name	Roatán
image name	Bay Islands - Roatan.PNG
image caption	Location of Roatán off the coast of Honduras
locator map
map custom	yes
location	Caribbean Sea
coordinates
archipelago	Bay Islands
length km	60
width km	8
country	Honduras
country admin divisions title	Department
country admin divisions	Bay Islands
country admin divisions title 1	Municipality
country admin divisions 1	Islas de la Bahia
country largest city	Coxen Hole
country largest city population	5,100
population	30,000
ethnic groups	Caracoles, Garifuna
additional info	}}

Roatán, located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja, is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands. The island was formerly known as Ruatan and Rattan. It is approximately long, and less than across at its widest point. The island consists of two municipalities (out of a total of four in the department): Jose Santos Guardiola in the east (named for the former president of Honduras) and Roatán (also including the Cayos Cochinos) further south in the west. The most populous town of the island is Coxen Hole, capital of Roatán municipality, located in the southwest. Other important towns include French Harbour, West End, and Oak Ridge, the capital of Jose Santos Guardiola municipality.

The easternmost quarter of the island is separated by a convoluted channel through the mangroves that is 15 meters wide on the average. This section is called Helene, or Santa Elena in Spanish. Satellite islands at the eastern end are Morat, Barbaretta, and Pigeon Cay. Further west between French Harbour and Coxen Hole is Barefoot Cay. Known as Burial Key until 2001, Barefoot Cay now is privately owned and houses a luxury resort popular with celebrities.

Located near the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea (second largest worldwide after Australia's Great Barrier Reef), Roatán has become an important cruise ship and scuba diving destination in Honduras. Tourism is its most important economic sector, though fishing is also an important source of income for islanders. Roatan is located within 50 minutes of LGS. The island is served by the Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport.

History

The pre-Columbian indigenous peoples of the Bay Islands are believed to have been related to Paya, Maya, Lenca or Jicaque, which were the cultures present on the mainland. Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage (1502–1504) came to the islands as he visited the neighboring Bay Island of Guanaja. Soon after the Spanish began raiding the islands for slave labor. More devastating for Native American communities was exposure to Eurasian infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, such as smallpox and measles. Diseases ran in epidemics, and no indigenous people survived.

Throughout European colonial times, the Bay of Honduras attracted a diverse array of individual settlers, pirates, traders and military forces, engaged in various economic activities and playing out political struggles between the European powers, chiefly Britain and Spain. Roatán and the other islands were used as frequent resting points for sea travelers. On several occasions, they were subject to military occupation. In 1723/1724 an approximately 20-year-old-man from New England, Philip Ashton, managed to survive as a castaway on the island for sixteen months until he was rescued (see Edward E. Leslie, Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls, 1988, pp. 100–120). During that time they were governed by self-proclaimed King Kyle Edward Chauncey, a red-haired white man leading mostly Spanish speakers among those of European descent.

In contesting with the Spanish for colonization of the Caribbean, the English occupied the Bay Islands on and off between 1550 and 1700. During this time, buccaneers found the vacated, mostly unprotected islands a haven for safe harbor and transport. English, French and Dutch pirates established settlements on the islands. They frequently raided the cumbersome Spanish cargo vessels carrying gold and other treasures from the New World to Spain.

In 1797, the British defeated the Black Carib, who had been supported by the French, in a battle for control of the Windward Caribbean island of St. Vincent. Weary of their resistance to British plans for sugar plantations, the British rounded up the St. Vincent Black Carib and deported them to Roatán. The majority of Black Carib migrated to Trujillo on mainland Honduras, but a portion remained to found the community of Punta Gorda on the northern coast of Roatán. The Black Carib, whose ancestry includes Arawak and African Maroons, remained in Punta Gorda, becoming the Bay Island's first permanent post-Columbian settlers. They also migrated from there to parts of the northern coast of Central America, becoming the foundation of the modern-day Garífuna culture.

The majority permanent population of Roatán originated from the Cayman Islands near Jamaica. They arrived in the 1830s shortly after Britain's abolition of slavery in 1838. The changes in labor force disrupted the economic structure of Caymanian culture. Caymanians were largely a seafaring culture and were familiar with the area from turtle fishing and other activities. Former Caymanian slaveholders were among the first to settle in the seaside locations throughout primarily western Roatán. Former slaves also migrated from the Cayman Islands, in larger number than planters, during the late 1830s and 1840s. Altogether, the former Caymanians became the largest cultural group on the island.{}

For a brief period in the 1850s, Britain declared the Bay Islands its colony. Within a decade the Crown ceded the territory formally back to Honduras. British colonists were sent though, and asked William Walker, a freebooter with a private army, to help end the crisis in 1860 by invading Honduras; he was captured upon landing in Trujillo and executed there.

In the latter half of the 19th century, the island populations grew steadily and established new settlements all over Roatán and the other islands. Settlers came from all over the world and played a part in shaping the cultural face of the island. Islanders started a fruit trade industry which became profitable. By the 1870s it was purchased by American interests, most notably the New Orleans and Bay Islands Fruit Company. Later companies, the Standard Fruit and United Fruit Companies became the foundation for modern-day fruit companies, the industry which gave Honduras the sobriquet "banana republic".

