BGCSE History (1454) cheat sheet

The Lucayans were Taíno-speaking peoples who migrated north from the Greater Antilles into the Bahamas beginning around 600-700 CE, with the largest wave of settlement after about 800-1000 CE.

Lucayan society was organized into cacicazgos (chiefdoms) led by a cacique (chief); villages of several hundred people clustered near coasts and were governed by ranked hereditary leaders.

Subsistence combined fishing, shellfish gathering, hunting of land crabs and iguanas, and cultivation of cassava (yuca) on conucos (raised mounds), plus maize, sweet potato and cotton.

Key material culture: duhos (ceremonial wooden stools), canoas (dugout canoes carved from single trees), stone and shell tools, cotton hammocks, and zemis (carved ancestral/spirit figures).

The Lucayans used the batey for ceremonial ballgames and aretí for ritual and social gatherings; religious practice centered on ancestor veneration and zemis.

The Bahamas' name derives from the Lucayan word 'ba ha ma' (large upper middle island); Guanahani (San Salvador) was the first landfall of Columbus in 1492.

Spanish slave raiding after 1492 depopulated the archipelago; by about 1520 the Lucayan population was effectively extinguished, making the Bahamas a case of near-total indigenous erasure.

Christopher Columbus made landfall on Guanahani (San Salvador) on 12 October 1492; the Bahamas became the gateway to Spanish exploration of the Americas.

Spanish raiders enslaved Lucayans for work on Hispaniola and in pearl fisheries; the indigenous population collapsed within about three decades of contact.

English claims began with the 1629 grant of the Bahama Islands to Sir Robert Heath by Charles I, but no settlement resulted.

In 1648 the Eleutheran Adventurers, led by William Sayle, settled Eleuthera after religious disputes in Bermuda; they named the island for the Greek word for freedom.

In 1670 Charles II granted the Bahamas to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, who appointed governors and claimed revenues but invested little in defense.

Nassau was founded around 1670 on New Providence and became the colony's administrative center; Spanish and French attacks repeatedly destroyed early settlements.

The 1717-1718 royal takeover ended proprietary rule: George I appointed Woodes Rogers as first royal governor, and Rogers suppressed piracy under the 1718 pardon and the 1720 Act for the Suppression of Pirates.

Slavery underpinned the Bahamian economy from the late 17th century; enslaved Africans worked on cotton, sisal and salt-raking operations and in households.

The 1780s cotton boom on Exuma, Cat Island and Long Island collapsed by the early 1800s due to soil exhaustion and the chenille bug, ending large-scale plantation agriculture.

The 1781 'Burning of Nassau' by Spanish forces under Bernardo de Gálvez disrupted the colony; Spain occupied the Bahamas briefly in 1782-1783.

The Treaty of Versailles (1783) returned the Bahamas to Britain; Loyalist planters then arrived with enslaved people, inflating the enslaved population to roughly 80 percent of the colony.

The 1799 census recorded a majority enslaved population; enslaved people had no legal standing, could not testify against whites, and faced capital punishment for rebellion.

The 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act banned British slave trading; the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron intercepted slave ships and liberated Africans were settled in the Bahamas.

Liberated Africans were apprenticed and settled at places such as Carmichael, Gambier and Fox Hill, adding free black communities to the colony.

The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 took effect on 1 August 1834, freeing enslaved people throughout the British Empire, including the Bahamas.

Emancipation first took the form of apprenticeship (1834-1838); in the Bahamas apprenticeship was ended early in 1838 by Governor William Colebrooke.

The Act provided £20 million in compensation to slave owners; enslaved people received no compensation, and Bahamian planters received only a small share.

After emancipation most freedpeople became subsistence farmers and fisherfolk, or moved to towns; a wage labor market developed slowly because land was relatively available.

The 1838 end of apprenticeship meant full freedom; 1 August is celebrated in the Bahamas as Emancipation Day (August Monday).

The decline of the plantation economy after emancipation shifted the colony's economic weight toward Nassau, wrecking, salt and sponging.

Emancipation did not bring political or social equality; voting remained tied to property, and a white merchant-planter elite dominated the House of Assembly.

The House of Assembly was established in 1729 under Governor Woodes Rogers, making it one of the oldest continuous legislatures in the Americas.

The 1729 constitution provided for a governor, a Council (appointed) and an Assembly (elected), with the franchise restricted to property-owning white men.

The Crown Colony period followed the 1717-1718 royal takeover; governors such as Woodes Rogers and later Sir James Carmichael Smyth strengthened central authority.

