Talk:San Andres i Mosquitos

The Mosquito Coast page says that St. Andrew was transferred to the FK after the 2003 war. Does Central America dispute that, or what? Benkarnell 13:10, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Possibly. Though they haven't said anything since 2003. Those islands have shifted ownership so many times the last two centuries it's a wonder anyone knows for sure who they're supposed to belong to.

The 1880s to 1930s were the islands' heyday, when they played host to vacationing Central American and then Floridian money. San Andres / Port Saint Andrews is a beautiful city, mixing Iberian and British archtecture and culture. At that time, a very sizeable portion of the population were Anglos (English, Scots, Americans, Caribbean English blacks, etc), though political power was held by those of Castilian descent. During the 1970s and 1980s, the islands were heavily attacked and on-and-off occupied by F-C (undoubtedly instigated by the local Anglo separatists who felt unduly repressed after the 1940s government reforms), and the F-C eventually staged a successful coup in 1988. After the combined Anglo-Castilian expeditionary forces were ousted in 1989, F-C seems to completely ravaged the islands, turning them into a veritable police state and military stronghold. What's only coming to light in Philadelphia (seized F-C archives) is that the local Castilians were either removed to Florida or else deported to Central America, while the local Anglos were pressed into labour camps in order to build the fortifications, air strips, etc.

By 2003, of the 75000 inhabitants, only about 4000 are ethnic Castilians, of which about half are South American gentry who managed to hang on and the other half are relocated Floridians, former and retired military hierarchy mostly, who are kind of stuck because none of the current Floridian territories want them (potential insurgency risk), Central America doesn't want them. Cuba has expressed a willingness to take them in, but is afraid that other countries will see that as a move towards remilitarisation. They are currently living in one section of Port Saint Andrews, and are (perhaps too closely) watched by the local police. Presumably so they won't try to revive the old F-C one supposes. Curiously, since about 2007, the vast majority of the population has swung in favour of just keeping them -- they've been through a lot of nonsense, too, and let the past lie in its own grave sort of thing. Earlier in 2009, mayor Hernan Garcia accepted a city proclamation making them accepted citizens of Saint Andrews, and petitioned the Lord Governor to normalise their condition. I guess it makes sense: these former military leaders have no money, no position, no property and no prospects back in a Florida that has utterly repudiated them.

As a side note, what "translated to the Mosquito Coast" means is that between 2003 and 2007, the islands were a direct dependency of the English crown. I suppose that for whatever reason, the English government and MC decided that it would make more sense for MC to administer the islands as a province rather than for them to be administered by a far-away colonial office of some sort. And so official administration of the island group was transfered from London to Norwich. Elemtilas 13:58, 4 November 2009 (UTC)