Mosquito Coast

Mosquito Coast
Miskitu
Early 17th century–1894
Coat of arms of Mosquito Nation
Coat of arms
Location of Mosquito Nation
Status
Capital
Common languages
GovernmentMonarchy
King 
• c. 1650–1687
Oldman (first known)
• 1842–1860
George Augustus Frederic II (last)
Hereditary Chief 
• 1860–1865
George Augustus Frederic II (first)
• 1890–1894
Robert Henry Clarence (last)
History 
• Established
Early 17th century
• Disestablished
20 November 1894
Succeeded by
Nicaragua
Honduras
Today part of

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 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.[1]

The Mosquito Coast was generally defined as 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.[2] The British and Miskitu definition applied to 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.

  1. ^ "Mosquito Coast". Encyclopædia Britannica. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  2. ^ Naylor, Robert A.; Penny Ante Imperialism: The Mosquito Shore and the Bay of Honduras, 1600–1914: A Case Study in British Informal Empire, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, London, 1989, pp. 95–102, 110–112, 144–157