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Travel-to-Honduras.com
Through the Eyes of Diplomats - History of the Bay Islands 1858-1895
By Lowri Gilbert
"Through The Eyes of Diplomats - History of the Bay Islands 1858-1895"
is a book which aims to bring the history of Honduras a little closer
to the interested reader. The main focus of this book is not on the
country as a whole but on a group of three islands, the Bay Islands,
which are located off the coast of Honduras and are comprised of Roatan, Guanaja, and Utila. The book brings to the
reader the writings of the diplomatic correspondence between consular
officers who were assigned to the Honduran Bay Islands and the United
States Department of State.
The authors did extensive work researching through the National Archives
in Washington D.C, digging out the appropriate information and translating
the old Spanish and English documents into more comprehensible English.
The simple format of this book and the basic design catches everyone’s
eye, inviting you to learn more about the fascinating and slightly
confusing history of the Honduran Bay Islands between 1858 and 1895,
which turns out to be a moving period of time. There are few books on the country's past, so when people see this
book they are immediately caught by its title and intrigued by its
contents.
While reading or skipping through these informative and strictly chronologically
ordered documents you will stumble over some non-famous ways of spelling
the names of each of the Bay Islands, such as Ruatan instead of today’s
common spelling of Roatan.
The book is centered on the consular officers who were in Central
America representing the interests of the United States, and not necessary
concentrating on the interest of the country they were in. The book
discusses the apathy the United States had towards the sovereignty
of Honduras and especially the Bay Islands. Great Britain tried numerous
times to win the power of these islands, and as we know today they
did not succeed, but it is interesting to discover they ways in which
they attempted to gain control here. The reader also gets an insight
into the protests of the local people and their neighboring countries,
the many revolutions that occurred in Honduras and the commercialization
of the Bay Islands. This book will guide you through the different
levels of conflict occurring from 1858 to 1895, whether local, national
or international disputes.
There are other books, which discuss the history of Central America
including Honduras and the Bay Islands, but this book is unique in
that it provides the reader with the historical and diplomatic documents
from this period penned between 1858 and 1895. This method allows
the reader to determine their own outlook on the history of the Bay
Islands at this point in time, which is a nice change.
For people who are interested in the history of the Bay Islands from
a different point of view than other books, this is a must read.
By Lowri Gilbert
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