After the historic
shift the buccaneers
and pirates were
able to sail the
bay islands and
make use of Roatan’s
natural harbors.
The most infamous
of them all were
Capt. Sir Henry
Morgan and the
mysterious Capt.
John Coxen, who
left their marks
until this very
day. Capt. John
Coxen lived on
Roatan for around
10 years pirating
and trading the
local waters. Caves
and caverns made
exceptional safe
holdings for his
surplus treasure
and to this day
there are rumors
of buried Spanish
gold, silver and
rare stones……
Nearly
85 years went past
with the British
inhabiting Roatan
when unannounced
the Spanish armadas
launched a well
coordinated attack
on Port-Royal causing
the British to
surrender and six
years later to
leave completely.
It was not until
1797 that the English
left marooned on
Roatan 5,000 ‘black
caribs’ (a
mixture of Arawak
Indians and Africans)
from the island
of St Vincent .
Today these Garifunas
still maintain
their own cultural
identity and language.
1834 was the next
big stepping stone
for Roatan, due
to the arrival
of free slaves
and white families
coming from nearby
Cayman Islands
, British Honduras
and Jamaica . Almost
26 years passed
before the British
Consul of Honduras
received a receipt
that the Bay Islands
were to ceded to
the Republic of
Honduras . ‘Free’ land
was offered to
the inhabitants
from Her Majesty’s
colonies but no
evidence exists
that any took up
the offer. <page
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