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In 1797, the British expelled the rebellious indigenous Caribs from St. Vincent and practically threw them to the winds dumped on Roatan island off the coast of Honduras, against all odds, they survived, regrouped and re-settled into a variety of communities throughout Central America mainly on the Caribbean coast. The Garifuna historical memory recounts their ferocity in resisting the British and other colonizers on St. Vincent, for which they were summarily evicted en masse. In part, the British anger against the Caribs stemmed from the fact that they offered shelter and sanctuary to escaped slaves from the regimented plantations. In due course, these "maroons" inter-married with the Caribs so that today there is practically no "pure" Carib alive but they have retained their cultural identity and self-definition as an aboriginal people. They have maintained a vibrant network of communications and travel among themselves especially between Dandriga in Belize, Livingston in Guatemala, and Trujillo in Honduras. They have acculturated to the Spanish society around them many becoming Catholics, and while they have preserved old customs, they have assumed Spanish names and have adapted to Spanish culture and language throughout Central America. Belizean Garifuna now have certain characteristic Spanish surnames such as Palacio, Hernandez, Flores, etc. And quite a few are Catholic priests and bishops. In 1832, a number of the Garifuna came to the British colony of British Honduras (later Belize) settling in the south and gradually acculturating to English ways and language.
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