The 1833 Act and 1838 reforms, plus Governor Colebrooke's reforms, extended some rights and reformed the courts and the franchise.

The 1861 and later constitutions entrenched a bicameral legislature; the Assembly controlled the purse and often clashed with governors.

In 1940 the Duke of Windsor served as governor; his tenure coincided with labor unrest and the rise of the Burma Road riots in 1942.

The 1963 constitution introduced ministerial government and a cabinet, and the 1964 constitution established internal self-government with a premier.

Wrecking: Bahamian pilots salvaged ships wrecked on the reefs; the 1855 Wrecking Act and the establishment of lighthouses (from the 1830s) gradually reduced wrecking income.

Sponging: the sponge industry peaked in the late 19th century, employing thousands; a fungal blight in 1938 destroyed the sponge beds and the industry collapsed.

Sisal and pineapple cultivation rose in the late 19th century; the pineapple industry declined after the 1880s due to competition and soil exhaustion.

Tourism began with the 1898-1900 winter season and grew with the 1901 opening of the Hotel Colonial and the Florida-Bahamas steamship links; the 1920s Prohibition era boosted Nassau as a liquor transshipment point.

The 1930s Great Depression and the 1938 sponge blight deepened poverty; the 1942 Burma Road riots reflected labor and racial grievances.

Migration: Bahamians moved to Florida and New York for work, especially during the 1910s-1920s; remittances became important to the economy.

World War II and the 1940s-1950s saw the establishment of the Bahamas Tourist Board and the growth of air travel, laying the foundation for mass tourism.

The first political party, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), was founded in 1953 by William Cartwright, Henry Taylor and others; it drew support from the black majority.

The United Bahamian Party (UBP) represented the white merchant elite and dominated the House of Assembly through the 1950s and early 1960s.

The 1958 general strike and the 1959 labour movement strengthened the PLP's alliance with trade unions.

The 1962 general election produced a UBP victory; the PLP won a majority of the popular vote but fewer seats, highlighting malapportionment.

The 1964 constitution granted internal self-government, and the PLP's Lynden O. Pindling became premier after the 1967 election.

Majority rule was achieved on 10 January 1967 when the PLP, led by Pindling, took office; this date is celebrated as Majority Rule Day.

The 1967 'Quiet Revolution' ended white minority political dominance; the PLP governed continuously from 1967 to 1992.

The Bahamas became independent on 10 July 1973 as a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state represented by a governor-general.

The independence constitution established a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature: an appointed Senate and an elected House of Assembly.

Lynden O. Pindling served as the first prime minister of independent Bahamas (1973-1992); the PLP dominated early national politics.

The Free National Movement (FNM) was formed in 1971 from a UBP-PLP split and won the 1992 election, with Hubert Ingraham becoming prime minister.

The Bahamas joined the United Nations in 1973 and the Organization of American States in 1982; it is a member of CARICOM (joined 1983).

The 1973 constitution protects fundamental rights and freedoms and prohibits discrimination; the 2016 constitutional referendum on gender equality was defeated.

Modern challenges include hurricane recovery (e.g., Dorian in 2019), drug trafficking and money-laundering regulation, and tourism dependence; the country remains a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system.

Lucayan villages were typically located near the coast, with houses of thatch and wood arranged around a central plaza used for ceremonies and ballgames.

The cacique's authority was hereditary and extended over several villages; tribute in food and goods flowed to the chief.

Lucayan religion centered on zemis, which were ancestral spirits embodied in carved stone, wood or bone objects kept in shrines.

Cassava was processed on griddles to remove toxins; this technique and the conuco system were inherited from South American Arawak traditions.

Lucayan canoes were large enough for inter-island trade, linking the Bahamas to Cuba and Hispaniola through exchange networks.

Columbus's journal records Lucayans as peaceful and generous, but this account reflects European expectations as much as observed reality.

Disease, enslavement and forced relocation caused the Lucayan population to fall from perhaps tens of thousands to near zero by the 1520s.

The Eleutheran Adventurers arrived in 1648 after Bermuda's Puritan community split over religious conformity; they named their settlement Preacher's Cave on Eleuthera.

The Lords Proprietors of Carolina governed the Bahamas from 1670 until 1717, appointing governors such as Christopher Monck, Duke of Albemarle, and later Nicholas Trott.

Nassau became a pirate haven in the early 18th century, with figures such as Blackbeard (Edward Teach) and Charles Vane operating from the islands.

