gröns, the Möllers, and the Petersens. Matagalpa was also the city of refuge for many Nicaraguans escaping the invasion of Tennessean filibuster William Walker who took over much of the country and government in 1856. In Matagalpa

6608-468: The assimilatory impulses of both the larger Miskito group, who live closer to the Atlantic coastline, and the ‘Spaniards’ (as the Mayangna still refer to the Spanish-speaking Mestizos who form the ethnic majority population of Nicaragua), who are for the most part confined to the larger towns in the region that the Mayangna inhabit. The Ulwa community in Nicaragua is an integral part of the Mayagna, Panamahka, and Ulwa family. They are predominantly located in

6726-424: The assumptions of some scholars, this did not mean that the Mayangna totally cut themselves off from the outside world, and while those who remained in coastal areas were often forced to pay tribute to the Miskito King, even the more isolated Mayangna communities formed an integral part of regional trading networks, and through their access to the highest quality tropical hardwoods controlled the production and sale of

6844-404: The better known immigrants of this period were Ludwig Elster (from Hannover ) and his wife Katharina Braun (from Schwarzwald, Germany Black Forest ) who planted the first coffee trees in the area, the beans from which quickly went to market in Germany. Coffee agriculture attracted more than 120 European immigrants, many of whom married Matagalpan women, and many of their descendants still live in

6962-400: The biggest threat to the Mayangna in the first half of the twentieth century was the loss of lands to mestizo settlers from Western Nicaragua, and destruction and theft of Mayangna natural resources. The rising price of copper meant the opening of a new mine at Rosita in 1959, which by 1970 had generated 40-50 million dollars for its American owners. But the discharge of toxic waste products into

7080-465: The canoes that -ironically - were used against them by the Miskito in their slaving expeditions. The Mayangna population continued to decline after the British gave up their claim to the Mosquito Coast in 1860, due to the combined effects of disease, internecine warfare, and assimilationist pressures from both Miskito and the new Nicaraguan state. From a possible pre-contact total of more than 30,000, by 1862 only around 5-6000 remained. The final blow for

7198-739: The city of Matagalpa and extends 30 kilometres (19 miles) to the city of Jinotega . Scenic views extend up to 140 kilometres (87 miles) away, to the volcanic range near the Pacific coast. Many historians, archeologists, botanists and ethnologists have arrived in recent years to do research in this region. American and European descendants of the first settlers are also returning to visit the historical homes of their ancestors. Matagalpa produces and exports beef, cheese, coffee, cacao , onions, tomatoes and mixed fruits and vegetables. For local consumption it produces flowers, wood, corn, beans, fruits (oranges, grapefruits, bananas, plantains) and many kinds of vegetables such as broccoli, and cauliflower. Matagalpa

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7316-500: The commanders of their forces there and concluded the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty on April 18, 1850. In this document the two powers pledged themselves to guarantee the neutrality and equal use of the proposed canal, and to not "occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica , the Mosquito Coast or any part of Central America", nor make use of any protectorate or alliance, present or future, to such ends. The United States assumed that this meant

7434-402: The control of the Viceroyalty of New Granada over the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina (used by New Granadan coast guards as a base against British privateers, often coming from the Mosquito Coast itself), and transferring sovereignty of the Mosquito Coast over to New Granada and considering the area a dependency of San Andrés. While Spanish rule was never restored over

7552-415: The domain of the Miskito Kingdom and expanded or contracted with that domain. During the 19th century, the question of the kingdom's borders was a serious issue of international diplomacy between Britain, the United States, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Conflicting claims regarding both the kingdom's extent and arguable nonexistence were pursued in diplomatic exchanges. The British and Miskitu definition applied to

7670-410: The end of Walker's adventure in Nicaragua. That quest has been recognized by historians and archaeologists, and there is a popular movement to declare the Cacaopera as National Heroes by the Congress of the Republic next month of September 2011. Matagalpa was an existing indigenous town when the first Spaniards came to this region by 1528 during an attempt to find a water passage to the "Northern Sea",

