Bahamas

Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)

a group of numerous islands, keys, and reefs. They encircle the eastern end of the Gulf of Mexico in an irregular crescent 700 miles long, extending from off the coast of Florida to San Domingo. One of these islands, San Salvador , or Watling as it is now called, is thought to be the first land seen by Columbus on his first voyage of discovery, 1492. The early history of the group is not creditable to the discoverers. The natives were a simple people and were carried away by the Spaniards, in 1509, to the number, it is said, of 40,000, to work in the mines and pearl fisheries of Central America . Early English settlements were harried by the French and Spanish. The vacant islands became the resort of pirates. The present prosperity of the Bahamas dates from 1718, the date of permanent British occupation. The islands are low, well wooded, and fertile. Coral and shell limestone, mahogany, lignum vitae , ironwood, and other trees furnish an abundance of building material. The natives spun and wove cotton n the day of Columbus. Tobacco, sisal, sugar-cane, ginger, coffee, indigo, peas, potatoes, melons, gourds, and cucumbers flourish. Small fruits, oranges, lemons, pineapples, and cocoanuts are raised to advantage. Sponge fisheries are carried on along the coasts. Ambergris and pearls are collected. Salt is exported in considerable quantities. The total population of twenty inhabited islands is about 60,000. Nassau, the capital, is noted as a winter resort. The temperature for the entire year ranges only from 60 deg. F. to 85 deg. F. Nassau is connected by cable with the Florida mainland, and by steamer with London, Florida, and New York . American merchants do a business of about $750,000 a year with the Bahamas.