| George I | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of the Miskito Monarchy | |
| King of the Miskitu Kingdom | |
| Reign | 1755–1776 |
| Coronation | February 1755 |
| Predecessor | Edward I |
| Successor | George II Frederic |
| Died | 1777 |
| Issue | George II Frederic, Stephen |
| Father | Jeremy II |
George I was king of the Miskito Kingdom from 1755 to 1776. He was brother of King Edward and son of Jeremy II and was chosen king because Edward's eldest son was still too young to rule. [1]
According to a report on the country written in 1773 by Brian Edwards, his lands were divided into two population groups, the "Samboes" (Miskito Sambu) who were mixed indigenous and African, and "pure Indians" (Miskito Tawira); and was further divided into four domains: the domains of the king and the general in the north and west, inhabited by "Samboes" and the domains of the governor and admiral inhabited by "pure Indians." [2] British settlers first reported this fourfold division in 1766 and it is possible that George created or consolidated it. [3]
Edwards also observed that in 1770, George's kingdom had a population that he estimated numbered between 7,000 and 10,000 fighting men, [4] which at a ratio of four civilians to one fighter would make 28,000 and 40,000 people. In addition to Miskitos, the population included 1,400 British inhabitants, of which 136 where white, 112 of mixed race and about 600 slaves, mostly concentrated around the British settlement of Black River, but other concentrations were at Cabo Gracias a Dios and at Bluefields. [5]
One of the tensions within the Miskito domain was that between the Zambu and Tawira, since the Zambus controlled the north and west (primarily in modern-day Honduras) and were vigorously pushing their authority southward into Tawira domains (which lay mostly in today's Nicaragua). This pattern was resisted by Dilson, who was the Admiral and thus controlled the extreme southern parts of the Miskito domain. In June 1769 the Zambu Admiral, Israel Sella, warned the king that Dilson's brother, Jaspar Hall along with two "Mosquito men" named John Chord and Vizer visited the Spanish at Cartago and received gifts as a part of a plan to displace the English from the shore. [6] Spanish officials declared that Dilson was the "governor of the Miskito nation." [7] Dilson also involved Briton, the Governor, who also controlled a Tawira population, in his cause.
At the same time, Tempest, the Zambu General traveled to England attempt to persuade the king of England to separate the administration of the English living in Central America from Jamaica, [8] a move which led George to believe he was plotting his overthrow. [9] The threat was sufficient that George sought aid from both Dilson and Briton, but only Briton agreed to assist him. [10]
George also gave many generous land grants to Englishmen to establish plantations. He gave many around Black River, their largest settlement, but also gave them around Bluefields, which was in land ruled by the Tawira Admiral, a definite move to establish his authority throughout the Miskito Kingdom. Among these grants were ones given to Dr Charles Irwin, who sought the assistance of Olaudah Equiano to recruit slaves in 1776. In exchange, the Tawira Admiral, Dilson II continued negotiations with the Spanish. [11]
Perhaps as a result of the earlier negotiations undertaken by Tempest, George visited Jamaica in 1774 to place his kingdom under the "sovereignty of his Majesty" the king of England, and received gifts in exchange. [12] He is said to have sent the king of England a barrel of soil from the Miskito Kingdom and promised to supply 5,000 fighters to the English suppress any revolt that might break out in North America. [13]
George died during a smallpox epidemic in 1777, and was succeeded by his son George II Frederic.
The Mosquito Coast is the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It was named after the local Miskito Nation and 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 Miskitos are a native people in Central America. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Río Grande de Matagalpa, Nicaragua, along the Mosquito Coast, in the Western Caribbean Zone. Their population is estimated at 700,000 people as of 2021, according to the official Miskito Database.
Oldman, King of the Mosquito Nation from c. 1625 until his death in 1687, was the son of a Miskito leader. This earlier king went to England, according to a memorial left in Jamaica by one of his descendants, during the reign of Charles I (1625–1649) but during the time when the Providence Island Company was operating in the region. He was followed by another visitor, alleged to be a "prince" of the same group.
Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the capital of the former Kingdom of Mosquitia, and later the Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regions. It is located on Bluefields Bay at the mouth of the Bluefields River in the municipality of the same name.
