For centuries, Roatan has been home to a variety of peoples and cultures. Visitors of Roatan today marvel at the diversity that exists on such a small, Western Caribbean Island. By taking a look back at the rich history of the island and the people who have inhabited it,  we can better understand why Roatan is such a socially complex and fascinating place today.  

Original Islanders

Little is known today about the pre-Columbian residents of the island. Those who did live here are thought to have been members of the Paya- a tribe of Native Americans who were found along most of the eastern Honduran coast. The Paya were known to have been skilled hunters, using hand-made harpoons for fishing and chasing iguanas up tall trees and catching them by hand. Even today, the few villages of the Paya that exist on the Honduran mainland survive on these same techniques.

Evidence of the Paya is found all over the island. Artifacts known as Yaba-ding-dings are normally found in the excavation of new buildings as well as by people walking through undeveloped areas of jungle. Consisting mainly of ceramics, they give us a glimpse at the way these people survived on the island. Also, the various styles of yaba-ding-dings suggest that there may have been an influence of other native Central American peoples.  For instance, clear similarities with Mayan ceramics suggest that the Paya of Roatan often traded with other mainland cultures.

Though the Paya were believed to have been seminomidic, some permanent dwellings have been identified in an area known as Pulpit. Covering about five acres, Pulpit is located near the modern village of Helene and is perforated with a number of limestone caves in which many Yaba-Ding-Dings have been discovered.

Columbus was the first European to give a detailed report of the Paya after encountering them on his third voyage to the New World. Among his notes from the 1502 voyage, he writes that the Paya were, “...a very robust people who adore idols and live mostly from a certain white grain from which they make fine bread and the most perfect beer.”

The Paya, like many other native tribes, were devastated by disease following the arrival of Europeans. Additionally, many islanders were captured by the Spanish and forced into slave labor. By around 1520, a great number of Paya from Roatan had been killed. Still, many managed to survive the Spanish conquest and assimilate themselves into the new society.

The Spanish Colonialists

Following Columbus’ arrival just after 1500, the Spanish took control of Roatan. Those natives who had escaped death or enslavement were granted more freedom following the inaction of the Spanish Indian Reform Act. Thus, many natives were capable of making a living in agriculture or in the transportation of goods along the new Spanish trade routes. Building materials like lumber were stripped from the forests of the islands and shipped to the coast. In fact, Roatan had a substantial population of pine trees before years and years of deforestation. Also during this period, parrots, limes and rock crystals were shipped to the city of Trujillo on the mainland of Honduras.

Of course, the success of the young New World economy garnered the attention of other European nations who were eager to get an edge on the powerful Spanish empire. And the easiest way to get that edge was by plundering the riches the Spanish were exporting from their new colonies.

Pirates for Hire

With the transport of goods moving from ports along the Caribbean Coast back to Spain, the Bay Islands were an especially strategic place to intercept galleons carrying small fortunes aboard. Thus, countries that were able to finance ocean travel like France, England and Holland sailed into the Western Caribbean in order to disrupt the Spanish control of trade in the region.

The French were the first to move in to plunder the Spanish fleet in this part of the Caribbean. They attacked swiftly, robbing what they could and often hijacking the ships themselves. They were also involved in the kidnapping and holding for ransom important figures like the Honduran Governor’s wife and kids.

It was the Dutch who had the most success in pirating despite their smaller numbers. Because they were well funded and well organized under the guise of the West India Company, they were able to storm the Spanish and make off with fortunes in stolen loot quicker than most other pirates.

Over time, it was the English who were truly able to interfere with Spanish commerce on any grand scale. The English “privateers” continually raided the Spanish ships, returning to their protected enclaves (such as Roatan) with their newly acquired booty. More than anything, it was their persistence that most hurt Spanish trade. The English piracy against the Spanish went on for over two centuries in various parts of the Caribbean.

In retaliation, the Spanish would often successfully siege pirate strongholds in order to oust the pesky nuisances. Yet upon returning to the mainland, the free-booters would return to and pick up their pillaging where they had left off.