7788-418: The far south. The Miskito acquired firearms as a result of their lucrative trading arrangements with the Europeans, and through their position as allies of the British in their prolonged conflict with the Spanish. The Mayangna tribes and the Miskito had always raided as well as traded with one another, but the new weapons tipped the local balance of power firmly in the direction of the latter. Miskito raids into

7906-511: The first land grants to this effect in 1742. British settlement concentrated especially in the Black River area, Cape Gracias a Dios, and Bluefields . The British plantation owners used their estates to grow some export crops and as bases for the exploitation of timber resources, especially mahogany. Most of the labor on the estates was supplied by African slaves and by indigenous slaves captured in Miskito and British raids into Spanish territory. By 1786, there were several hundred British residents on

8024-481: The gifts offered by the Spanish. The Miskito resumed trade with Jamaica and, when news of another Anglo-Spanish War arrived in 1797, George II raised an army to attack Bluefields, deposing Hodgson, and drove the Spanish out of the kingdom on September 4, 1800. However, the king died suddenly in 1801. According to British George Henderson, who visited the Mosquito Coast in 1804, many in the kingdom believed that George II had been poisoned by his brother Stephen as part of

8142-430: The immediate British evacuation of the Mosquito Coast, while the British argued that it only bound them to not expand further in Central America and that both the 1844 protectorate and the 1848 peace treaty were still valid. On November 21, the American steamer Prometheus was fired upon by a British warship for not paying port tariffs at Greytown. One of the passengers was Cornelius Vanderbilt , business magnate and one of

8260-408: The incident. In 1844, the British government declared a new protectorate over the Mosquito Kingdom and appointed a consul-general of the Mosquito Coast, Patrick Walker with seat in Bluefields. The proclamation was motivated by the state of anarchy in the Mosquito Kingdom after the death of Robert Charles Frederic, but also by the impending American annexation of Texas and the British desire to build

8378-451: The interior carried away increasing numbers of (primarily Mayangna) captives, of whom the women were kept and the men sold on to the British to work the growing Jamaican plantations. Augmented by this new influx of women into their communities, as well as by the absorption of escaped or ship-wrecked African slaves, the Miskito population boomed and this formerly small tribe soon emerged as the politically and demographically dominant local power,

8496-703: The intermediate levels in the businesses and relegating the native Miskitu to the worst paid occupations at the base. In August 1841, a British ship, without knowledge of London, carried the Miskito King Robert Charles Frederic and the British Governor of Belize , Alexander MacDonald , to occupy Nicaragua's only Caribbean port in San Juan del Norte , placed at the mouth of the San Juan River and likely endpoint of

8614-476: The king, a governor , and a general . In the early 18th century, the Miskito kingdom became organized into four distinct clusters of population, centered on the banks of the navigable rivers. They were integrated into a single if loosely structured political entity. The northern portions were dominated by Sambus and the southern ones by Tawira Miskitos. The king, whose domain lay from the Wanks River south to

8732-608: The land and capital in the reserve began to be agglutinated by an increasingly small number of US citizens. When in 1894, Rigoberto Cabezas led a campaign to annex the reserve, natives responded with vigorous protest, an appeal to Britain to protect them, and more militant resistance – to little avail. The situation was such that, from July 6 to August 7, the US occupied Bluefields to 'protect US interests'. After enjoying almost complete autonomy for fourteen years, on 20 November 1894 their territory formally became incorporated into that of

8850-459: The land where they had traditionally lived and had tenure. However, problems with the land continue, and in Wasakin (a Mayangna community near Rosita ) a state of violent confrontation between the Mayangna and invading Mestizos has led to the killing of a rancher and the subsequent murder of two young indigenous. The indigenous groups previously known collectively as the 'Sumu' have never spoken

