Utila
Utila
The
island of Utila is eighteen miles from the coast of Honduras and is part
of the Bay Islands (the others are Roatán and Guanaja). These Islands
are a complete different world compared to the mainland.
Utila has a population of 6000 people. English is the main language used and is spoken with a delightful Carribean accent. The typical pace of life on the island is slow. There are two pockets of population, the town of Utila and the Cays, which are a small group of keys off the east end of the island.
Money: Banco Atlántida and Banco BGA are the two banks on Utila. Banco Atlántida does not change traveler's checks, but gives cash advances on Visa cards. Banco BGA changes traveler's checks and gives cash advances on Visa cards. Both banks also provide Moneygram service.
Climate: The rainy season is from October to December. For the rest of the year we have mainly calm, sunny days freshened by cool easterly breezes.
History: Ruins on Utila show that the island was inhabited well before the Europeans arrived. Apparently human habitation began between AD 600 until AD 1000. The early settlers may have been Maya. Later the many caves on the island provided shelter for groups of Payan Indians, and there is evidence of a Nahuatl-speaking people being here (Nahuatl was a language of the Aztecs in Mexico).
Christopher Columbus, on his fourth and final voyage to the New World, landed on the island of Guanaja - on of the three Bay Islands to which Utila belongs - on July 30, 1502. He encountered a fairly large population of Indians, whom he believed to be cannibals.
The Spanish enslaved the islanders. They then sent them to work in the plantations of Cuba or in the gold and silver mines of Mexico. In 1528 the islands were forcibly depopulated and left empty.
In the following centuries English, French and Dutch pirates established settlements on the Bay Islands. They used these to raid the cumbersome Spanish cargo vessels, laden with gold and other treasures from the New World. The English buccaneer Henry Morgan established his base at Port Royal on Roatán, the big sister of Utila, in the mid-17th century. Rumour has it that he hid his treasure somewhere on Utila, but it has never been found ...
In the 18th century the English twice took possession of the Bay Islands,
but restored them after a short time to Spain.
In March 1792, after many vain attempts, the Spanish waged a successful
land attack against Port Royal, killing most of the pirates and selling
the rest off as slaves. Then, once again, the Bay islands were uninhabited
until 1797.
A Garífuna uprising on the Caribbean island of St Vincent was quickly quelled by British troops. The survivors were rounded up, and the British shipped those that didn’t die of fever to Roatán. About 3000 were dumped at Port Royal in 1797. From Roatán, the Garífuna migrated to the other islands and the mainland.
European settlement at Utila started in 1836. Mr. Joseph Cooper, his wife and six children came from the Grand Caymans and lived at the Cays of Utila. They found two American men already there, who had begun farming. By the time of queen Victoria’s coronations on June 28, 1838, many British Subjects had already settled in the Bay Islands. In the following years people in small numbers came to Utila from the United States, England, Germany, Switzerland and other places.
The Bay Islands remained in the hands of the British until the 15th of September 1859, when Great Britain signed a treaty ceding the Bay Islands to Honduras. The independence day is celebrated with a large street party and lively carnival parades.