User:Stan2525/Nassau

Intro

To the casual observer in Nassau/Paradise Island, the British influence is easy to see. The automobile drivers on the left side of the road, the starched uniforms of the Royal Bahamian Police Force, the changing of the guard ceremony at Government House—these things show that Great Britain has played a big role in Nassau/Paradise Island’s history.

West Africa has shaped this area, too. Among other things, it’s evident in the compellingly rhythmic Junkanoo festival, the rousing spirituals at church services and the Bahamian specialty of johnny cake.

Although Nassau/Paradise Island has been influenced by other countries, such as the United States of America and Haiti, its culture is distinctly Bahamian—a unique blend of British and African customs, traditions, and beliefs.

The fine harbour of Nassau lies on the 21 mile-long island of New Providence. Tiny Paradise Island protects the Nassau harbour for a three-mile stretch. This sheltered harbour attracted settlers from the early days. When British colonists discovered the harbour in the late 1600s, some left the Bahamian island of Eleuthera to live on New Providence.

British influence

In 1670, King Charles II of England granted The Islands Of The Bahamas to six British noblemen called the Proprietors. These men brought British settlers from Bermuda to the island of New Providence. There they built a fort and a city, which they called Charlestown, in honour of King Charles II. Several years later, the city was renamed Nassau, to honour William, Prince of Orange-Nassau, and successor to the throne of England.

Although some of the religious farmers from Eleuthera lived in Nassau, most of its population were pirates, privateers or wreckers (those who lured ships to the reefs and then plundered the cargo from the resulting shipwrecks). In an attempt to stop the plundering, Spanish and French fleets attacked and destroyed Nassau periodically over the following years. However, the lawless citizens always returned and rebuilt the port city.

In 1718, Great Britain declared The Islands Of The Bahamas a crown colony and named former privateer Woodes Rogers as its first Royal Governor. Rogers flushed out the pirates from Nassau, restored law and order and built Fort Nassau.

After accomplishing his mission, Rogers left the islands, but returned in 1729 at the request of the Bahamians. He opened the first House of Assembly in The Bahamas and presided over the colony until his death. The assembly adopted Rogers’ official motto, "Expulsis Piratis, Restituta Commercia," which means "Pirates Expelled, Commerce Restored."

During the Revolutionary War, British Loyalists fleeing America in the 1770s settled in Nassau. They added to the town’s architecture, population and prosperity. During the American Civil War and Prohibition, Nassau grew and prospered as it was ideally situated for shipping blockaded goods to the United States.

Since Nassau is the capital city of The Islands Of The Bahamas and has always contained most of the country’s population, its history is intricately woven into the country’s history.

People

Approximately 172,000 people live in the Nassau/Paradise Island area, with the majority of them residing in the capital city of Nassau. Present-day Bahamians have a rich cultural heritage that their ancestors brought with them when they immigrated to The Islands Of The Bahamas.

British immigrants first settled in the Nassau/Paradise Island area in the 1660s. Some of them were Pilgrims who left the nearby island of Eleuthera because the soil in New Providence was better suited for farming. Others came from Bermuda to establish a commercial port, which was eventually named Nassau.

In 1773, the Bahamian population, most of who lived on the island of New Providence, grew to about 4,000, and the ratio of Whites to Blacks was almost equal. Then, Loyalists who were opposed to United States independence began to leave America for pro-British settlements in The Islands Of The Bahamas. Many were wealthy plantation owners who, along with their slaves, settled on New Providence. By 1785, the Bahamian population had doubled and the Blacks outnumbered the Whites for the first time.

Between 1808 and 1860, almost 6,000 Africans settled on New Providence. They were brought there by British naval patrols that freed them from foreign slave ships. The majority of free Blacks lived in Nassau. However, in the 1830s there were at least eight villages located elsewhere on New Providence where free Blacks lived.

Skilled labourers from China, Greece, Lebanon and the West Indies migrated to New Providence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to meet the demand for labour. Because of the economic hardships and unrest in their native land, Haitians began migrating to Nassau/Paradise Island in the 1950s.

The friendly Bahamian people have a culture and a history like no other. It is a unique blend of the people who settled here—especially the British and the Africans.

Pirates

Although it is a documented fact that pirates used Nassau as their base of operation from the 1600s to the 1700s, it is difficult to separate the tall tales of their lives from the historical accounts.

Edward Teach, or Blackbeard as he was called, was known throughout the world for his bloodthirstiness. A big man, he struck fear in everyone he came in contact with, including his crew. By some accounts, Blackbeard weaved hemp into his hair and set it on fire to frighten ships. Other accounts claimed he weaved hemp into his beard and lit it.

Legends abound about Blackbeard capturing some ships without firing a shot, because merchant captains would simply surrender once they recognized him. He was so powerful, he appointed himself as the governor of Nassau and ruled the city for a few years until Woodes Rogers ran him off.

"Calico Jack" Rackham (so called for the calico pants he wore) was a famous pirate who roamed the waters around the Nassau/Paradise Island area. Some believe he created the skull and crossbones flag, and that all pirates subsequently adopted this symbol. However, most pirates had their own individual flag, so it was unlikely that they flew the pirate flag shown in movies today.

Calico Jack is best known for his relationship with Anne Bonny and Mary Read, the only women pirates on record. When they first began their pirate careers, the women were disguised as men. Fellow crew members admired their bravery and took them at face value, believing them to be men. Anne and Mary ended up sailing around the Nassau/Paradise Island area on Calico Jack’s ship. In times of battle, they wore masculine garb. When it was peaceful, they wore dresses on board.

By most accounts, Anne was Calico Jack’s mistress, but others say Mary was. However, most agree that the two served on Calico Jack’s ship at the same time and were good friends.

Tourism

Tourism, mostly concentrated in Nassau, slowly grew during the first half of the twentieth century. In the 1950s and 1960s, tourists flocked to the new resorts just west of Nassau at Cable Beach (named for the first telegraph cable laid there in 1892). Visitors were then drawn to Paradise Island in the 1960s and 1970s, partly because in 1966 the government built a bridge connecting Nassau to Paradise Island.

Before Huntington Hartford bought and developed Paradise Island in the 1960s, it was called Hog Island and was used mostly for farming. With its beautiful beaches and ideal location, Paradise Island soon drew other investors like Merv Griffin, Donald Trump and Sol Kerzner, who developed the fancy hotels and fabulous resorts that dominate the island and make it a top resort destination today.