8968-541: The last British Superintendent before the evacuation and a declared adversary of Hodgson. The Spanish hoped to win over support of the Miskito elite by offering presents like the British had and educating their youth in Guatemala, as many Miskito had been educated previously in Jamaica. Catholic missionaries also travelled to the Coast with the aim of converting the native population in this period. The acceptance of

9086-490: The local Miskito people, thereby creating a mixed-race group. They gradually adopted the language and much of the culture of their hosts. The Miskito Sambu settled near the Wanks (Coco) River . By the late 17th century, their leader held the office of general with jurisdiction over the northern portions of the Mosquito Kingdom. In the early eighteenth century, they managed to take over the office of King, which they held for at least

9204-525: The local rivers devastated the ecosystems that the Mayangna communities traditionally depended on for their food supply. In Wasakin, only a few miles downriver from Rosita, these also caused “stomach pains, vomiting, vomiting blood, fevers, headaches and coughing” in those who bathed in or drank the water, eventually resulting in the deaths of up to three children a day in January and February 1979. The Nicaraguan Revolution heralded sudden and dramatic change on

9322-479: The long-standing relation that the Mosquito Kingdom had earlier with British Jamaica , but this idea was rejected by the Spanish Crown . Guatemala protested the perceived unruliness of the Spanish appointed governor at Bluefields , who was none other but a former British Superintendent of the Mosquito Coast who had sworn recent fealty to Spain, Robert Hodgson Jr., but his loyalty and good work were defended by

9440-510: The main Miskito guerrilla force. Many of those remaining in Nicaragua were then moved by the Sandinista government from their homes - now in the midst of a war zone - to equally unsanitary camps in the interior of the country. Perceived mistreatment by both the Miskito leadership and lower-ranking Miskito ‘comrades’ generated serious discontent amongst the Mayangna guerrillas, and in 1983, the most important Mayangna rebel commander, Ampinio Palacios, decided to leave MISURA with his men and go over to

9558-472: The marshal and his men with a rifle, arguing that they had no power to arrest an American citizen. Though he held no office, Borland ordered 50 American passengers bound for New York to remain on land and "protect US interests" while he sailed to the United States for help. In an example of gunboat diplomacy , the Americans sent then the USS ; Cyane and demanded 24,000 dollars in damages, an apology and

9676-480: The mid-twentieth century many of the new communities founded by Mayangna converts, such as Quamwatla, Prinzubila and Bikbila, regarded themselves as wholly Miskito. Meanwhile, for those who still regarded themselves as Mayangna, the new religion became a key part of their identity, and the Moravian Church replaced the old hold of the chieftains and sukias (traditional healers) on Mayangna life. The arrival in

9794-491: The most recognized eco-tourism sites is Selva Negra Wildlife Refuge, with over 120 hectares (300 acres) of land dedicated to the conservation of the area's diverse flora and fauna. Matagalpa, along with nearby Jinotega , enjoy "eternal spring" or all year, spring-like weather. Matagalpa lies more than 700 m (2,297 ft) above sea level with the average temperature ranging from 26 to 28 °C (79 to 82 °F)., and relative humidity between 75% and 85%. Average rainfall

9912-406: The native people to continue their traditional way of life and to receive visitors from other regions. English and Dutch privateers who preyed on Spanish ships soon found refuge in the Mosquito Coast. Crown colony of England under local rule (1638–1707) Although the earliest accounts do not mention it, a political entity of uncertain organization, but probably not very stratified, which

10030-600: The new faith en masse, and buoyed by this success the Moravians increasingly turned their attention to the Mayangna. Just as the Catholic missionaries of the colonial era had done throughout the Spanish Empire, this first involved persuading the Mayangna, who up to this point had lived in dispersed family groupings and had continued to observe a traditional and often semi-nomadic lifestyle based on hunting, fishing and

10148-559: The new order was unequal and often influenced by the underlying tensions within the own Miskito elites, divided between the northern regions controlled by the Sambu, loyal to King George II Frederic who remained himself friendly to the British, and the Tawira southerners aligned with Admiral Briton, who developed closer ties with Spain and adopted the name Don Carlos Antonio Castilla after his own conversion. The Spanish also sought to occupy

