Swan Islands

Swan Islands

▪ islands, Caribbean Sea
Spanish  Islas del Cisne 

      two islets (Greater and Lesser Swan) in the Caribbean Sea, 97 miles (156 km) north of Honduras. Discovered by Christopher Columbus (Columbus, Christopher) on St. Anne's feast day in 1502, they were named Islas Santa Ana. The islands, only 3 square miles (8 square km) in area, served as a pirate haunt from the 16th through the 18th century. In 1775 they appeared on a map as the Swan Islands. The notorious American filibuster William Walker (Walker, William) occupied them in 1860; following his death, Honduras staked its claim in 1861. They were placed under U.S. sovereignty in 1863 by the Guano Islands Act. Since then they have been prized by guano hunters and turtle fishermen. The islands were turned over to Honduras in November 1971. Weather and communication stations there are still operated by the United States by agreement with Honduras. The islands were a major base for Nicaragua's U.S.-sponsored contra rebels in the 1980s.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Swan Islands — may refer to: * Swan Islands, Honduras * Swan Islands, Falkland Islands …   Wikipedia

  • Swan Islands —   [swɔn aɪləndz, englisch], zu Honduras gehörende Inselgruppe, Islas del Cisne …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Swan Islands — Nautische Karte der Swan Islands Die Schwaneninseln (span. Islas del Cisne, auch Santanillas, engl. Swan Islands) sind eine zu Honduras gehörende Inselgruppe in der Karibik. Sie liegen 156 km nördlich vor Honduras und bestehen aus den drei Inseln …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Swan Islands, Honduras — The Swan Islands, or Islas Santanilla, are a chain of three islands located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, approximately ninety miles off the coastline of Honduras, with a land area of 8 km². Detailed location and featuresThey are within the… …   Wikipedia

  • Swan Islands, Falkland Islands — Infobox Falkland island MapCaption=Location of the Swan Islands within the Falkland Islands latitude= longitude= coordinates= island group=Falkland Sound english name=Swan Islands spanish name=Islas de Cisne meaning of name= area= area rank=… …   Wikipedia

  • Swan Islands — geographical name two islands in the Caribbean NE of Honduras …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Swan Island — may refer to:PlacesAustralia* Little Swan Island, Tasmania, Australia * Swan Island (Tasmania), Australia * Swan Island (Victoria), AustraliaFalkland Islands* Swan Islands, Falkland Islands * Weddell Island, formerly Swan Island, Falkland… …   Wikipedia

  • Swan (disambiguation) — A swan is a large water bird.Swan may also refer to: Places Australia * City of Swan, a municipality in Perth, Western Australia **Division of Swan, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Western Australia, based on… …   Wikipedia

  • Swan (rivière) — Swan (fleuve) Pour les articles homonymes, voir Swan (homonymie). Swan Perth et la rivière S …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Swan Hellenic — is a British cruise line specialising in tours of historical or cultural interest aimed at the upper end of the cruise market.HistoryIt began in the 1950s when the Swan travel agency, operated by two brothers by the name of Swan, was asked to… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”