Islas de la Bahía

Islas de la Bahía
Location of Islas de la Bahía* in Honduras*
Data
Capital	Coxen Hole
population	35,000 (2006 calculation)
surface	261 km²
Population density	135 inhabitants / km²
structure	4th
ISO 3166-2	HN-IB
West End, Roatan, Islas de la Bahia

Topographic map

The Islas de la Bahía , also called Bay Islands , are a chain of islands in the Caribbean off the north coast of Honduras . Together with the much smaller Islas del Cisne in the north and the Cayos Cochinos in the south, the Islas de la Bahía form the smallest of 18 departments in Honduras in terms of area and population . The department consists of the four municipalidades (municipalities) Guanaja , Útila , Roatán and Santos Guardiola . The capital of the department is Coxen Hole .

geography

The island chain consists of the main islands Roatán (with Barbarreta), Guanaja and Útila as well as a number of small coral islands ( Cays ). The islands are part of an undersea mountain range that extends to the mainland; some of them are volcanic , but mostly of coralline origin. The Islas de la Bahía department has around 35,000 inhabitants and an area of 260.6 km². Between the Islas de la Bahía and the Honduran mainland there is another, small archipelago, the Cayos Cochinos or Hog Islands ("Pig Islands").

Economy and tourism

The Islas de la Bahia were Honduras' "gateway to the world" in the past century and an important trading point for coffee and tropical fruits . The great influence of the US -amerikanischen banana importers Chiquita and Standard Fruit on policy and on the governance of the country Honduras has the reputation of " banana republic introduced".

The Islas de la Bahia are located in the second largest barrier reef in the world, the Belize Barrier Reef , and are considered an inexpensive diving destination; Especially the island of Utila attracts backpackers. The greater Roatán is mainly visited by North American family vacationers and diving tourists. The tourism infrastructure of Guanaja is geared towards tourism with high demands.

Christopher Columbus , who was the first European to set foot on Guanaja on his fourth voyage in 1502 , called it the "island of pines" because of the large number of Caribbean pines ( Pinus caribaea ). Columbus was also the first European to encounter cocoa beans there .

fauna

The Islas de la Bahía have a rich spectrum of species , in particular many reptile species live here . The Frankfurt herpetologist Gunther Köhler described two new in the 1990s, Anolis TYPES (small lizards) and found the long forgotten Utila Iguana Ctenosaura bakeri 1994 again. The Frankfurt Zoological Society and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research have been running a protection and research station on the island of Utila since 1998 in order to preserve this mangrove-dwelling reptile species in its natural environment.

population

The island chain is inhabited by a Caribbean mix of peoples. The roots of the population of Útila can be traced back to English settlers from the Cayman Islands , while Roatán has a population such as the Garifuna that is predominantly descended from black slaves . In contrast to mainland Spain, the colloquial language here is a mixed Creole language. The indigenous population probably consisted of the Paya , who were exterminated on the Bay Islands by the Spanish conquerors. Some finds from the US Smithsonian expedition by William Duncan Strong (1899–1962) from 1933 provide evidence of the indigenous population. The Austrian diving instructor and artist Gunther Kodovsky has collected some ceramic finds, which he shows interested visitors together with works of art made of driftwood in his "Driftwood Art Gallery" on the island of Utila.

The American anthropologist David K. Evans runs the Overseas Research Center for Wake Forest University on the island of Roatán .

At the beginning there was strong tension between the Spanish-speaking mainland Hondurans and the British-born islanders. Creole forms of English are still widespread today and many residents see themselves as British and not as Hondurans, despite 150 years of membership.

history

The islands were discovered in 1502 by Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage. Over the years, the Spaniards abducted all the indigenous people as slaves. England, Spain and the United Provinces of the Netherlands then claimed rule until England was able to assert itself in 1643. In 1780 Spain conquered the islands again for a month.

Throughout its history, the island, especially Guanaja, has been used as a base of operations by English, French and Dutch pirates . This is still reminiscent of the name of the capital, Coxen Hole, and the highly simplified English language of the locals, which largely dispenses with tenses other than the present and is said to go back to pirate slang. In addition to the pirate Coxen, Henry Morgan and Morris are said to have been up to mischief here.

The islands were a British crown colony and belonged to Jamaica . In 1860 the British withdrew and recognized Honduran suzerainty, which was officially established on March 14, 1872.

In 1998, the islands were hit by Hurricane Mitch .

Web links

16.290833333333 -86.410833333333Coordinates: 16 ° 17 ′ N , 86 ° 25 ′ W

Individual evidence

↑ David K. Evans: A Brief History of The Bay Islands , aboututila. Retrieved March 5, 2013.

[1] David K. Evans: A Brief History of The Bay Islands , aboututila. Retrieved March 5, 2013.