Bahamas History




The Bahamas unique history, location, and geography lend themselves to adventure at any scale. From the bustle of Nassau to the serenity of an uninhabited island, or cay, all of the Bahamas enjoys clear, warm, shallow waters and an abundance of marine life. The history of Spanish Cay as recounted in The Island Remembered is tied to the history of the Bahamas in the 1950's. Close to Florida, the Bahamas of the early 1950's had an unspoiled, pristine quality. Based on a 1953 census, the number of residents amounted to only 85,000 with over half of them living on New Providence Island, the site of the capital city of Nassau. Even the most prominent of the outer islands, Great Abaco, Eleuthera, and Andros were hardly populated, and hundreds of beautiful islands and cays remained entirely uninhabited and undeveloped. At this point in Bahamas history, the Bahamas status as a British colony would also appeal to an American investor. English was the spoken language and based upon their colonial status, the Bahamas were both politically and economically stable as well as friendly with the U.S. These factors led to the purchase of Spanish Cay by well-known Texan and founder of the Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Clint Murchison, Jr. Clint Jr.'s Spanish Cay was a place unlike any other and The Island Remembered recounts its remarkable place in Bahamas history.