Black River (settlement)

The Black River settlement was a British settlement on the Mosquito Coast in Central America. It was established in 1732 by a British colonist named William Pitt (likely a distant relative of contemporary British politician, William Pitt the Elder). The settlement, made on territory claimed but never really controlled by Spain, was evacuated in 1787 pursuant to terms of the Anglo-Spanish Convention of 1786. The Spanish then attempted to colonize the area, but the local Miskitos massacred most of its inhabitants on September 4, 1800. The settlement was abandoned, and its remains can still be seen near the village of Palacios in the Honduran department of Gracias a Diós.