Pearl Lagoon is a municipality that is often time called just Lagoon and was historically known as English Bank. It is located in the

South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region The South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region is one of two autonomous regions in Nicaragua. It covers an area of and has a population of 420,935 (2021 estimate). The capital is Bluefields. Bordering the Caribbean Sea, it contains part of the re ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

. It is the most important town of the largest

coastal lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

also by the name of Pearl Lagoon in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua and which the name of the town is derived from. As of 2021, Pearl Lagoon Municipality had a population of 20,557.

History

18th century cannon on Pearl Lagoon municipal wharf

Pearl Lagoon, along with the eastern half of present-day Nicaragua, was a British protectorate from 1655 until 1860, a period when the region was called the

Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...

. In the period before 1894, eastern Nicaragua was a British protectorate, ruled through a line of Miskito kings. About a century ago, Pearl Lagoon was considered to be the second capital of the Moskitian Kingdom when the last Miskito King took up residence in the town of

Pearl City Pearl City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District and City & County of Honolulu on the Island of Oahu. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a total population of 47,698. Pearl City is located ...

, the capital of the municipality. At that time, Pearl Lagoon was called "the Granada of the Mosquitia" by one of the

conquistadores Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to ...

of the Pacific Coast because of its beauty and the booming ship traffic. An 18th century cannon situated on the municipality wharf of Pearl Lagoon has an inscription commemorating battles between liberal and conservative factions. The cannon was never fired in anger, it was used only for celebrations.

Culture

Most of the inhabitants are Creole, but a large number of

Miskito Miskito may refer to: * Miskito people, ethnic group in Honduras and Nicaragua ** Miskito Sambu, branch of Miskito people with African admixture ** Tawira Miskito, branch of Miskito people of largely indigenous origin * Miskito language, original ...

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

and some

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...

are also present. The

people started migrating in the late 90s, some from the city of

El Rama Rama is a municipality and a city in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua.
Inifom ...

and some from the northern part of the municipality of Pearl Lagoon. Similar to

Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the capital of the former Mosquito Coast, Kingdom of Mosquitia, and later the Zelaya Department, which was divid ...

, May Pole is a big celebration among the people. Now within the same month of May, people from all over the municipality would come together in the community of Pearl Lagoon to celebrate and share their different cultures and traditions. The main communities are Haulover, Kakabila, Marshall Point, Pearl Lagoon, Orinoco, La Fe, Raitipura, Brown Bank, Tasbapauni, Set Net Point, Wawashan, San Vicente, Awas and Pedregal.

Sports

The Harry and Maggie Taylor municipal stadium

Pearl Lagoon was the home to four local baseball teams that played during the dry seasons on Sundays. The four teams were: Sweet Pearly, First Stop, The Young Brave, and the Haulover Tigers. Pitchers Albert Williams and

Devern Hansack Devern Brandon Hansack (born February 5, 1978) is a former Nicaraguan professional baseball pitcher who pitched for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed. Professional career Hansack, born in Pearl Lagoon, ...

, both natives of Pearl Lagoon, played in the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. Although those teams no longer exist, baseball is still one of the main sports in the community which is also played in the dry season on Sundays at the Harry and Maggie Taylor municipal stadium.

Transportation

Highway between Pearl Lagoon and Haulover

The municipality of Pearl Lagoon is located just north of Bluefields, the capital of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, and can be reach by boat and Panga boat. In 2006, the IDR initiated the construction of a new rural road of 17 km from

Kukra Hill Kukra Hill is a municipality in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to ...

to Pearl Lagoon. The road is now reconstructed and as of today, it permits direct access to Managua from Pearl Lagoonhttp://www.idr.gob.ni/notas%20de%20prensa/laguna%20de%20perla.pdf and was financed by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

(WB) through the

International Development Association The International Development Association (IDA) (french: link=no, Association internationale de développement) is an international financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world's poorest developing countries. Th ...

(IDA). For more than 10 years, there has been a bus that travels every day from Pearl Lagoon to

and back. Around three years ago, the owner of that same bus started a new destination directly from Pearl Lagoon to

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

one time per week.

Education

In Pearl Lagoon, there are three schools. The Beulah Light Burn school which is only for primary and pre-escolar students, the Pearl Lagoon National Institute only for Secondary students and the Pearl Lagoon Academy of Excellence (PLACE) for pre-escolar, primary and secondary students.

References

{{South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region Municipalities of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region