10266-540: The northern Atlantic Coast around Cabo Gracias a Dios, are an interesting example of people who grew through culture-contact on the Coast, and whose ethnic identity and even racial composition is intimately intertwined with their position as intermediaries in the relations between the Europeans and the other Indigenous living in the region, who also included the Pech and the now much reduced but previously widespread Rama in

10384-479: The one side, and on the other, once again, the Miskito leaders, who ignore their distinct problems as a people and yet still portray themselves as representatives of all of the indigenous of the Coast, depriving the Mayangna of the chance to ever make themselves heard. The Mayangna look to the Sandinista-run central government as their only ally, and hope that the gradual progress of territorial demarcation and

10502-580: The patriots organized the Ejército del Septentrión ("Army of the North"), which fought in and won the Battle of San Jacinto , assisted by 60 Matagalpa, on 14 September 1856, helping to end Walker's rule. Matagalpa Department was also the birthplace of Rubén Darío , 1867-1916; Nazario Vega, Governor and builder of the Cathedral; Bartolomé Martínez , President of Nicaragua, 1923–24; Matias Baldizon Morales, 1820-1886, and Carlos Fonseca Amador , founder of

10620-551: The political instability in Nicaragua proper, which threatened the peace within the reserve. In 1881, Nicaragua and Britain agreed to subject the most disputed points of the 1860 treaty to the arbitration of the Emperor Francis Joseph I of Austria-Hungary . His decision, released on June 2, agreed largely with the interests of the Miskito—and by extension, the British. The arbitration decided that: From 1883,

10738-682: The positions formerly held by British settlers with their own colonists. Beginning in 1787, around 1,200 settlers were brought in from the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands . They settled in Sandy Bay, Cape Gracias a Dios and Black River, but not in the new capital Bluefields. The new colony suffered setbacks as a result of many of the settlers dying en route and the Miskito Crown showing its dissatisfaction with

10856-401: The preponderance of Mayangna-language place-names that survive across this region. But it was a different indigenous group who profited from friendly contact with the new European arrivals. Sometimes posited as a coastal-dwelling Mayangna sub-tribe, but given their distinctive language more likely to have been a related Misumalpan group, the Miskito people , who appear to have originally lived on

10974-572: The region of rebel general Augusto Sandino 's guerrilla forces in the 1920s caused even the most remote Mayangna communities to become embroiled in the conflict, and Mayangna men appear to have been in high demand from both Sandino's men and the Marines as guides and boatmen, and even as fighters: a description of the Sandinista raiders who blew up the La Luz mine in 1928 notes that “among their number were several Sumu armed with shotguns and machetes.” But

11092-403: The region, however, only relate to the late 16th and early 17th centuries. According to their understanding of the geography, the region was divided between two "Provinces" Taguzgalpa and Tologalpa . Lists of "nations" left by Spanish missionaries include as many as 30 names, though careful analysis of them by Karl Offen suggests that many were duplicated and the regional geography included about

11210-491: The republic of Nicaragua by Nicaraguan president José Santos Zelaya . The former Mosquito Coast was established as the Nicaraguan department of Zelaya . During the 1980s, the department was dissolved and substituted by the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) and South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS), autonomous regions with a certain degree of self-government. Those regions were renamed

11328-401: The resistance of the neighbouring Mayangna groups who constantly raided the new communities, sometimes in conjunction with Miskito war parties. In the same period, the Mayangna themselves also increasingly succumbed to the better-armed Miskito raiders, and began a steady retreat into the interior, towards the headwaters of the rivers along which most of the groups had originally lived. Contrary to

11446-523: The rest of the century. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Miskitos Zambos began a series of raids that attacked Spanish-held territories and still independent indigenous groups in the area. Miskito raiders reached as far north as the Yucatán, and as far south as Costa Rica. They sold many of the captives they took as slaves to English or other British merchants; the slaves were transported to Jamaica to work on sugar plantations. Through such raiding,

