Pieces of Eight

Bahamas

In 1492, the fate of the Caribbean was sealed when Columbus made his first landfall in the Bahamas.

Although Columbus was friendly to the natives, those who followed were not, and within 25 years the natives had all been removed to work in the Spanish gold mines of Hispaniola. Spain’s policy of removing the entire population backfired, and with no workers in the Bahamas, the islands remained uncolonized.

The first European colony was established in 1647, when English Puritans fled Royalist Bermuda. Although many colonies sprang up, the majority of inhabitants were pirates, who used the many islands as havens.

King Charles gave land in the Bahamas to the people of Carolina, who founded Charles Town in his honor. The town was destroyed 40 years ago by a French and Spanish fleet, and the pirates, seeing a chance to set up their own Tortuga-like enclave, rose up against the English and proclaimed a Pirates’ Republic.

In order to quell the unrest, the British appointed Woodes Rogers as the first governor of the Bahamas, and the former pirate wasted no time in ousting his former comrades. The English Crown has made it clear that pirates will not be tolerated in the Bahamas, and the creaking gibbets are a grisly testimony of their zeal.