| In 1492, Christopher Columbus made his first | | | | were cleared during plantation days and have |
| landfall in the Western Hemisphere in The | | | | not regrown. |
| Bahamas. He encountered Arawak Indians and | | | | |
| exchanged gifts with them. They were of the | | | | In the mid-17th century, English settlers |
| Lucayan tribe, and some traveled with | | | | named the Eleutheran Adventurers, founded the |
| Columbus in his return to Europe. | | | | first permanent European settlement in The |
| | | | Bahamas, and gave the island of Eleuthera its |
| Spanish slave traders later captured native | | | | name. As time went by, more and more of these |
| Lucayan Indians to work in gold mines in | | | | settlements formed until the Bahamas Islands |
| Hispaniola, and within 25 years, all Lucayans | | | | became a British Crown Colony in 1717. |
| perished. Without a source of slaves, the | | | | |
| Spanish did not colonize the islands, though | | | | Woodes Rogers, a former pirate, was appointed |
| they had claimed The Bahamas. In 1647 - | | | | as the first royal governor. Under his |
| during the time of the English Civil War - a | | | | governorship, pirates and buccaneers such as |
| group of Puritan religious refugees from the | | | | Blackbeard and Henry Morgan, who frequently |
| royalist colony of Bermuda, the Eleutheran | | | | infested the waters around the islands, were |
| Adventurers, founded the first permanent | | | | driven off. |
| European settlement in The Bahamas and gave | | | | |
| Eleuthera Island its name. | | | | Palm TreesThe following decades were |
| | | | tumultuous ones for the islands: the Spanish |
| Similar groups of settlers formed governments | | | | attacked the islands several times; an |
| in The Bahamas, but the isolated cays | | | | American force held Nassau for a short time |
| sheltered pirates and wreckers through the | | | | in 1776, and in 1781, the Spanish captured |
| 17th century. Charles II granted land in the | | | | Nassau and took possession of the whole |
| Bahamas to the Lords proprietors of Carolina, | | | | colony. In 1973, the islands were ceded to |
| but the islands were left entirely to | | | | Great Britain under the terms of the Treaty |
| themselves. After Charles Town was destroyed | | | | of Paris. |
| by a joint French and Spanish fleet in 1703, | | | | |
| the local pirates proclaimed an anarchic | | | | After the American Revolution, many Loyalists |
| 'Privateers' Republic' with Edward | | | | migrated to islands such as the Exumas, |
| Teach— better known as | | | | bringing their African slaves along with them |
| Blackbeard— for chief magistrate. | | | | to work the cotton fields. After the |
| Nassau was the main port preferred by the | | | | emancipation of slaves in 1834 however, |
| pirates during this time. | | | | plantation life slowly died out. Lord John |
| | | | Rolle, a powerful Loyalist and a major |
| But, when the islands became a British Crown | | | | landowner in the Exumas, actually bequeathed |
| Colony in 1717, the first Royal Governor, a | | | | land to his slaves for life when he freed |
| reformed pirate named Woodes Rogers, brought | | | | them in 1835. Several towns in the Exumas are |
| law and order to The Bahamas in 1718, when he | | | | named after him and many of the people who |
| expelled the buccaneers who had used the | | | | live there carry the last name of "Rolle." |
| islands as hideouts. Instead, the pirates | | | | |
| still working in these waters became | | | | In 1861, during the American Civil War, the |
| privateers. Rogers is best known for his | | | | Union Navy blockaded the islands in order to |
| capture of pirates Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, | | | | stop supplies from reaching the Confederacy. |
| and Mary Read. | | | | As a result, blockade-running became |
| | | | something of a pastime among the islanders. |
| During the American War of Independence the | | | | Indeed, many Bahamians grew rich running |
| Bahamas fell to Spanish forces under General | | | | Confederate cotton to English mills and |
| Galvez in 1782. After the American Revolution | | | | sending military equipment to the Confederate |
| the British government issued land grants to | | | | army. |
| a group of British Loyalists, and the sparse | | | | |
| population of The Bahamas tripled in a few | | | | Hard times followed the end of the Civil War |
| years. The planters thought to grow cotton, | | | | until Prohibition transformed the islands |
| but the limy soil was unsuited, and the | | | | into a base for rum-running. After |
| plantations soon failed. Many of the current | | | | Prohibition was repealed however, the Bahamas |
| inhabitants are descended from the slave | | | | saw an economic downturn. Prosperity did not |
| population brought to work on the Loyalist | | | | return until World War II, when the islands |
| plantations. When the UK outlawed the slave | | | | served as a military base for the U.S., and |
| trade in 1807, the Royal Navy began | | | | later, a missile testing ground for Great |
| intercepting ships and depositing freed | | | | Britain. In 1955, a free trade area was |
| slaves in The Bahamas. Plantation life was | | | | established at the town of Freeport. It |
| finished after the emancipation of remaining | | | | proved widely successful in stimulating |
| slaves in 1834. | | | | offshore banking and tourism. It was the |
| | | | first time that the beauty and charm of the |
| During the American Civil War, The Bahamas | | | | islands were recognized as important |
| prospered as a center of Confederate | | | | commodities. When Cuba was closed to U.S. |
| blockade-running, bringing out cotton for the | | | | tourists in the 1950s, The Bahamas forged |
| mills of England and running in arms and | | | | ahead to become one of the world's most |
| munitions. After World War I, the islands | | | | popular tourist destinations. |
| served as a base for American rumrunners. | | | | |
| During World War II, the Allies centered | | | | Fumbling Towards Democracy |
| their flight training and antisubmarine | | | | |
| operations for the Caribbean in The Bahamas. | | | | Through the efforts of the Progressive |
| Since Havana closed to American tourists in | | | | Liberal Party (PLP), black Bahamians began to |
| 1961, The Bahamas has developed into a major | | | | successfully oppose the ruling, |
| tourist resort and at the same time the | | | | white-controlled government led by the United |
| establishment of Freeport as a free trade | | | | Bahamian Party. It was only in the 1967 |
| zone (1955) developed an off-shore financial | | | | elections however, that the PLP was able to |
| services center with a reputation for a | | | | take over the reigns of government. The |
| tolerant atmosphere. | | | | Bahamas were granted limited powers of |
| | | | self-government as a British crown colony in |
| Bahamians achieved self-government through a | | | | 1964, powers which were broadened in 1969 |
| series of constitutional and political steps, | | | | through the efforts of then Prime Minister, |
| attaining internal self-government in 1964 | | | | Lynden O. Pindling. The PLP, campaigning on a |
| and full independence within the Commonwealth | | | | platform of immediate independence, won an |
| of Nations on July 10, 1973. | | | | overwhelming victory in the 1972 elections |
| | | | and negotiations with Britain began. On July |
| When Europeans first arrived, they reported | | | | 10, 1973, the Bahamas became a sovereign |
| the Bahamas were lushly forested. The forests | | | | state within the Commonwealth of Nations. |