 One of the most popular pirate hang outs during this period was within the protected bay of Port Royal, Roatan. Interestingly, the same reasons the Spanish never seriously considered settling the island are what made it so appealing to the pirates. Port Royal itself was set up against the highest mountains on the island, offering not only protection from attacks but a steady source of fresh water coming from the various gullies that ran down the hills. The land was infertile and hard to till, but the vagrant, thieving lifestyle of the pirates meant they had no immediate need for agriculture. Also, the small cuts in the reef that served as entrances to the port were far too narrow for the larger Spanish galleons to pass through, but perfect for the smaller and more agile pirate vessels.  

Another advantage to choosing Port Royal as a base was the presence of small islands or cays along the shallow reef line. These cays allowed those living within the port to set up defenses like cannons and ramparts, making the bay itself easier to defend. For instance, as we will see later, Fort Key, the largest of these islands, served an important military purpose as the conflict between the Spanish and English continued years later. Also, the tiny limestone islands named the Cow and Calf were later mounted with cannons to protect the main entrance to the bay from the opposite side of Fort Key. 

Another interesting feature that appealed to sailors such as the pirates camped out in Port Royal was a place to be able to careen their ships. To careen a ship meant to set it up out of the water somehow and tilt it to one side. Once its side, the sailors would be able to clean any barnacles or seaweed that might have collected on the ship. Keeping the bottom of the boat clean kept it fast- a vital factor in any pirate’s success. At the far eastern corner of the port sits Careening Key where the underwater landscape was perfect for cleaning the ships while being inside the safety of the port.  

 Many well-known pirate captains were found anchored in the waters around Roatan in this era. Among these included perhaps the most successful pirate of the Caribbean, Henry Morgan. Morgan was technically a privateer- an employee of the English crown. He spent most of his life blurring the line between his legal duties as a British merchant and his illegal escapades as a "privateer." Morgan is considered to be one of the very few pirates who had a truly successful career. While most of his peers were captured, imprisoned or murdered, Morgan quit life as a pirate a rich man and died as the governor of Jamaica. His most famous victory came after he sacked and burned a well-defended Spanish port in Panama, taking from it priceless treasures. Among this was the Chain of Huascar- a giant gold chain weighing over 10 tons. Adding to the great mystery of this era, many of these treasures were never recovered, leading many to speculate that they may have been hidden away in pirate hideouts such as Port Royal.  

With many notorious pirate captains passing through the area after capturing ships loaded with gold and other treasures, rumors still fly today about treasure that is buried in the hills and under the sea of Port Royal. The numerous caves up in the hills as well as the many shipwrecks that have been identified within the bay itself is enough to whet even the most amateur treasure hunter’s appetite.  

Many local legends tell of buried pirate treasure that’s been found even in the last century or so. One of the most famous stories has to do with a treasure hunter named Howard Jennings who was lured to Port Royal in the 1960’s by old British naval maps. The maps supposedly showed the location of stashes of pirate treasure. Digging around the ruins of the old camp at Augusta, Jennings eventually struck an ancient chest that had been buried in the foundation of an old building. In a fury, the chest was broken opened and a pile of silver and gold pieces were revealed.  

To make the story even more unbelievable, Jennings supposedly stopped at the Cow and the Calf islands in the evening after the treasure was found. He apparently said that the limestone towers looked suspiciously promising. After climbing to the top and unearthing a crack in the rock, Jennings is said to have pulled another chest from inside the rock that contained gold doubloons. Of course, with all the stories that surround the history of Port Royal, it is hard to say how much of any are actually true. Nonetheless, the enticement of discovering buried treasure is hard to ignore.    

Now aside from wreaking havoc on the Spanish, the buccaneers were also prone to attacking the native islanders as well. They would burn their settlements, steal their boats and supplies, and kill them indiscriminately. In reality, the presence of the natives on the island was one of the reasons the pirates were able to survive in that type of isolation. They took advantage of the natives for food, shelter and other necessities of life. Because of this, the Spanish reasoned that if they could rid the island of these provisions, the pirates would have no choice but to leave. As the Spaniard Don Antonio de Lara of His Majesty’s Council of War wrote, “depopulate the islands- Guanaja, Utila and Roatan- for the great inconveniences they have caused... Burn their settlements, as well as their fields, milpas and cemeteries and bring the Indians themselves to the land within twelve leagues of Truxillo...so the enemy is prevented from being aided by them.” So, staring around 1640, armed Spanish soldiers began the depopulation of the island. As a final push to rid the island of any remaining inhabitants, the Spanish attacked the English camp in Port Royal with 450 men, and after winning the battle, spent the next nine days searching the forests for any natives who might still be hiding in the forest.

