Roatan

Nicknamed “the Big Island”, Roatán is the largest of Honduras’ Bay Islands, located near the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea and the second largest in the world to be experienced on Honduras vacations.

Christopher Columbus came to the island during his fourth voyage (1502-1504) and was followed by the Spanish who used the Bay Islands as a source of slave labour. This naturally had a devastating effect on the local populations who were exposed to many diseases to which they had no immunity. The English occupied the Bay Islands at various times and Roatán also hosted many traders and English, French and Dutch pirates. 

After Britain abolished slavery in 1838, many people came from the Cayman Islands to settle on Roatán and they became the largest cultural group on the island. During the 1850s, Britain declared the islands a British colony but it was short-lived and the territory was eventually ceded to Honduras. The second half of the 19th century saw the establishment of various settlements with people coming from around the world.