In 1783 the Bahamas Islands were ceded to Britain by Spain through the treaty of Paris, thus ending 300 years of dispute between the two countries. It wasn’t until after the American Revolution that the islands of the Bahamas began to be repopulated. Many loyalists began to return, and they brought their slaves with them. Initially they tried to seed plant cotton, however the plants fell to a type of caterpillar and they had to learn to fish and grow vegetables to survive.
The pattern continued with the first white settlers bringing slaves with them as well. It wasn’t until the British banned slavery in 1834 that the slaves were freed. And just as in the U. S. after freedom there was little equality between blacks and whites for many years.
Unfortunately it seems the Bahamas have always prospered during times of strife for others. And such was the case with the American Civil War when blockade running became a boon for the islands of the Bahamas. The Confederacy established a base in Nassau, New Providence. Vessels brought cotton from South and North Carolina and returned with goods needed for the war effort. However, peace ended the need for blockade running and Nassau along with the rest of the Bahamas again fell into economic depression.
It was another kind runner that provided the next economic boom for the Bahamas Islands. It was the 18th amendment bringing prohibition to the U. S. made rum running between the Bahamas and the the south. This was a short crossing across the Gulf Stream, and the Coast Guard had a difficult stemming the tide. These rum runners and bootleggers used Grand Bahama, Nassau, and Bimini as there bases of operations. Once again the economy took a blow in 1933 when the 18th amendment was repealed and rum running was no longer profitable.
This next attempt to bring prosperity or at least help the economy to sustain the population came when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry the divorced American Wallis Simpson. They arrived in the Bahamas as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor on August 17t, 1940. The Duke was appointed governor of the Bahamas and began the process or turning the economy around.
However, it took World II to bring some semblance of order to the Bahamas. The islands of the Bahamas were important to the U. S. due to their strategic location, and the Air Force built two bases there which were later inherited for use as airports for the Bahamas. There are still U. S. missile tracking stations on some of the out islands.
After World War II there was a succession of prime ministers, and along with that came different levels of government corruption. The Bahamas became independent in 1972, but remained part of the British Commonwealth.