[9] The island of Saint Helena has been described as a virtual extension of Roatán,[5] since it is separated only by a long stretch of mangrove swamp.

This island has a small elevated hill at its center, and is characterized by a large number of caves, most of which are located along a cliff on its western end.

[8] Morat, the smallest and flattest island, consists of just one ridge with two hills,[5] which are composed mainly of sedimentary rocks, with some serpentinite intrusions.

[5] The archipelago has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of white-crowned pigeons, chimney swifts and yellow-naped amazons.

Archaeological sites such as Plan Grande in Guanaja show a level of sophistication and hierarchical organization of these towns throughout the archipelago.

[12] It was from this island that he then encountered the coast of the American continent, on which he landed on the 14th of August following, at the point now called Punta Castilla de Trujillo.

[14] Notwithstanding Spanish laws prohibiting slavery, governors interested in the slave trade labeled the Pech Indians cannibals, hostile, and opposed to Christianity.

Based on this information, Queen Isabella I of Spain issued a decree granting license to the Spaniards to capture and sell the islanders.

Under this decree, Spanish slave traders from Cuba raided the Bay Islands continuously from the time of their discovery for the next 20 years.

[12] In 1642, English settlers from British Honduras (modern day Belize) invaded and occupied Port Royal on Roatán.

[12] The events which followed, so far as they concern these islands, are thus narrated by the Bishop Pelaez: "On the 24th of September 1781, advices reached Truxillo, which were immediately communicated to the government at Comayagua, that certain Negroes and others, to the number of about 300 men, had constructed three forts at the entrance of the principal port of the island of Roatan, armed with 50 guns, and that three armed.

It was reported that these freebooters had 3000 barrels of provisions for their support, and that their object in holding the port was to make it a refuge for their vessels, which were no longer allowed to go-to Jamaica… When this information reached Guatemala, Viceroy Galvez, "made arrangements to expel the intruders.

But another portion, incited by one or two white men among them, appealed, as British subjects, to the superintendent of Belize, Col. Macdonald, who immediately visited the island, in the British sloop-of war Bover, ran down the flag of Honduras, and, seizing Col. Loustrelet and his soldiers, landed them near Truxillo, and threatened them with death if they ventured to return.

"[15] The republic of Central America had meantime been dissolved, and the feeble state of Honduras was left alone to contest these violent proceedings.

[14] A small party in the island favourable to British interests, was active in their efforts to secure English protection.

Some time in this year, a petition was drawn up by the British party, addressed to the governor of Jamaica, asking him to name magistrates and assume supreme authority in the island.

In spite of this protest, however, and backed by the guns of Bermuda, the authorities appointed by Sir Charles Grey were duly installed in the islands.

[15] The proclamation of these islands as a British colony, attracted immediate attention in the United States, where it was universally regarded as a direct violation of the convention of July 5, 1850, known as the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty.

This convention provides that "the governments of the United States and Great Britain, neither the one nor the other, shall over occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Costa Rica, Nicaragua, the Mosquito shore, or any part of Central America.

"[14] The matter was brought under the attention of Congress, and the committee of foreign relations of the U.S. senate, after a full consideration, reported "that the islands of Roatán, Bonacca, Utila, etc, in and near the bay of Honduras, constitute part of the territory of the republic of Honduras, and therefore form a part of Central America; and, in consequence, that any occupation of these islands by Great Britain is a violation of the treaty of July 5, 1850.

[14] At this critical moment the government of Honduras despatched a minister to London, who took the ground that the question at issue was one that primarily concerned Honduras, and he demanded the surrender of the islands, equally as a measure of justice to that republic, and as a means of withdrawing a dangerous issue between the United States and the United Kingdom, upon which each had committed itself beyond the power of receding.

[14] This solution was regarded with favor by both parties, and a convention was entered into between the United Kingdom and Honduras, whereby the Bay islands were placed under the sovereignty of the latter state, with the reservation of trial by jury, freedom of conscience, etc., to the actual inhabitants.

The archipelago began to be populated again by European people due to the arrival of English, French, and Dutch buccaneers who established their camps on the islands.

By the mid-19th century, under the Wyke-Cruz treaty, many of the descendants of the white colonists of Great Britain changed their citizenship to Honduran after the country regained the territory, and they officially separated from the British Empire.

[20] Islander men frequently join on with the merchant marine or work on international cruise ships for several months of the year.

This low-key existence began to change starting in the late 1960s, when tourists discovered the islands’ reefs, beaches, and funky culture.