Abaco Bahamas Hotels
Abaco Bahamas Hotels
About the Abacos
The Abacos are a group of islands in the Bahamas east of Grand Bahama. Great Abaco and Little Abaco are the primary islands. Disney’s privately-owned “Castaway Cay” is here.
The Abaco Islands lie in the northern Bahamas and comprise the main islands of Great Abaco and Little Abaco, together with the smaller Wood Cay, Elbow Cay, Lubbers Quarters Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Great Guana Cay, Gorda Cay, (Castaway Cay), Man-o-War Cay, Stranger’s Cay, Umbrella Cay, Great Stirrup Cay, Walker’s Cay, Moore’s Island and Sandy Point. Administratively, Abaco Islands constitute five of the 31 Districts of the Bahamas: North Abaco, Central Abaco, South Abaco, Moore’s Island, and Hope Town. Towns include Marsh Harbour, Hope Town, Treasure Cay, Coopers Town, and Cornishtown.
History
Although inhabited by Lucayan Indians earlier, the first European settlers were Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, who arrived in 1783, as was also the case at Cat Island.
The combined population is about 13,000 and the principal settlement and capital is Marsh Harbour. The red and white striped lighthouse at Hope Town on Elbow Cay is a noted local landmark. Coopers Town has 900 residents. The ethnic make up is about 50% white and 50% black. The original Loyalist settlers made a modest living by salvaging wrecks, by building small wooden boats, and by basic farming.
Activities
The islands are a noted base for sailing activities in the Bahamas as well as resort tourism.
Transportation
Marsh Harbour Airport and Treasure Cay Airport serve the island.
Independence of Abaco
Alvin Toffler in The Third Wave tells that, before the 1970s, a group of American businessmen, arms traffickers, supporters of free enterprise, a black agent of the information services, and a MP of the British House of Lords planned the independence of Abaco. Or, in another version, it would have a UK dependency status similar to that of Anguilla. They would promise one acre (4,000 m²) to each of the natives on the island. This would have left thousands of acres for realtors and their financial backers. At least one flag was designed, combining the Hope Town Lighthouse with a Union Flag. Abaco would end as a utopia for businessmen fearing socialism. The British government had no interest in this scheme, which in any case would have been strongly opposed by the legitimate national government in Nassau. Finally, the locals did not support the plan, perhaps because unspoken racial issues are alleged to have mixed into it. In any event, the Abaco Independence Movement seems to have died a peaceful death around 1975.
