Bahamas History

More famous for its reputation as hideaways of pirates in the days of yore, the history of Bahamas is almost fiction. However, due to existing evidence, no matter how-fiction-like, it still is the story of Bahamas' past.

It began with first settlers who are Arawaks and Southern Americans who found their way to the island by accident. Yet they live in it, thriving on the blessings it received from nature. This number of settler doubled with the arrival of the Englishmen from Bermuda. They settled in Eleuthera and began a prosperous agricultural economy, which still thrives today. The fate of Bahamas was twisted when the golden age of pirates began. Three of the world's most notorious pirates, including "Blackbeard" settled in this island. It became world famous for housing the scariest criminals but it prospered despite the reputation.

Bahamas was only shaken during the American Civil War when there had been a declaration for prohibition. The country, which then was gathering its finances from rum-running, started to lose profit and soon it was stagnant. There was no other way but to turn to nature's gifts. The island was finally recognized for its beauty and tourism was soon developed as some form of financial source. It started generating income and this was also recognized by Great Britain resulting to a declaration of the island's independence.