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During
most of the 18th century the islands of the Bahamas, lying
astride Spanish sailing routes from the Caribbean, were contested
by the British and Spanish - a matter unresolved until the
Treaty of Versailles in 1783. In this pact, England gained
uncontested rights to the Bahamas while ceding the peninsula
of Florida to Spain.
Then,
with the arrival in the Bahamas of the British loyalists from
colonial America beginning in 1783, Exuma experienced its
second major upheaval. This Loyalist immigration ushered in
a new era and laid the foundation for Exuma's modem history.
The American Revolution had ended, and as a result of the
British defeat, many colonists who had remained loyal to the
British Crown were in serious trouble. Convicted of treason,
their property confiscated, and ostracized by their neighbors
they were forced to leave the former colonies, (including
Florida recently ceded to Spain). In an effort to aid these
loyal, unfortunate subjects, the British government offered
some financial compensation and extensive land grants in the
virtually empty Bahamas.
Several
of these beleaguered Loyalists came to Exuma and, since most
of them were from the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, cotton
culture was at the core of their hopes for the future. England
was hungry for cotton, paying high prices and the mills in
Manchester were operating at capacity to meet the demand,
offering the Loyalists an opportunity to recoup the losses
suffered in the American colonies. For about 15 years - from
the mid 1780's until the turn of the century - Exuma flourished.
With a few exceptions the entire island was divided into Loyalist
land grants, most of which were cleared by the slash-and-burn
technique, and field after field was devoted to the growing
of cotton. These new landowners came to the island with slaves
brought from the southern colonies since slave labor was a
necessity if the cotton economy was to flourish. Additional
slaves were imported from West Africa and there was a small
slave market at the then Bowe's Tavern, believed to have been
on the site of the present Peace and Plenty Hotel.
In this
prosperous period, the Port of Exuma was an active, bustling
waterfront. There were at least two merchants, Walter Brown
and Thomas Teffair and Co., that carried extensive stocks
of clothing, food and household needs from England. Vessels
departed the island direct for London and Liverpool loaded
with cotton and often carrying passengers as well. And, of
course, there was frequent boat traffic to and from Nassau
- the seat of government. The Loyalists, having become a majority
of the population in the Bahamas, gradually assumed - after
much political struggle - leadership in the General assembly.
Exuma gained its first representation in that body with three
members elected in 1784. Several Exumians were prominent in
the politics of the colony and John Kelsall, from Little Exuma,
was chosen as the Speaker of the Assembly in 1794.
There
is no evidence that the plantation houses on Exuma were in
any way grand or imposing. Perhaps the Loyalist settlers decided
to begin with modest buildings, believing they could be expanded
or re-built once the new enterprises were safely launched
and thriving. Probably the most extensive facilities of this
period were the Kelsall estates in Little Exuma and those
on Crab Cay believed to have been built by William Walker.
Many of the old walls and foundations of other estates can
still be found in Exuma's undergrowth.
A road
was built the length of both Great and Little Exuma, probably
in much the same location as the present Queen's Highway.
Each landowner was responsible for that section of the road
on his property and, as a result, was not always in good shape.
While much of the intra-island travel was by horse, many of
the estates had "back landings" on the south-west
side of the island and these properties communicated by small
shallow draft sail boats along this lee shore.
Some of
the Exuma loyalists held land grants here, but spent much
of their time in Nassau occupied with trade, business or the
legal profession, their cotton enterprises being managed by
overseers. On the other hand there were full time residents
on the island and the more prominent ones could be likened
to an Exuma Chamber of Commerce. They maintained an active
interest in the affairs of the island, serving as Commissioners
of Roads, on a committee to build a church, as representatives
to the General assembly, etc. The record of these times is
replete with such names as John Kelsall, Jacob Winfree, Charles
Dames, Thomas Forbes, John Mowbray, Walter Brown, Nathaniel
Hall, Nicholas Almgreen, William Clarke, Martin Jollie, Benjamin
Morley and John Stewart.
In 1791,
a bill was introduced before the General assembly in Nassau
"to purchase a piece of Ground on the Island of Great
Exuma and thereon to lay out a Town". The bill was finally
approved in 1792, the town established in 1793, and lots were
offered for sale in 1794. The new community was named "Georgetown,"
(spelled as one word in those days) after George III, King
of England. This year, 1993, we celebrate the 200th Anniversary
of its founding.
In those
years, the state religion was the Church of England - or the
Anglican Church - where the Loyalists worshipped. The Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Anglican missionary
arm, sent out the Rev. Twining to Exuma in 1787. After the
ministry of several missionaries, a church building was erected
and consecrated in 1802 The present St. Andrew's structure
is reported to be the third church building to stand on this
site. The Anglicans never gave much consideration to the slave
population and it was not until early in the 1880's that the
"dissident" churches - the Baptists and Methodists
- actively proselyted the slaves under the banner of emancipation.
A school, apparently very modest, was constructed by the Church.
Failure
of the Cotton Culture > |