Because the pirate dwellings were not built to be resilient, and because the Spanish subsequently burned everything they happened upon, there remains very little evidence of home sites from that period. However the Spanish scheme of depopulating the island backfired. Once there was no one left, the English quickly began devising plans to put a more permanent development there.

Clash of Empires

Between 1638 and 1782, control of Roatan exchanged hands between the Spanish and the English at least six times. Each attempt made by the English to settle the island was done through unofficial (but state supported organizations) whose aim it was to colonize the island in the name of the English crown.

At the same time, piracy and buccaneering reached its peak in the second half of the seventeenth century. Formerly, it had been a disorganized enterprise, run by small, independent operations. But by the mid-1600’s, pirates were beginning to group themselves together in greater numbers. Because of this, the transient population of places like Port Royal grew significantly.

 Yet it wasn’t until the island caught the attention of the English military that there existed any truly permanent settlements on the island. The first official English forces landed on Roatan in 1742. They included a couple hundred soldiers and a handful of black slaves brought from Jamaica to erect the new community in Port Royal.

English plans for the settlement included the town of Augusta (the fabled location of Jennings’ treasure chest). Augusta consisted of about thirty buildings and covered about thirty acres. Most of these homes were found well above the shoreline and the location of some of them is known by their remaining stone foundations and by the good number of bottles that have been discovered there. Another settlement site was the town of Litchfield. Tucked away into one of the corners of the port, it was known as a watering site as well as a cooperage.

In addition to these home sites, the English also set themselves to fortifying their new colony. Thus, they constructed forts that were meant to guard the two major entrances to the harbor. A rampart or defensive wall was built at Fort George (found on the cay now known as Fort Key) and seventeen canons were strategically placed to fend off any attack coming from outside the bay. Also at Fort George were outbuildings to store provisions and gun powder and barracks to house the soldiers.

Meanwhile, because of economic troubles at home and abroad, Spain lacked the resources to evict the English from the island. Eventually, after the signing a peace treaty, Spain and England agreed that both powers would return to the other any lands that had been conquered during wartime. Included in this agreement was Roatan. So, in accordance with their treaty, the English once again left the island in 1749 and returned control to the Spanish.

After the English abandoned the island, Roatan was almost entirely left to nature once again. With hardly any human population (if any at all), the island was abandoned to the birds and wild pigs for more than thirty years. But as the peace between the two major powers started to fizzle around the late 1770’s, the English once again plotted to regain control of the island as a valuable military asset. In 1779, they once again moved back onto Roatan and into Port Royal.

Shortly thereafter, the Spanish gained significant momentum in the war and several generals from the mainland united to mount an enormous attack on the last English stronghold in the area: Roatan. In 1782, a Spanish force of two men-of-war along with ten other ships (adding up to a total of sixty cannons) moved into Port Royal rid it of the English once more.

According to records, the severely out-numbered English put up a valiant fight. They first sank their only ship in the entrance to the harbor near Fort Cay to prevent the Spanish from entering the harbor, and used what few cannons they had to hold off the overpowering naval attack as long as they could. In the end, however, the port was taken. All Englishmen were rounded up and sent to Cuba to be traded for Spanish prisoners of war. Any sign of civilization, from the forts to all of the homes, was demolished and burned to the ground.

Garifunas on Roatan

The next chapter in the history of Roatan concerns the Black Caribs or Garufina. Their story is a unique one. The Garifuna people came from the mixing of Carib natives with African slaves in the eastern Caribbean. Around the mid-1600’s (about the time the Spanish were completing the depopulation of Roatan) they were found only on a few islands south of Dominica, most notably Grenada and St. Vincent. Their population continued to increase in part from the addition of African slaves who had managed to escape from shipwrecks.