11564-482: The richest people in the United States. The British government apologized after the United States sent two armed sloops to the area. More incidents happened in the following years. In 1852, Britain occupied the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras and rebuffed the American protests claiming that they had been part of Belize before the treaty. The American representative in Nicaragua, Solon Borland , considered

11682-556: The rocks are." There have been other descriptions of the word Matagalpa: -Here next to the water, and -Among Mountains ( "Aquí junto al agua" y "Entre Montañas"). These descriptions are believed to be related to the geographic location of the city, which is next to the Grand River of Matagalpa, and also surrounded by mountains. Matagalpa was originally an indigenous village. The Cacaopera people , or Matagalpa had their own language , which has been extinct since 1875. A document from

11800-515: The sale of land in Cabo Gracias a Dios attracted the interest of Prince Charles of Prussia . Charles' first plan was to establish a Prussian settlement in the area and sent three German merchants to study this possibility on the ground. Their dictamen was against colonization, but their suggestion to evangelize the Mosquito Coast was taken up by the Prince of Schönburg-Waldenburg , who delegated

11918-510: The shore and several thousand slaves, mostly African. The Miskito kings received regular gifts from the British in the form of weapons and consumer goods, and provided security against slave revolts and capturing runaways. Spain, which claimed the territory, suffered considerably from the Miskito attacks which continued during peacetime. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Spanish forces attempted to eliminate

12036-624: The task in the Moravian Church . The first missionaries arrived in 1848 with a letter of recommendation from Lord Palmerston and began to work in 1849 in Bluefields, targeting the royal family and the Creoles before expanding to the rest of the Kingdom. In 1880, the mission saw a membership of 1,030 made up of mostly urban creoles. By 1890, the membership was 3,924 and made up of mostly Miskito and rural natives. Britain and Nicaragua signed

12154-514: The testimony of his son Jeremy, taken around 1699, he was received in audience by "his brother king", Charles II and was given a "lac'd hat" and a commission "to kindly use and relieve such straggling Englishmen as should chance to come that way". While accounts vary, the Miskito Sambu appear to be descended from the survivors of a shipwrecked slave ship who reached this area in the mid-seventeenth century. These survivors intermarried with

12272-630: The titling of lands that has taken place under the Ortega government will eventually usher in a real autonomy for the Mayangna. In 2001 the Mayagna of the small community of Awas Tingni (then 1100 people) won an important ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , established in 1979 by agreement among the signatories of the Organization of American States (OAS). The ruling established that indigenous peoples had rights to

12390-399: The traditional gifts (albeit less frequently than to George II), but he later changed allegiances and raided Spanish held territory. In 1815, Stephen, styling himself "King Regent [...] of the Shore", and 33 other Miskito notables gave their "consent, assent, and declaration to, for, and of" George Frederic Augustus I as their "Sovereign King". His coronation in Belize on January 16, 1816, in

12508-578: The treaty breached and argued openly for the US annexation of Nicaragua and the rest of Central America, for which he was forced to resign. In 1853, the buildings of the US-owned Accessory Transit Company in Greytown were looted and destroyed by the locals. In 1854, an American steamer captain killed a Greytown Creole, and Borland, who had remained in Greytown after his resignation, stopped the arrest for murder by threatening

12626-440: The very least English and French privateers and pirates did visit there, taking in water and food. A detailed account of the kingdom written by a buccaneer known only as M. W. describes its organization as being fundamentally egalitarian, with the king and some officials (usually called "Captains" in that period but later being more elaborate) being primarily military leaders, but only in time of war. The first British contacts with

12744-521: The whole eastern seaboard of Nicaragua and even to La Mosquitia in Honduras: i.e., the coast region as far west as the Río Negro or Tinto. Before the arrival of Europeans in the region, the area was divided into a large number of small, egalitarian groups, possibly speaking languages related to Sumu and Paya . Columbus visited the coast briefly in his fourth voyage. Detailed Spanish accounts of

