Recent articles dealing with the Miskito "kings" and Miskito "kingdom" of eastern Nicaragua are reassessed and their conclusions reconsidered. Using the same data, the existence of a Miskito "kingdom" is questioned and the nature of the "kingship" and of the roles filled by Miskito kings and other regional leaders is reinterpreted. The influence both of the English and of traditional councils of elders is emphasized, and the kings' activities seen as those of traditional Big Men writ large.
