 Britain declared much of the area a protectorate in 1740, though they exercised little authority there as a result of the decision.British colonization was particularly strong in the Bay Islands, and alliances between the British and Miskito as well as more local supporters made this an area the Spanish could not easily control, and a haven for pirates.In the early eighteenth century, the House of Bourbon, linked to the rulers of France, replaced the Habsburgs on the throne of Spain.