The 20th century saw continued population growth resulting in increasing economic changes, and environmental challenges. A population boom began with an influx of Spanish-speaking Mestizo migrants from the Honduran mainland. In the last decades they tripled the original resident population. Mestizo migrants settled primarily in the urban areas of Coxen Hole and Barrio Los Fuertes (near French Harbour). In these areas Spanish is common, with English speakers more common among descendants of early colonists, as well as in the other areas inhabited chiefly by islanders rather than former mainlanders.

But in terms of population and economic influence, the mainlander influx was dwarfed by the overwhelming tourist presence in most recent years. Numerous American, Canadian, British, New Zealand, Australian and South African settlers and entrepreneurs engaged chiefly in the fishing industry, and later, provided the foundation for attracting the tourist trade. The rapid and dramatic demographic changes that Roatán has experienced in the 21st century has contributed to the complexity of the environmental challenges of the island.

In 1998, Roatán suffered some damage from Hurricane Mitch, temporarily paralyzing most commercial activity. Native islanders claimed the storm broke three previously undisturbed Aguila shipwrecks.

Demographics

Caracoles

The Caracol people are an English-speaking people who have been established in Northern Honduras (specifically, the Bay Islands) since the early 19th century. They are chiefly of European and British-Afro-Caribbean descent. Caracol is Spanish for "conch, snail or shell", and relates the people of the Bay Islands to their unique environment and their sea-faring culture. In its current usage, the term caracol refers to all people born in the Bay Islands region, and their descendants. The region of the Bay Islands encompasses the three major islands of Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja, and the smaller islands or keys. These people are also called "Islanders," especially locally.

Over time the form of English spoken by the Caracol has changed. The language differs mostly in morphology but also in pronunciation and accent and, to a lesser extent, in syntax and vocabulary, from the English of the other British Caribbean colonies. They are similar enough to be mutually intelligible.

Environment

Roatan lies on the southern edge of the Mesoamerican Reef System, the second largest barrier reef in the world. Reef systems are very delicate and have experience massive damge and degredation worldwide. On Roatan, unchecked tourism development and an increased population are putting a strain on its natural resources. Deforestation, run-off, poorly managed waste treatment, and pollution are the main threats to the terrestrial and marine environments.

Roatan Marine Park

The Roatan Marine Park (RMP) is a grass roots, community-based, non-profit organization located on Roatan. The organization was formed in January 2005 when a group of concerned dive operators and local businesses united in an effort to protect Roatan’s fragile coral reefs. Initially, the RMP's goal was to run a patrol program within the Sandy Bay-West End Marine Reserve (SBWEMR), to prevent over exploitation through unsustainable fishing practices. Over time, the organization expanded the scope of their environmental efforts through the addition of other programs to protect Roatan’s natural resources, including patrols and infrastructure, education, conservation and public awareness. With a rapidly developing island, the number of challenges the RMP face increases every day. They focus on engaging diverse community stakeholders to aid in developing solutions that can ensure long-term, sustainable management of our natural resources.

Sustainable and Responsible Tourism

Due to its location, Roatan is also a mecca for divers and snorkelers that come to enjoy the reef. Unfortunately, these people sometimes end up damaging the reef through their actions. Listed below are recommendations on how you can minimize your environmental footprint while visiting of living on Roatan. These are just simple guidelines which if followed could help preserve Roatan’s reefs for future generations.

Never touch or stand on the coral.

When you are in your hotel you can do a number of things to limit the impacts of your stay. When you leave your room, please turn off all lights, faucets, electrical items and air conditioners. To reduce water demand, please hang towels to dry so they can be re-used. In addition, please reuse your water bottles by refilling them from the 5-gallon water dispensers whenever possible.

When at the beach, please properly dispose of all your trash including cigarette butts. Avoid applying insect repellents containing DEET before entering the ocean as this chemical is very damaging to the reef. In addition, while swimming or snorkeling be very careful not to touch or stand on the reef. Always be aware of where your fins and hands are at all times. A second of carelessness can destroy a year of growth. Please remove any trash you might happen to find.

While shopping, please limit your purchase and use of disposable goods. Carry a reusable bag when shopping for groceries or souvenirs instead of using plastic bags. Refrain from purchasing souvenirs made from marine life. These include conch shells, dried sea horses, coral and sea fans, and jewelry made from marine organisms such as sea shells and turtle shells. These are often harvested illegally and in an unsustainable manner.

While dining, please refrain from eating marine species that are considered threatened or endangered.Endangered species include sea turtles and iguanas. The more common threatened species that appear on menus here include Shark, Queen Conch, Grouper, and many species of reef Snapper. Although lobster harvesting is regulated, many are collected illegally. If you do choose to order lobster, be sure that the restaurant can provide you with legal sized lobster tails that measure at least 5.5 inches/14cm in length. When possible, eat lionfish as it is the most sustainable seafood choice on the islands. A Sustainable Seafood Guide is now available for the Bay Islands.

Patronize responsible businesses that make an effort to help conserve Roatan. Responsible businesses are those that reduce their environmental footprint by recycling and refrain from using plastic bags, plastic bottles, and styrofoam; only serve sustainably sourced seafood; promote conservation by supporting local environmental organisations.

Gallery

References

External links

Interactive Map of Roatan

Category:Municipalities of the Bay Islands Department Category:Populated places in Honduras Category:Caribbean islands of Honduras Category:Bay Islands Department

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