The history of Bahamas

In 1492, Christopher Columbus made his first landfallBahamas were lushly forested. The forests were
in the Western Hemisphere in The Bahamas. Hecleared during plantation days and have not regrown.
encountered Arawak Indians and exchanged giftsIn the mid-17th century, English settlers named the
with them. They were of the Lucayan tribe, andEleutheran Adventurers, founded the first permanent
some traveled with Columbus in his return to Europe.European settlement in The Bahamas, and gave the
Spanish slave traders later captured native Lucayanisland of Eleuthera its name. As time went by, more
Indians to work in gold mines in Hispaniola, and withinand more of these settlements formed until the
25 years, all Lucayans perished. Without a source ofBahamas Islands became a British Crown Colony in
slaves, the Spanish did not colonize the islands,1717.
though they had claimed The Bahamas. In 1647 -Woodes Rogers, a former pirate, was appointed as
during the time of the English Civil War - a group ofthe first royal governor. Under his governorship,
Puritan religious refugees from the royalist colony ofpirates and buccaneers such as Blackbeard and Henry
Bermuda, the Eleutheran Adventurers, founded theMorgan, who frequently infested the waters around
first permanent European settlement in The Bahamasthe islands, were driven off.
and gave Eleuthera Island its name.Palm TreesThe following decades were tumultuous
Similar groups of settlers formed governments in Theones for the islands: the Spanish attacked the islands
Bahamas, but the isolated cays sheltered pirates andseveral times; an American force held Nassau for a
wreckers through the 17th century. Charles IIshort time in 1776, and in 1781, the Spanish captured
granted land in the Bahamas to the Lords proprietorsNassau and took possession of the whole colony. In
of Carolina, but the islands were left entirely to1973, the islands were ceded to Great Britain under
themselves. After Charles Town was destroyed by athe terms of the Treaty of Paris.
joint French and Spanish fleet in 1703, the localAfter the American Revolution, many Loyalists
pirates proclaimed an anarchic 'Privateers' Republic'migrated to islands such as the Exumas, bringing their
with Edward Teach— better known asAfrican slaves along with them to work the cotton
Blackbeard— for chief magistrate. Nassaufields. After the emancipation of slaves in 1834
was the main port preferred by the pirates duringhowever, plantation life slowly died out. Lord John
this time.Rolle, a powerful Loyalist and a major landowner in
But, when the islands became a British Crown Colonythe Exumas, actually bequeathed land to his slaves
in 1717, the first Royal Governor, a reformed piratefor life when he freed them in 1835. Several towns in
named Woodes Rogers, brought law and order tothe Exumas are named after him and many of the
The Bahamas in 1718, when he expelled thepeople who live there carry the last name of "Rolle."
buccaneers who had used the islands as hideouts.In 1861, during the American Civil War, the Union
Instead, the pirates still working in these watersNavy blockaded the islands in order to stop supplies
became privateers. Rogers is best known for hisfrom reaching the Confederacy. As a result,
capture of pirates Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Maryblockade-running became something of a pastime
Read.among the islanders. Indeed, many Bahamians grew
During the American War of Independence therich running Confederate cotton to English mills and
Bahamas fell to Spanish forces under General Galvezsending military equipment to the Confederate army.
in 1782. After the American Revolution the BritishHard times followed the end of the Civil War until
government issued land grants to a group of BritishProhibition transformed the islands into a base for
Loyalists, and the sparse population of The Bahamasrum-running. After Prohibition was repealed however,
tripled in a few years. The planters thought to growthe Bahamas saw an economic downturn. Prosperity
cotton, but the limy soil was unsuited, and thedid not return until World War II, when the islands
plantations soon failed. Many of the currentserved as a military base for the U.S., and later, a
inhabitants are descended from the slave populationmissile testing ground for Great Britain. In 1955, a free
brought to work on the Loyalist plantations. Whentrade area was established at the town of Freeport.
the UK outlawed the slave trade in 1807, the RoyalIt proved widely successful in stimulating offshore
Navy began intercepting ships and depositing freedbanking and tourism. It was the first time that the
slaves in The Bahamas. Plantation life was finishedbeauty and charm of the islands were recognized as
after the emancipation of remaining slaves in 1834.important commodities. When Cuba was closed to
During the American Civil War, The BahamasU.S. tourists in the 1950s, The Bahamas forged ahead
prospered as a center of Confederateto become one of the world's most popular tourist
blockade-running, bringing out cotton for the mills ofdestinations.
England and running in arms and munitions. AfterFumbling Towards Democracy
World War I, the islands served as a base forThrough the efforts of the Progressive Liberal Party
American rumrunners. During World War II, the Allies(PLP), black Bahamians began to successfully oppose
centered their flight training and antisubmarinethe ruling, white-controlled government led by the
operations for the Caribbean in The Bahamas. SinceUnited Bahamian Party. It was only in the 1967
Havana closed to American tourists in 1961, Theelections however, that the PLP was able to take
Bahamas has developed into a major tourist resortover the reigns of government. The Bahamas were
and at the same time the establishment of Freeportgranted limited powers of self-government as a
as a free trade zone (1955) developed an off-shoreBritish crown colony in 1964, powers which were
financial services center with a reputation for abroadened in 1969 through the efforts of then Prime
tolerant atmosphere.Minister, Lynden O. Pindling. The PLP, campaigning on
Bahamians achieved self-government through a seriesa platform of immediate independence, won an
of constitutional and political steps, attaining internaloverwhelming victory in the 1972 elections and
self-government in 1964 and full independence withinnegotiations with Britain began. On July 10, 1973, the
the Commonwealth of Nations on July 10, 1973.Bahamas became a sovereign state within the
When Europeans first arrived, they reported theCommonwealth of Nations.