Mosquito Coast

The Caribbean Mosquito Coast (or Miskito Coast) historically comprised an area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras, and part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskito Indians and long dominated by British interests. The Mosquito Coast was incorporated into Nicaragua in 1894; however, in 1960 the northern part was granted to Honduras by the International Court of Justice.

The Mosquito Coast was generally defined as the domain of the Miskito Kingdom (Mosquito Kingdom), and expanded or contracted as that domain expanded or contracted. During the nineteenth century the question of the kingdom's borders was a serious issue of international diplomacy between Britain, the United States, Nicaragua and Honduras, and conflicting claims both of the kingdom's reality and its extent were argued in diplomatic exchanges. The British and Miskito 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 – the Mosquito Coast more came in the later part of the century to be considered a narrow strip of territory, fronting the Caribbean Sea, and extending from about 11°45’ to 14°10’ N. It stretched inland for an average distance of 40 miles (64 km), and measured about 225 miles (362 km) from north to south. In the north, its boundary skirted the Wawa River; in the west, it corresponded with the eastern limit of the Nicaraguan highlands; in the south, it followed the Río Rama. The chief modern towns are Bluefields or Blewfields, the largest town and capital of Nicaragua's Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur, Magdala on Pearl Cay, Prinzapolka on the river of that name, Wounta near the mouth of the Kukalaya, and Carata near the mouth of the Coco River.