By the end of the eighteenth century, the Garifuna were a population of black island people who spoke the native Carib language and practiced Carib rituals. Though the English had been trying to control and tame these fiercely independent warriors for years, the Garifuna had never succumbed to conquest from any colonizer. Finally, the English solved the reoccurring problem in 1797 by forcefully transplanting each and every Garifuna person from St. Vincent to the uninhabited island of Roatan. 

Yet again, this move was seen by the Spanish as an attempt to repopulate the island. So, this time the Spanish came to the island to move the Garifuna to the mainland. However, a few of them chose to stay on the island and went on to form a community on the north side of the island. This town today is known as Punta Gorda.

The Garifuna are known for having a strong connection with their environment, and this location offered them every natural amenity they could want. First, Punta Gorda has a long stretch of beach on which all of their homes are built. Because of their emphasis on the ocean, it is typical of all Garifuna communities to develop like this- in a thin band as opposed to moving inland. In fact, one Garifuna community in Belize spans over a mile of beach, with almost no houses or other buildings located off the coastline.

Typically, the homes of the Garifuna are rectangular with large peaked roofs and hardened mud floors. The main supports were of iron-wood and the rafters and beams were of Santa Maria. Walls were made from palmetto (royal palm) and the roof was thatched with Cohune palm leaves. Also, there are two doors and four windows, on each side. Interestingly, the palmetto used for the wall covering was not a species found on the island. Only three groves of this type of palm are found on the island- all of them near Punta Gorda. This leads most to believe that the palms were imported here for the sole purpose of house construction.

Another environmental aspect  important to Garifuna culture and found at Punta Gorda is a hillside area where they can raise crops. Sweet potatoes, bitter manioc, plantains, bananas, beans, rice and sugar cane all play an important role in Garifuna diet. All have at one time or another been cultivated in the hills above Punta Gorda as well. The reason for planting in the hills instead of finding flatter land closer to the town is unknown. Some suspect that it was a custom passed from the original Garifuna tribes on St. Vincent where the people there were forced to hide their crops in the hills in order to avoid being robbed or attacked by the English or native Caribs.

One final advantage the Punta Gorda location has is its lagoon and nearby reef. The Garifuna are voracious fishermen and take pride in the masculine chore of reaping food from the sea. It is perhaps the most prestigious social activity. To travel on the water, the Garifuna fashioned long dugout boats from guanacaste trees. Crab was a favorite food of theirs, as were turtles and conch.

The language of the Garifuna is a mix of several tongues, among them Arawak, French, Yuroba, Swahili and Bantu. In this way, the Garifuna have managed to completely define themselves as a distinct culture, separate from those black Caribbean populations that speak English. And because the Garifuna first settled in areas that were originally controlled by Spain, the majority of Garifuna also speak Spanish.

This Hispanic influence was not only limited to language either. The religion of the Garifuna is a much a conglomeration of various cultures as their language is. Essentially, Garifuna culture blends traditional Catholic teachings with Afro-Indian rites and rituals that are still practiced today. Called dagu, Garifuna religion is in some ways comparable to the voodoo of the Haitians.

The medicine of the Garifuna is one that emphasizes a harmony with nature. Curanderos or healers administer herbs and tropical plants to treat everything from fevers to snakebites. This vast knowledge of local flora is a wisdom that has been accumulated and past down through generations starting with the very first Garifuna tribes.

Perhaps one of the most vibrant aspects of Garifuna culture is their music. Dancing, singing and playing musical instruments are how these people celebrate life, but also try to forget their hardships. The translation of one Garifuna songs goes:

If the blacks laugh, they laugh
If the blacks play, they play
If the blacks dance, they dance,
For in the sound of their laughter,
and their dancing in the tremor of their drums
they seek to drown the deep howling of their pain

The Neighbors Move In

After Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821, control of Roatan passed once again changed hands. Technically, Roatan was now a Honduran island. Still, conflicts with English colonialists continued.

