Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Eleutheran Adventurers, a group of English puritans, set out from Barbados
but shipwreck on Eleuthera's Devil's Backbone reef, where they're forced to
spend a season living in a cave.
1695
Charles Town is rechristened as Nassau in honor of the Netherland's William
III, a member of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau.
1706
The Spanish and the French team up for the infamous Raid on Nassau, where
they trash the city and drive out the English privateers and settlers.
1718
English sea captain Woodes Rogers sails into Nassau and drives out the pirates.
The Bahamian nation's motto 'Pirates Expelled-Commerce Restored' is coined;
Rogers becomes the first Royal Governor.
1775
The American Revolution starts an exodus of Loyalists and their slaves to the
region. Many set up shop on the islands off Abaco, now known as the Loyalist
Cays and still populated with their descendants.
1782
The Spanish are back! Working with the Americans, they capture Nassau and
declare possession of the Bahamas. A year later, British Loyalists retake the is-
lands.
1834
The British abolish slavery and the plantation system crumbles. Freed slaves es-
tablish villages, but indentured servitude exists for another four years and racial
inequalities persist for well over a century.
1860s
The Bahamas become a base for Confederate blockade-runners sneaking sup-
plies into Charleston during the American Civil War. The economy flourishes,
though it will tank again post-war.
1920s
