NO. 14 ARCHEOLOGY OF BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS STRONG 39 



cliaiiiied at Havana and only a few Negroes who fled to the swamps 

 of Roatan escaped. 



Things were evidently quiet around Port Royal for almost 15 years ; 

 then in 1796 the British forcihly deported some 5,000 Black Caribs 

 (a mixture of Carib Indian and African Negro) from St. Vincent 

 on the Windward Islands to Roatan. (Squier. i85(S, pp. 618, 619, and 

 Conzemius, 1928, p. 58.) These people, who had l)een attached to 

 French interests, were giving the British much trouble, hence they 

 were deported en masse and landed at Port Royal. It is not clear 

 whether the British intended to reserve their dominion over the 

 Caribs or were simply getting rid of them. In any event, the Captain 

 General of Guatemala justly regarded it in the light of an invasion 

 and sent armed forces to Roatan where the Caribs gladly surrendered 

 without resistance. Most of them quickly accepted the invitation 

 of the Honduras Government to come to the mainland, though a small 

 numl)er preferred to stay on the then deserted island of Roatan. 

 For the remainder of the eighteenth century the Bay Islands were 

 undisputedly held by Spain, and a small garrison was maintained 

 on Roatan (Plenderson, 181 1, p. 204), probably at Port Royal. 



Not until the middle of tiie nineteenth century did Great Britain 

 again assert her claims to the Bay Islands, and again it was Port 

 Royal that was the scene of action. (Squier, 1858, p. 620; Young, 

 1842, p. 147.) In 1838 a group of liberated slaves came to Roatan 

 from the Grand Cayman Islands, desiring to settle. The commandant 

 at Port Royal informed them that they must first obtain permission 

 from the Honduras Government. Certain of the immigrants did so, 

 l)ut others appealed to the British Superintendent at Belize. This 

 officer shortly thereafter appeared off Port Royal in the sloop of war 

 Rover, landed forcibly and, running down the flag of Central America, 

 hoisted the British flag. Young thus describes the affair : " A British 

 sloop of war appeared off the port ; a boat full of men was dispatched 

 to the shore, the Central American flag hauled down, and that 

 (jf Old England planted in its place. Shortly after the vessel set 

 sail the commandant pulled down the English colors and hoisted 

 his own, which was no sooner observed than the vessel was put back, 

 and landed a party of seamen and marines. The Central American 

 flag was lowered, and two or three of the middies amused them- 

 selves by dancing on it. The commandant and his soldiers, not- 

 withstanding his vociferous protestations, were put on board of the 

 vessel, and had the mortification of seeing, on their departure, the 

 meteor flag of Old l^igland waving in the breeze. They were landed 

 on the beach at Truxillu with a few gentle hints as to their future 



