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Christopher Columbus
With his voyage being sponsored by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Christopher Columbus took three ships, the Niña, The Pinta and The Santa anta Maria and set sail to find Cathay and the Far East only to be greeted 9 weeks later by Lucayan Indians on the shores of what would later be known as The Bahamas. His landfall opened up the Western world beginning a new era which resulted in the first recorded history of the New World. The Islands of The Bahamas would remain in the possession of the Spaniard until 1629 at which time they were included in properties granted to Attorney General of England Sir Robert Heath by King Charles I. They remained unpopulated until the settling of the Eleutherian Adventurers (See Islands In-depth).
King Charles II in 1670 granted The Bahama Islands to six of the eight Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas, giving them full autonomy of the islands, which allowed them to create laws and appoint Governors. This period in Bahamian History was a turbulent one, the governors proved to be corrupt, ineffectual and inefficient. The country was many times plundered by the Spanish and the French forces, Piracy, Lawlessness; poverty and ship wrecks prevailed, leading to the most turbulent time in Bahamian History- the days of Piracy!
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