Mískito Coast Creole or Nicaragua Creole English is an English-based creole language spoken in coastal Nicaraguan region of Mosquito Coast on the Caribbean Sea; its approximately 18,000 speakers are spread over a number of small villages. The region is today administratively separated into two autonomous regions: North Caribbean Coast and South Caribbean Coast. Mosquito is the nickname that is given to the region and earlier residents by early Europeans who visited and settled in the area. The term "Miskito" is now more commonly used to refer to both the people and the language.
Miskito is a Misumalpan language spoken by the Miskito people in northeastern Nicaragua, especially in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, and in eastern Honduras.
Pearl Lagoon is a municipality that is often time called just Lagoon and was historically known as English Bank. It is located in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua. It is the most important town of the largest coastal lagoon also by the name of Pearl Lagoon in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua and which the name of the town is derived from. As of 2021, Pearl Lagoon Municipality had a population of 20,557.
The Mayangna are a people who live on the eastern coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras, an area commonly known as the Mosquito Coast. Their preferred autonym is Mayangna, as the name "Sumo" is a derogatory name historically used by the Miskito people. Their culture is closer to that of the indigenous peoples of Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia than to the Mesoamerican cultures to the north. The Mayangna inhabited much of the Mosquito Coast in the 16th century. Since then, they have become more marginalized following the emergence of the Miskito as a regional power.
The Treaty of Senock Dawkra, also known as the Treaty Friendship and Alliance, was signed on 16th March, 1740, between King Edward I of Mosquitia and the British. Based on the terms of the treaty, King Edward relinquished his kingdom to King George II in return for British military protection. Moreover, the accord dictated that King Edward adopt all English laws throughout his territories.
The Black River settlement was a British settlement on the Mosquito Coast in Central America. It was established in 1732 by a British colonist named William Pitt. The settlement, made on territory claimed but never really controlled by Spain, was evacuated in 1787 pursuant to terms of the Anglo-Spanish Convention of 1786. The Spanish then attempted to colonize the area, but the local Miskitos massacred most of its inhabitants on September 4, 1800. The settlement was abandoned, and its remains can still be seen near the village of Palacios in the Honduran department of Gracias a Diós.
The western Caribbean zone is a region consisting of the Caribbean coasts of Central America and Colombia, from the Yucatán Peninsula in southern Mexico to the Caribbean region in northern Colombia, and the islands west of Jamaica are also included. The zone emerged in the late sixteenth century as the Spanish failed to completely conquer many sections of the coast, and northern European powers supported opposition to Spain, sometimes through alliances with local powers.
Jeremy II was King of the Miskitu Kingdom. Little is known about his reign, though he engaged in formal diplomatic agreements with the British colony of Jamaica.
Robert Charles Frederic was the King of the Mosquito Nation, 1824–1842.
George Frederic Augustus I served from 1801 to 1824 as a mostly titular king of the mixed-race Miskito, as the Spanish called them, a Native people of Honduras. Although the title and office were hereditary, the "kings" held no real power, with all political power held by British superintendents in the region instead.
George II also referred to as Young George, was a king of the Miskito Kingdom, born 1758, and ruled from 1777–1800.
The Miskito Admiral was an official in the Miskito Kingdom. His domain was the southernmost of the kingdom's territories, extending from Peal Key Lagoon down to Bluefields. The title emerged later than other Miskito titles.
George Augustus Frederic II was King of the Mosquito Nation from 1845 to 1864. He ruled at a time when the kingdom was subject to international rivalry.
Edward I was king of the Mosquito Nation, from about 1729 until 1755. He was the eldest son of Jeremy II, and was young when he took office.
Afro-Hondurans or Black Hondurans are Hondurans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Research by Henry Louis Gates and other sources regards their population to be around 1-2% as the official percentage, although the percentage of the actual number is as high as 10 percent. They descended from: enslaved Africans by the Spanish, as well as those who were enslaved from the West Indies and identify as Creole peoples, and the Garifuna who descend from exiled zambo Maroons from Saint Vincent. The Creole people were originally from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, while the Garifuna people were originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Garifunas arrived in the late seventeen hundreds and the Creole peoples arrived during the eighteen hundreds. About 600,000 Hondurans are from Garífuna descent that are a mix of African and indigenous as of Afro Latin Americans. Honduras has one of the largest African community in Latin America.
The Nicaragua Crisis of 1894-1895 was triggered by the Nicaraguan annexation of the Mosquito Coast, leading to the temporary British occupation of Corinto.