DISCOVERY
The first inhabitants of the islands
now known as The Bahamas were
the Lucayans, an Arawakan-speaking Taino people, who arrived between about 500
and 800 from the islands of the Caribbean. Their ancestors
came from mainland South America, were Arawakan-language peoples were present
in mot territories and especially along the northeastern coast. They enjoyed a
peaceful way of life and had developed viable political, social and religious systems.
In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed
sailed from Spain on first voyage
with three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the flag
ship Santa Maria, seeking a direct route to Asian. On October 12th
Columbus made landfall in the New World on the island of Guanahani, which he renamed San Salvador Island.
Inspired by the surrounding shallow sea, he described them as islands of the “Baja
Mar” (shallow sea), which has become The Islands Of The Bahamas. When he arrived,
there were abut 40,000 Lucayans. Their peaceful nature made the Lucayans easy
targets for enslavement however and within 25 years, all of the Lucayans were
wiped out due to diseases, hardship and the slavery they endured.
SETTLERS
It was believed The Bahamas was not
colonized until the 17th century. However, recent studies show that there may
have been attempts of colonization by groups from Spain, France, Britain and
other Amerindians. In 1648 a group from Bermuda called 'The Company of Adventurers
for the Plantation of the Islands of Eleuthera,' which was led by William Sayle, sailed to the Bahamas to found a
colony. These early settlers were Puritans and republicans and
to them The Bahamas offered both religious and political freedom and
economic opportunity. The larger of the company's two ships, the William,
wrecked on the reef at the north end of what is now called Eleuthera Island, with the loss of all
provisions.
Despite the arrival of additional
settlers, including whites, slaves and free blacks from
Bermuda and the receipt of relief supplies from Virginia and New England, the Eleuthera colony struggled for
many years. It was hampered because of poor soil, fighting between settlers,
and conflict with the Spanish. In the mid-1650s many of the settlers returned
to Bermuda. The remaining settlers founded communities on Harbour Island and
Saint George's Cay (Spanish Wells) at the
north end of Eleuthera. In 1670 about 20 families lived in the Eleuthera
communities.In 1666 other colonists from Bermuda settled on New Providence, which soon became the center of
population and commerce in the Bahamas.
THAR BE PIRATES HERE
n the 1690s English privateers
(England was then at war with France) made a base in the
Bahamas. In 1696 Henry Every (or
Avery), using the assumed name Henry Bridgeman, brought his ship Fancy, loaded with pirates' loot, into Nassau
harbor. Every bribed the governor, Nicholas Trott (uncle of the Nicholas Trott who presided at the trial
of Stede Bonnet), with gold and silver, and by
leaving him the Fancy, still loaded with 50 tons of elephant tusks an average haul for a slaver
and 100 barrels of gunpowder exceedingly rare. Following peace with France in
1697, many of the privateers became pirates. From this time the pirates increasingly
made Nassau, the Bahamian capital founded in 1694, their base. The governors
appointed by the Proprietors usually made a show of suppressing the pirates,
but most were accused of dealing with them. By 1701 England was at war with
France and Spain. In 1703 and in 1706 combined French-Spanish fleets attacked and sacked Nassau, after which some
settlers left, and the Proprietors gave up on trying to govern the islands.[9]
With no functioning government in
the Bahamas, English privateers operated from Nassau as their base, in what has
been called a "privateers' republic," which lasted for eleven years.
The raiders attacked French and Spanish ships, while French and Spanish forces
burned Nassau several times. The War of the
Spanish Succession ended in 1714, but some privateers were slow
to get the news, or reluctant to accept it, and slipped into piracy. One
estimate puts at least 1,000 pirates in the Bahamas in 1713, outnumbering the
200 families of more permanent settlers.[10]
The "privateers' republic"
in Nassau became a "pirates' republic". At least 20 pirate captains
used Nassau or other places in the Bahamas as a home port during this period,
including Henry Jennings, Edward Teach(Blackbeard), Benjamin Hornigold and Stede Bonnet. Many settler families moved from
New Providence to Eleuthera or Abaco to escape harassment from the pirates.
On the other hand, residents of Harbor Island were happy to serve as middlemen
for the pirates, as merchants from New England and Virginia came there to
exchange needed supplies for pirate plunder.[11] As mentioned above, the
activities of pirates provoked frequent and brutal retaliatory attacks by the
French and Spanish.. By 1718, the King of England appointed Woodes Rogers to
serve as the Royal Governor. His job was to restore order. And he did. He
offered amnesty to those who surrendered. Those who resisted would be hanged.
300 pirates surrendered and the rest, including Blackbeard, fled.
THE LOYALIST
Over a century later, American
colonist loyal to Britain arrived in Eleuthera. Many brought their slaves as
well as their building skills and agriculture and shipbuilding expertise. These
greatly influence the Eletheran way of life. In 1783, they solidified their
independence and forced the retreat of the Spanish forces from the region with
firing a single shot. From 186 to 1865, the islands of The Bahamas benefitted
greatly from the U.S. Civil War. Britain’s textile industry depended on
southern cotton; however, the Union blockaded British ships from reaching the
southern ports. So blockade runners from Charleston met British ships here and
traded cotton for British goods. Upon their return, they sold their shipment
for huge profits. The end of The Civil War marked the end of prosperity. In
1919, the United States passed the 18th amendment prohibiting alcohol.
The colonial government expanded Prince George Wharf in Nassau to accommodate the
flow of alcohol. When Prohibition ended in 1934 so did the enormous revenues.
Combined with the collapse of the sponge industry, it economically devastated
The Bahamas.
INDEPENDENCE
The Hotel and Steam Ship Service Act
of 1898 opened our doors to the world. This act provided the government support
needed for the construction of hotels and subsidized steamship service. Since
then, everything from Prohibition bringing well-to-do Americans to the closure
of Cuba to Americans has impacted tourism in our country. Bahamians achieved
self-government in 1964 and full independence within the Commonwealth of
Nations on July 10th, 1973. The Bahamas became a free and sovereign
country, ending 325 years of peaceful British rule; the country’s first prime
minister was Lynden O. Pindling,
leader of the Progressive Liberal Party. Pindling presided as prime minister
for nearly 2o years, during which The Bahamas benefitted from tourism and foreign investment and still
does to this day.
0 comments:
Post a Comment