General information about the Corn Islands
Etymology
This Caribbean archipelago has been referred to by many names over the last thousands of years, the two best known and documented are Limonares and Corn Islands.
The name Limonares or Islas de Limonares was given to the islands by Christopher Columbus on his fourth and last voyage, when he spotted them on September 18, 1502. Although he never set foot on the islands, he did baptize them with the name Islas de Limonares, due to the hundreds of plants of this type he saw up close from his ship.
The current name, according to historians, was given by French pirates, who upon arriving on the islands saw a large plantation of corn, presumably planted by the Kukras Indians.
Geography
Corn Island is located in the Caribbean Sea and is between 50 and 60 km from mainland Nicaragua; it is composed of two islands: Great Corn Island and Little Corn Island.
Little Corn Island is located 10 kilometers northeast of Great Corn Island. The total area of the municipality of Corn Island is 12.9 km², of which the large island is 10 km² and the small island is 2.9 km². The highest point on the islands is Mount Pleasant (95 m above sea level), situated on Great Corn Island.
Brief history
According to Edward Conzemius, a French ethnologist from Luxembourg, in 1929, in his article Les Îles Corn du Nicaragua ("The Corn Islands of Nicaragua"), the first inhabitants of the Corn Islands were the Kukra Indians, who were exterminated by the also native Miskitos in alliance with the English buccaneers.
They used the islands to supply themselves with water and fruits and repair their ships. The Puritan colonists of British origin arrived at the island in the middle of the 18th century, bringing enslaved people of African origin. It is known that they came from Jamaica, settling in British Honduras (today Belize) until they reached the Caribbean shores of Nicaragua.
The first settlers inhabited the southeastern part of the island. This had its reasons: The height of Quinn Hill offered a panoramic view of the sea, from where they could see the arrival of pirate ships when approaching Insurance Harbor, a strategic port on the island, which provided facilities for anchoring and unloading ships. This harbor also has historical importance since Colonel Alexander McDonald, superintendent of British Honduras disembarked there on August 27, 1841.
This superintendent was the one who commanded to call the slaves, at the beach called Southwest Bay, to declare them free from slavery, in the name of Queen Victoria of Great Britain and King Robert Charles Frederick of the Mosquitia.
After the establishment of the English settlers in the Corn Islands, a process of transculturation began. Most settlers came to these islands as adventurers and explorers in search of fortune and riches. They settled permanently and interacted with the slaves. As a result of this relationship, the Creole descendants of the Corn Islands emerged. In the course of time, these descendants gradually assimilated and adapted the customs and traditions of the English and African cultures. This is how the anthro-genetic profile of the Corn Islands Creole ethnic group emerged.
11 years after the emancipation from slavery, on August 25, 1852, Reverend Edward Kelly from British Honduras founded the Ebenezer Baptist Church and School, the first church and educational center on the islands. Kelly was the one who evangelized the Islanders since in previous years the Moravians made the attempt but could not.
Corn Islands along with the eastern half of Nicaragua was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1655 to 1894, a period when the region was called the Mosquito Coast. At one time, the islands were frequented by Caribbean pirates. In 1894 the Nicaraguan government claimed the area. The islands were given to the United States for a 99-year lease under the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty of August 5, 1914, under the terms of that treaty they were subject to U.S. law, but Nicaraguan sovereignty was maintained.
In 1940 Corn Island was elevated to the category of municipality in the Zelaya Region (as the region was then known) by Presidential Decree.
The Americans maintained the right to the actual or potential utility of the islands until April 25, 1971, when the agreement was officially canceled with the abrogation of the Chamorro-Bryan treaty, under the presidency of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, on July 14, 1970.
Before being a municipality, the islands had a Governor and not a Mayor as it is now. Mayors were previously elected in a community assembly, where besides the municipal representative, the judge and secretary were also elected. The first public elections in which all citizens participated were held at the beginning of the 21st century on the islands.
People and language
The official language in Nicaragua is Spanish. The current population of Corn Island is composed of approximately 7,600 people, comprised of natives or Creoles, Mestizos, Miskitos and people from various European and North American countries.
Due to the influence and presence of the English and the migration of families to the islands from Europe and the Caribbean islands four centuries ago, a large part of the population understands and speaks English, with its own accent or composition, this is known as English Creole. The African culture also has a great influence on both the language and local culture.
Miskito is the second most spoken language on the island, mainly on Great Corn Island, due to the migration of Miskito people from the mainland, mainly from Pearl Lagoon basin, Tasbapouni, Sandy Bay and the communities of the Autonomous Region of the Northern Caribbean Coast, particularly Puerto Cabezas.
Relevant information
GEOGRAPHICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LOCATION | |
Ocean (sea) | Caribbean Sea |
Continent (subcontinent) | Central America |
Country | Nicaragua |
District / Department | Autonomous Region of the South Caribbean Coast (RACCS) |
GEOGRAPHICAL DATA | |
Neighborhoods | 6 |
Number of islands | 2 Great Corn Island and Little Corn Island |
Area | 12,9 km2 |
Distance from mainland | 70 km2 off Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast |
Highest point | Mount Pleasant Hill (+97 m) |
Population | 7,600 inhabitant (approx) |
Administrative capital | Brig Bay |
OTHER INFORMATION | |
Discovery | September 18th, 1502 by Christopher Columbus |
Elevation to Municipality | 9th of February, 1940 |
Declared National Tourist Heritage | 16th of October, 2013 |
Local hymn | Corn Island Song (Arlene Hodgson) |
Demonym | Islanders or Cornaileño (in Spanish) |
Coordinates | 12° 10′ 0″ N, 83° 2′ 0″ W |