Woodes Rogers arrived in 1718 with a royal commission and a pardon for pirates; he hanged several pirates and restored royal authority.

The 1720 Act for the Suppression of Pirates and the 1729 establishment of the Assembly consolidated royal government.

Spain attacked Nassau in 1720 and again in 1781-1782, briefly occupying the colony; the 1783 Treaty of Versailles restored British rule.

Enslaved Africans were brought to the Bahamas from the 17th century, initially to work on small cotton and provision plantations and in salt production.

The 1780s cotton boom brought Loyalist planters and their enslaved people; the boom collapsed by about 1800, leaving many planters bankrupt.

Salt raking on Inagua, Turks and Caicos and Exuma used enslaved labor and became a major export industry by the early 19th century.

The Bahamas' shallow soil and limited rainfall made large-scale plantation agriculture marginal, so slavery there was less profitable than in the Caribbean sugar islands.

The 1807 abolition of the slave trade meant the Royal Navy brought liberated Africans to the Bahamas, where they were apprenticed and settled.

Slave resistance included running away, maroon communities, and the 1830s unrest that preceded emancipation; the 1833 Act ended the system.

The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 abolished slavery in most British colonies effective 1 August 1834, with apprenticeship for former slaves until 1838.

Governor William Colebrooke ended apprenticeship in the Bahamas early, on 1 August 1838, ahead of the imperial timetable.

The £20 million compensation went to slave owners, not to the enslaved; the Bahamas' share was small because its plantation economy was weak.

After emancipation many freedpeople became small farmers, fishermen and artisans; some migrated to Nassau or to Cuba and Florida.

The 1840s-1850s saw the growth of free black communities such as Fox Hill and Grants Town, with churches and schools as community anchors.

Emancipation did not end racial inequality; property qualifications kept most black Bahamians from voting until the 20th century.

1729: the House of Assembly was established, with elected members and a property-based franchise.

1833-1838: court and franchise reforms followed emancipation, though voting remained restricted by property and gender.

1861: a new constitution created a nominated Legislative Council alongside the elected Assembly.

1940: the Duke of Windsor became governor; his tenure saw labor unrest and the 1942 Burma Road riots.

1963: a new constitution introduced ministerial government and a cabinet responsible to the Assembly.

1964: internal self-government with a premier and cabinet; the governor retained defense and foreign affairs.

1973: the independence constitution created a governor-general, an appointed Senate and an elected House of Assembly.

Wrecking was a major industry from the 18th century; Bahamian wreckers salvaged cargo from ships grounded on the reefs and shoals.

Lighthouses built from the 1830s (e.g., Hole-in-the-Wall, Abaco; Gun Cay) reduced shipwrecks and thus wrecking income.

Sponge fishing centered on Andros and the Exuma chain; the industry peaked in the 1880s-1890s and collapsed after the 1938 blight.

Pineapple growing on Eleuthera flourished in the late 19th century but declined after the 1880s due to soil exhaustion and competition from Cuba.

Tourism grew from the 1890s with steamship service and hotels in Nassau; Prohibition in the 1920s made Nassau a transshipment point for liquor.

After World War II, air travel and the 1950s-1960s hotel boom made tourism the dominant industry; the 1960s also saw the rise of offshore banking.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was founded in 1953 and drew on the black majority and the labor movement.

The United Bahamian Party (UBP) represented the white merchant elite and controlled the Assembly through the 1950s and early 1960s.

The 1958 general strike and the 1959 labour legislation strengthened the PLP's union ties.

The 1962 election gave the UBP a majority despite the PLP winning more votes, exposing malapportionment.

The 1964 constitution brought internal self-government and a premier; the PLP won the 1967 election under Lynden Pindling.

10 January 1967 is celebrated as Majority Rule Day, marking the PLP's assumption of government.

The Free National Movement (FNM) was formed in 1971 and won the 1992 election under Hubert Ingraham.

The Bahamas became independent on 10 July 1973 as a Commonwealth realm with a parliamentary system.

The independence constitution provides for a governor-general, an appointed Senate and an elected House of Assembly.

Lynden Pindling was the first prime minister of independent Bahamas, serving from 1973 to 1992.

The FNM under Hubert Ingraham won the 1992 election, ending 25 years of PLP rule.

The Bahamas joined the United Nations in 1973, the OAS in 1982 and CARICOM in 1983.

Modern issues include hurricane recovery (Dorian, 2019), financial regulation, drug trafficking and tourism dependence.

The country remains a constitutional monarchy; the 2016 gender-equality referendum was defeated.