The Miskito are a Native American ethnic group in Central America, of whom many are mixed race. In the northern end of their territory, the people are primarily of African-Native American ancestry. Their territory extends from Cape Camarón, Honduras, to Río Grande, Nicaragua along the Mosquito Coast, in the Western Caribbean Zone. The indigenous people speak a native Miskito language, but large groups also speak Miskito creole English, Spanish, which is the language of education and government, and other languages. The creole English came about through frequent contact with the British for trading, as they predominated along this coast. Many are Christians. The name “Miskito” derives from the Miskito-language ethnonym Mískitu, their name for themselves. It is not related to the Spanish word mosquito, which derives from the word mosca, meaning “fly”, also used in Spanish for the insect.
