| Many cultures have come and gone from Roatan. Even though Roatan still remains a symbol of idealism you
can only imagine what it may have looked like two or three thousand years ago when the first civilization of the Payan (Paleo) Indian arrived from the Yucatan.
Luckily there are records
dating back to
1502 when Christopher
Columbus first
set his sights
on Guanaja, one
of eight islands
to make up the
Bay Islands - Roatan,
Guanaja, Utila,
Barberet, Helene,
Big Hog, Little
Hog and Morat. Pirates,
slaves and British
settlers who farmed
to supply the ships
are all part of
Roatan’s
culture. Many of
their descendants
remain on the islands
today which gives
Roatan’s
people their quirky
charismatic nature.
The Spanish enjoyed
complete control
of Roatan and the
remaining islands
until 1536 when
the Dutch became
significant in
the Caribbean .
By 1564 the British
buccaneers began
using Roatan and
the Bay Islands
as bases for raiding
the Spanish armada
of their precious
and exquisite goods.
1578 was a particularly
good year for the
Dutch: their exploration
efforts paid off
when the discovery
of silver in the
new developed city
of Tegucigalpa
was made. This
was the beginning
of many years to
come of solid trading
back and forth
to Europe , but
soon everything
would change. In
the 1630’s
the Dutch captured
around five hundred
Spanish galleons
that were carrying
many tons of gold,
silver and precious
stones.
During this unstable
time in the bay
islands, keeping
out the way was
a small but significant
British settlement
that would change
the British influence
on Roatan and the
bay islands. In
1641 this settlement
was completely
destroyed by the
remaining Spanish
armada from nearby
Trujillo and as
revenge the Puritan
party sent Capt.
William Jackson
who arrived in
1642 with sixteen
British galleons
and bombarded the
Spanish colonial
city of Trujillo
for several days. |
