The Exumas are a group of 365 islands and cays that stretch over 100 miles,
lying 35 miles southeast of Nassau. At their widest point, these islands are
a mere 7½ miles across, with clean white sand beaches ringed by a striking
emerald sea. The two main islands in the archipelago, Great Exuma and Little
Exuma, are found at the southern end of the group. These two islands, connected
by a short bridge, are home to almost all of the 3500 residents.
The natives of these islands were completely enslaved in the 1500s, and the
islands remained empty until the first settlers arrived in the 1780s, although
pirates are known to have used the cays and coves of the Exumas in addition
to their bases in Nassau. American Loyalists fleeing the Revolutionary War brought
the first cotton plantations to the islands, and also founded the first town,
Georgetown, in 1793. Lord John Rolle was the most prominent of these settlers,
and upon his death in 1835 all of his holdings passed into the ownership of
his slaves.
Heavy farming by the Loyalists decimated the Exumas’ thin topsoil, leading
to abandonment by the plantation owners. The slaves, however, remained, subsisting
on fishing and what little farming could still take place. These days, the main
industry in the Exumas is tourism.
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