King Jeremy, monarch of the Kingdom of Mosquitia from 1686 to 1729
Ever since Michael D. Olien published his article in 1983 in an attempt to explain the line of succession of the Moskitian Dynasty, it has been extensively used by other scholars. And while his work was a great help in piecing together the line of succession of the House of Moskitia, there are, however, a few errors that can be found if one reads it carefully and double-checks the original sources.
One of his mistakes is the assertion that there were two Moskitian Kings by the name of Jeremy: one who ruled between 1687 and 1720 and another who ruled between 1720 and 1729. This same mistake is repeated by Christopher Buyers on his site about the line of succession of the House of Moskitia.
In English sources, he is known as Jeremay, Jeremy, Gerromi, or Jeremiah, while in Spanish sources, he appears as Don Bernabe. But he was the only Moskitian King from 1686, when his father, the founder of the Kingdom of Mosquitia, died, until his own death in 1729.
The first mention of the Moskitian kings (from Jeremy to George II, which cover the years from 1686–1800) in chronological order can be found in the case of Robert White, which he wrote on behalf of the Shoremen who evacuated Moskitia following the Convention of London of 1786 and who found it unfair to their interests and unwise of the British Government to do so.
Robert White mentioned that "Edward, the King of the Indians, succeeded Jeremy," that "George, the King of the Indians, succeeded Edward," and that "George the Second, King of the Indians, succeeded George the First." This same information was edited by John Macgregor into his book that was published in 1846, and he said that "The successor of Jeremy was called Edward, who, with his successors, George I and George II, all visited Jamaica and went through the ceremony of homage and claiming protection." But there is no mention of a second Jeremy, or Jeremy II.
The next proof that there was only one Jeremy comes from Spanish sources cited by Daniel Matthew Mendiola in his article of 2018, in which Jeremy is called Bernabe or Don Bernabe. Daniel mentioned that "In 1711, King Bernabe embarked on a new diplomatic strategy, which included proposing peace to several Spanish communities." "In particular, he sent messages to the provinces of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica". These peace negotiations by King Jeremy, aka Bernabe, went on even up to the year 1722, when "Corella attended a meeting with Bernabe, Anibal, and Peter, where the three leaders signed a letter, confirming that they still wanted peace and that they had not returned to Matina in time due to logistical problems." Daniel even cited an original letter titled "Carta del Rey Don Barnabe, el Gobernador Anibal, y el General Don Pedro a Diego de la Haya Fernández. Mosquitia, 11 de mayo de 1722."
Now, the 'Gobernador Anibal' from the above-mentioned letter was known as John Hannibal by the English, and, with a different orthography of his name, he was even mentioned by M.W. in his 'familiar description of the Mosqueto Kingdom in America', (1699). After giving a description of King Jeremy and his residence, M.W. mentioned that "about 40 leagues to the southward of this place, along the shore, is another call'd Dorca, where about 50 more Indians inhabit, the chief whereof is call'd Annaby."
Therefore, King Jeremy (aka Don Barnabe), John Hannibal (aka Anibal, Annaby), and Prince Peter (aka Don Pedro) were the same individuals from the time of M.W. up until the two former died by 1729.
The proof of this comes from a letter dated October 3, 1729, by Prince Peter, brother of King Jeremy, to Governor Hunter of Jamaica. In this letter, Peter, who then became King-Regent during the minority of his nephew, King Edward, informed the Jamaican Governour that "The King, my Royal Brother, lately dying, myself hardly settled on the throne of my ancestors, the Governour also suddenly dying, left the Kingdom in such an unsettled condition..." and requested the Governor of Jamaica to send him "Commissions sign'd with the Great Seal of the Island, as well as one for John Bellawy, who I think a proper person to assist me in the office of Governour of the Southern parts of my Dominions, and likewise one for Charles Holby in the office of General of my Forces and overseer of the Northern parts of my Dominions."
Michael D. Olien also believed that there existed a second Jeremy, or Jeremy II, because M.W. mentioned in his book that King Jeremy, in 1699, "seems to be about 60 years old", and thus, Olien believed that by 1720 he would have been around 80 years old. But M.W. was only making an assumption of the king's age to give a general description. He also mentioned that "The historian, Troy Floyd (1967:214), lists a Jeremy II who became king in 1723, but unfortunately provides no further information..." But he also agreed that "there are a number of factual errors concerning the Miskito kings in his [Troy's] study...". Troy's misunderstanding and inaccuracies about Moskitia at large can be seen in his book, which was published in 1967.
Olien also said that "C.P. Lucas (1890:298) mentions that a Miskito embassy came to Jamaica in 1725 and placed themselves under the Duke of Portland, who was the governor of Jamaica," but that "Lucas probably was referring to the 1723 visit by Jeremy II."
But the part that Olien, Troy, and Lucas were all missing is that the Moskitian Kings didn't visit Jamaica only when there was a new king but also when there was a new governor of Jamaica. And in 1721, the new Governor of Jamaica became Henry Bentinck, First Duke of Portland. Thus, the embassy that went to Jamaica around 1723 was not by a new king or Jeremy II but rather by the only King Jeremy that there was to meet the new Governor of Jamaica and to ensure the continuity of the alliance and protection between the Kingdom of Mosquitia and that of Great Britain.
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