Aside from the Black Caribs in Punta Gorda and a few Spanish Watchmen in Port Royal, Roatan went more or less unpopulated until about 1830. It was then that up in the Cayman Islands, a British Settlement just south of Cuba, slavery was soon to be abolished. And since the slave population outnumbered the white population five to one, many white Cayman Islanders left out of fear for loss of political or economic power. For the next twenty five years, about 700 Cayman immigrants (both white landowners as well as freed slaves) came to the wilds of Roatan to found most of the modern towns that exist today.

One of the first families to come from the Caymans was headed by Joseph Cooper. They originally settled on Utila, but within a couple of years, the family spread east to Roatan and settled the area known now as Coxen Hole. Today, Cooper is still a common surname on the island (two of our fishing guides, Perry and Kessel, are decedents of the Cooper line).

The transition from Spanish to Honduran control had little to no real effect on the business on the island. In fact, the influx of English colonists who were now building towns and infrastructure led the English to claim official right to the island. In 1852, England stated that Roatan was a British Crown Colony.

One of the interesting results of the Cayman settlers is the way in which whites and blacks remained segregated in their new island. Though all were entitled to a share of land under the newly enacted immigration codes, most whites had no desire to live beside former slaves. Additionally, Roatan continued to serve as a depot for slaves who were still being shipped from Africa. They were brought to the island where American and Spanish mercantile agents could come inspect the selection. It is estimated that during this period, there were about 1600 slaves being held on the island.  

Because of these lingering racial tensions, many of the emancipated blacks chose to move east or “up-island.” They passed the Port Royal area (most likely because of the lack of fertile land) and made their way up to the modern town of Helene and to the island of Morat. Today, Helene is still almost entirely a black community while the rest of the island seems to have a much more even mix of white and black residents. The truth is that by moving to the eastern reaches of the island, these recently freed blacks were able to live their own lives, owning larger plots of land on which to grow enough food to survive.

An obvious influence brought to Roatan by the Cayman Islanders was the stilt house design that can be found up and down the coast of the island. There are a number of reasons given for the stilt construction. Among them are the ease of waste disposal, safety from rising sea swells, need to level the house on uneven ground and the ability to catch the breeze.  However, the primary reason for this type of architecture is undoubtedly to escape the wrath of the unbearable sandflies that inhabit most of the shoreline. By raising the house well above sea-level, they were able to live without the constant bother of these tiny monsters.

Another Change of Hands and the Beginnings of Modern Roatan

In 1860, Roatan ceased its 7 year run as a British Crown Colony and once again went to the control of mainland Hondurans. And though much resentment was felt between English loyalists and the “Spaniards,” many of the loyalists stayed because of the profitability of the American fruit market. To this day, most social or racial borders are not drawn between the whites or the blacks, but instead between the islanders and the “Spaniards” (as the Honduran mainlanders are still known today).  

The fruit trade reached its peak around 1912, but a great decline in profitability occurred only a few years later when mainland officials starting showing more and more interest in increasing the connection with the islands. At the time, the Americans and islanders were operating under amicable conditions, in part because the majority of the island was still English speaking. This changed dramatically when the Honduran government ordered that all schools stop teaching English and instituted Spanish-only instructors. And, as the history of the island shows, this was just another clash in the long standing feud between the British and Spanish on the island.

With the decline of agriculture by 1920, the focus moved onto merchant sailoring and boat building. Up until the turn of the twentieth century, the Bay Islands had dominated coastal transportation. They had primarily been using the wooden dories hollowed by the Garifunas and finished by individual owners to move goods. But the need to construct larger boats capable of moving more led to the founding of the Cooper Brothers shipyard in Oak Ridge. Shipbuilding, though not an especially lucrative business, did allow for communities all over the island to survive and make a living.

Recently, the growth in worldwide tourism has added another cultural influence to the island: visitors from North America. The numbers of tourists coming to the island looking for their own tropical paradise have jumped enormously in even the last five years, and those numbers are expected to continue climbing. Foreign investment in hotels, businesses and property has meant an economic boom for the island. Still, there are some who feel that this growth will take from the island some of its wild charm. For now, we should simply consider ourselves lucky to be a part of this island's colorful and fascinating history.