The History of the Bahamas

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 The Bahamas has existed since 300 AD but it was never really called the Bahamas, it was just a regular island that was discovered by people that came from the island which is now known as Cuba. At the time, Cuba did not have its name. Going further in time around 900 AD to 1500 AD, people know as Lucayans settled in the Bahamas. In 1492, Christopher Columbus had arrived at the island of San Salvador. Columbus had described the Bahamas as the islands of the shallow sea. By the time Columbus arrived in the Bahamas, about 40,000 were living in the Bahamas. However, soon after this, Lucayans died off due to diseases and bad conditions due to slavery. 




    In 1629, England had claimed the Bahamas as their own but there were no settlements yet. In 1649, English Puritans came to the Bahamas searching for religious freedom. They wanted somewhere to be able to practice their Puritan faith without the judgment of the king. But they didn't expect the hardships of farming and didn't know it would be so hard to grow food. In 1670, the Bahamas had created a commercial port which was known as Nassau to promote trading. Throughout the years, Nassau was raided by lawless, seafaring countless times. In addition, the Nassau was destroyed twice. The first time it was destroyed by Spanish troops. The second time, it was destroyed by the French. Also, pirates began looting heavy cargo ships and stealing their supplies. To solve this problem, by 1718, George Louis (The king of England at the time) had made a man named Woodes Rogers the Royal Governer to restore order to the Bahamas which had later done so.

    In 1861, The Bahamas were significantly affected by the American civil war. Britain got cotton from the south for their textile industry but the Union blocked the British from getting to the south. But people from Charleston met British ships and traded cotton for goods. They ended up making a huge profit. On 1898, the Bahamas opened up their borders and let everyone come in. This brought tourism to the Bahamas, allowing Americans to visit the Bahamas. On July 10th, 1973, The British rule over the Bahamas had come to an end, giving the Bahamas Independence. But, to this day, the Bahamas is apart of the Commonwealth of Nations.



Sources: 

“Bahamas History - The First Settlements and the Age of Piracy.” The Islands of The Bahamas, www.bahamas.com/our-history.



    

Comments

  1. Gian RendonApril 6, 2021 at 8:03 PM

    Good start to the blog! Starting off with date helps set up where the blog is starting off on a timeline. Great transitions from one historical even to another, helps the information on the page flow better. Diving into the Puritans that were seeking religious freedom was also very interesting. I also learned that the Bahamas was once under British rule! I did not know that! Overall, good job on diving into the history of the Bahamas, great work.

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