12862-429: The whole of Nicaragua. In the seventeenth century the British, rather than the Spaniards, established a presence in the eastern regions of what are now Nicaragua and Honduras. When they arrived on the Caribbean coast in the 1630s, it appears that the Mayangna were divided into at least nine different sub-tribes, whose territories stretched from the southern Atlantic Coast far into the interior of Nicaragua, as evidenced by

12980-660: The year 1855 with 97 words and phrases from the Matagalpa language can be found in the Daniel G. Brinton section of the American Philosophical Library in Philadelphia . The Matagalpa made ceramics of a style known as "Ceramica Negra" and "Naranja Segovia", they also built stone statues representing their chieftain and warriors. They were feared by the Spanish because they were very brave and effective with their bows and other arms. It took 300 years for

13098-502: Was Miskito and that none of their children was eligible as a result. The election of William Henry Clarence as new chief, George Augustus Frederic II's nephew by his second sister, was not recognized by Nicaragua. William Henry Clarence asked for support to Great Britain, accusing Nicaragua of not abiding to the terms of the 1860 treaty and threatening the Miskitu's autonomy, and complaining both about increasing Nicaraguan immigration and

13216-428: Was abolished; and that the hereditary chief would be advised by a council of 41 members elected for a period of eight years. The composition of this council was not limited to Miskito: instead, the first council included a number of Moravian missionaries and its first session started with an oration in this denomination. In compensation for his losses, George Augustus Frederic II would be paid £1000 yearly and until 1870 by

13334-539: Was captured and the cacao rich area was subsequently ravaged. This military cooperation would prove important as Miskito forces were vital to protecting not only British interests in the Mosquito Kingdom but also for British holdings in British Honduras (now Belize ). A more lasting result of this formal relation was that Edward I and other Miskito rulers who followed him allowed the British to establish settlements and plantations within his realm, and issued

13452-587: Was initially annexed (or from the Spanish point of view, re-annexed) to the Captaincy General of Guatemala . Since the beginning, however, poor land communication with Guatemala City made easier for the Miskito elites to sail to Cartagena de Indias and swear fealty to Spain before the Viceroy of New Granada instead. Viceroy Francisco Gil de Taboada even suggested that government over the Mosquito Coast should be transferred to Havana, Cuba , mirroring

13570-528: Was long dominated by British interests and known as the Mosquito Kingdom . From 1860 suzerainty of the area was transferred to Nicaragua with the name Mosquito Reserve , and in November 1894 the Mosquito Coast was militarily incorporated into Nicaragua. However, in 1960, the northern part was granted to Honduras by the International Court of Justice . The Mosquito Coast was generally defined as

13688-480: Was mentioned for the first time in 1586, with different spellings: oldwe, ulwa, ulba, wulwa, woolwa, ulúa . Today, most people speak Mayangna at home but can also speak Miskito in order to interact with the communities around them, and the existence of the Ulwa language is regarded as increasingly threatened by this shift to Miskito. Matagalpa Matagalpa ( Spanish pronunciation: [mataˈɣalpa] )

13806-512: Was no longer supportive of their nation's presence in the Mosquito Coast. The British government returned the Bay Islands and ceded the northern part of the Mosquito Coast to Honduras, negotiating with Guatemala to enlarge the British territory in Belize as compensation. The next year, Britain signed the Treaty of Managua , ceding the rest of the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua. In the 1840s, two British citizens who travelled Europe advertising

13924-495: Was the immigration of Afro-Caribbeans following the abolition of slavery in the British and French Caribbean in 1841, who settled mainly in and around Bluefields, merging with the descendants of the slaves that had not been evacuated in 1786 and giving origin to the Miskito Coast Creoles . Because of their greater knowledge of English, the Creoles soon became the workers most sought by foreign companies, occupying

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