The Miskito Coast Protectorate Flag

Ok, I accept the fact that I got curious about this one! Was there a Miskito Coast Protectorate flag? It seemed only logical that if the Bay Islands Colony had a flag under British Rule, that the Miskito coast would have a flag too! So, I made an investigation to see if there was a Miskito Coast Protectorate Flag. And guess what? There was one indeed!

As all the British colonies, the flag was inspired by the British Union Jack. This flag of course, ceased to be official after 1860, when the United Kingdom ceded the Miskito Coast Protectorate to Nicaragua. The exact limits of the Miskito Coast Protectorate are not very clear. Some historians put the protectorate between the Rio Tinto or Negro in Honduras (Black River) in Honduras east to the town of Greytown on the mouth of the San Juan River in Nicaragua. Others limit the area to that between the Wawa River in Honduras and the Rama River in Nicaragua.

Today, there is no official flag in the Miskito Coast per se. The area, whose name has mutated to Moskitia or Mosquito Coast is now divided between Honduras and Nicaragua. The border between both countries is the Rio Coco or Segovia. This is the longest river in Central America. Today, it is the flags from Honduras and Nicaragua that fly over what was once a British Protectorate.

The Region is one of the Most Pristine Areas in Central America

The Moskitia remains one of the most remote and pristine areas in Central America. There are virtually no roads to get there. Access is by air or by boat. The local transportation routes are the rivers which the locals navigate in dugout canoes. One of the most adventurous trips you can make these days would take you through the these almost uncharted territories from Trujillo in Honduras to Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua.

The route will take you through areas where locals still use their native, Miskito language. You may also pass through some Garifuna villages along your route. One thing is for sure, you will not see the original Miskito Coast Protectorate flag flying anymore. It has been over 150 years since it last did!