Gran Bajamar
The Wrecking Reefs
The name Grand Bahamas originated from “Gran Bajamar”, a term coined for the great shallow reefs surrounding the island. The pirates thrived on the geography of the island, wrecking the ships on these reefs. The British claimed the Islands of Bahamas in the end 1600 and by 1720 tamed the pirates. The Islands of Bahamas were a sleepy British colony till the mid-nineteenth century with very few people.
The US Influence
The American Civil War changed the scenario and smuggling thrived, though it was short lived but it tied the future of Bahamas with USA. The next was the prohibition era in US, which again led to smuggling from West End. The tourism came up in the 1960s as a viable industry, and just with the vision of Wallace Grove, an American financial tycoon.