Mosquito Coast
Mosquito Coast Miskitu | |||||||||
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| Early 17th century – 1894 | |||||||||
Mosquito Coast (in red) | |||||||||
| Status |
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| Capital |
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| Common languages | |||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• c. 1650–1687 | Oldman (first known) | ||||||||
• 1842–1860 | George Augustus Frederic II (last) | ||||||||
| Hereditary Chief | |||||||||
• 1860–1865 | George Augustus Frederic II (first) | ||||||||
• 1890–1894 | Robert Henry Clarence (last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | Early 17th century | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 20 November 1894 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||
The Mosquito Coast (also known as Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore) is an area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It was named after the local Miskito Nation and was long dominated by British interests and known as the Mosquito Kingdom or Moskito Kingdom.
From 1860 suzerainty of the area was transferred to Nicaragua with the name Mosquito Reserve. In November 1894 the Mosquito Coast was militarily incorporated into Nicaragua. However, in 1960, the northern part was granted to Honduras by the International Court of Justice.
Because the Mosquito Coast was generally defined as the domain of the Miskito Kingdom, it expanded or contracted with that domain. During the 19th century, the question of the kingdom's borders was a serious issue of international diplomacy among Britain, the United States, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Conflicting claims regarding both the kingdom's extent and arguable existence were pursued in diplomatic exchanges. The British and Miskitu 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.