Chief Robert Henry Clarence: the last hereditary chief of the Mosquito Reservation

Abstract

This article presents a biography of Chief Robert Henry Clarence, the last Hereditary Chief of the Mosquito Reservation— a historical territory formerly located on Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast. In 1894, the reservation was militarily incorporated into Nicaragua. The following account shines a light on the Mosquito (the largest Indigenous tribe living in Mosquitia—an historical territory on Central America’s Caribbean Coast, stretching from Honduras to the northern parts of Coast Rica—who have been referred to as the Miskitu since the mid-20th century) perspective of the incorporation. This article draws on Foreign Office files (1894–1907) held by the National Archives in London, which contain correspondence from Chief Clarence and other Mosquito leaders. By focusing on a figure who has been obscured in the historiography on the reservation, the evidence produces a narrative of Mosquito political consciousness which contrasts with the disparaging depictions contained in British and North America diplomatic correspondence.