Ethnos

Miskito

The Miskito is a Native American people in Central America. Their territory expands from Cape Cameron, Honduras, to Rio Grande, Nicaragua. There is a native Miskito langauge. However, there are large groups of speakers of the Miskito creole English, Spanish, Rama and others. Many are Christians.

There are few (if any) pure-blooded Miskito alive today, as over the centuries, escaped slaves have sought refuge with them, and also intermarried with them. Their territory is very inaccessible, and therefore they were little affected by the Spanish conquest of the area.

Traditional Miskito society is highly structured, with a defined political structure. There was a king, however, unlike most kings, he did not have total power. That power was split between him, a governor, a general, and by the 1750s, an admiral. Historical information on kings is often obscured by the fact that many of the kings were semi-mythical, and it is not until 1687 that the first confirmed king, Jeremy I, was recorded. ***