Of Caribbean History - Garifuna

Did you know that following the British victory for the control of St Vincent, General Ralph Abercromby decided to depopulate the island of natives (it seems the British were tired of the repetitive wars with the French ... and their allies the Caribs from St Vincent... those French creating mayhem again!).

In February 1797, 5,080 black Caribs set sail from St Vincent. A mere 2,000 people arrived at their final destination, the island of Roatans, off the coast of Honduras.

Their descendants, the Garifuna people, scattered around 60 fishing villages along the Caribbean coast of Central America in what is today Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize.

In 2001, the UNESCO designated the Garifuna language as a "masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity”. The Garifuna language belongs to the Arawakan group of languages and has both African and Amerindian components.

Sources: "Tainos and Caribs - the Aboriginal Cultures of the Antilles" - Sebastian Robiou Lamarche https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tainos-Caribs-Aboriginal-Cultures-Antilles/dp/1796741329/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=tainos+and+caribs&qid=1682775743&sr=8-2

(Fascinating books about pre Colombian and Colombian history of the Caribbean - highly recommend!)