Take Bluefields, divide the population by 10, double the per capita happiness and add the clearest water you will ever see, then you will start to get an idea of what Big Corn Island is like. The island is surrounded by beautiful beaches of alternating volcanic rock and golden/white sand. About 1/3 of the land is taken up by airport, the rest is stretched into cozy neighborhoods, a few seafood processing plants and the baseball field. This is where Nicas come for vacation, and located only an hour and a half by plane from Managua, it is easy to see why.

• Check out Things to Do in Big Corn Island!
• Check out Places to Stay when you are sleepy!
• Check out Places to Eat when you get hungry!

History

From Wikipedia: The Corn Islands, along with the eastern half of present-day Nicaragua, was a British protectorate from 1655 until 1894, a period when the region was called the Mosquito Coast. At one time, the islands were frequented by Caribbean pirates. In 1894, the Nicaraguan government claimed the area.

Under the Bryan–Chamorro Treaty of 1914, the islands were leased to the United States for a period of 99 years. The terms of the lease made the Corn Islands subject to U.S. law, but they remained Nicaraguan territory. The lease notwithstanding, the United States never maintained a significant presence in the islands. Once the laws of Nicaragua became common law, all these communities, which were ruled from Bluefields until the autonomous laws were enacted in the 1980s with U.S. acquiescence and the Nicaraguan government directed the local administration of the islands. The right of the United States to use of the islands remained until April 25, 1971, when the lease was officially terminated by the denunciation of the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty under the presidency of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, on July 14, 1970

Demographics

The population of the islands numbered 6,626 as of 2005 (census of population, May 28 to June 11, 2005).

As of early 2009, local authorities estimate the population of Big Corn Island to be 6,200, and that of Little Corn Island to be 1,200. Distribution of tourits is estimated to be roughly 25% at Big Corn Island and 75 at Little Corn Island.

The islanders are English-speaking Creole people of mixed black heritage. In recent years there has been substantial internal migration by Spanish-speakingmestizo people from Pacific Nicaragua, and, increasingly, by Miskito people from the Caribbean mainland around Puerto Cabezas. English, long the island’s principal language, is being supplanted by Spanish and Miskito.