Miskito

The Miskito are an Amerindian people group in Central America. Their territory expands from Cape Cameron, Honduras, to Rio Grande, Nicaragua.

There are few (if any) pure blooded Miskito alive today, as over the centuries, escaped slaves have sought refuge with them, and also intermarried with them. Their territory is very inaccessible, and therefore they were little affected by the Spanish conquest of the area.

Traditional Miskito society is highly structured, with a defined political structure. There was a king, however, unlike most kings, he did not have total power. That power was split between him, a governor, a general, and by the 1750s, an admiral. Historical information on kings is often obscured by the fact that many of the kings were semi-mythical, and it is not until 1687 that the first confirmed king, Jeremy I, was recorded.

This system allowed the Miskito people to retain their independence all through Spanish rule and through the Federation of Central American States. However, they were absorbed into Honduras in 1894.

Thanks to British economic interest in Central America (in British Honduras), the Miskito were able to acquire guns and other modern weapons. British support also created Nicaragua, a country intended for the Miskito. Soon, combined Miskito-Zambo raiders began to attack Spanish settlements in Honduras, often to rescue enslaved Miskitos before they were shipped to Europe, but often also to enslave other Amerindians (The Miskito, for a long time, considered themselves superior to other tribes of the area, whom they referred to as "wild". It is thought by historians that the Miskito sought a British identity, indeed, European dress was popular amongst the Miskito and the British even named the Miskito kings) to sell to the British to work in Jamaica. They also enslaved women from other tribes. These raids continued well after any animosity between Britain and Spain ended.

Due to the allowance of polygamy and the added number of women from these slave raids, the Miskito population boomed.

Spanish settlers first began to arrive in Miskito land in 1787, but the Miskito continued to dominate the area because of their numbers and the experienced military. The Miskito never felt controlled by the Nicaraguan government, and many Miskito today don't consider themselves Nicaraguans.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Miskito supported the Contras, and many anti-Sandinista groups were formed, and composed entirely of Miskito tribesmen. As a result, the people often incurred fierce retribution from Sandinista guerillas, with reports of massacres dozens of Miskito. (See Nicaragua Was Our Home)