-Caveat Lector- http://www.bahamas-real-estate.com/politics.htm History, Political ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Brief History of the Bahamas The Bahamas was born to become a major international resort destination, with it’s exquisite white and pink beaches, lush tropical landscape, unsullied waters, and year round sunshine. This archipelago, which begins just 60 miles off the Florida coast, contains more than 700 islands (approximately 20 of them inhabited) scattered across 100,000 spare miles of the Atlantic. You might call Christopher Columbus the first tourist to hit the Bahamas, although he was actually trying to find a route to the East Indies with his three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. Columbus is popularly believed to have made landfall in the New World on October 12, 1492, at San Salvador in the southern part of the Bahamas. Columbus liked the place enough to spend several weeks visiting the area’s other islands, such as Crooked island, Rum cay, and Long island, before continuing his laborious voyage through the Caribbean. In the early part of the 16th century King Charles I claimed the Bahamas for England. Among the British settlers where a more nefarious subset of humanity, pirates and buccaneers like Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard), Henry Morgan and Calico Jack Ruckman. Following these early pioneers were the loyal British plantation owners from the Carolinas who set up shop in the islands. There are still gracious homes today in Nassau which reflect the genteel, aristocratic life they had to abandon in the American south. Prohibition in the 1920’s brought rum running from the Bahamas to a thirsty United States. In 1929 Pan American started to make daily flights from Miami to Nassau. One of the most colorful and enigmatic characters of the era came to Nassau in the 1930’s. Sir Harry Oakes was a rough-and-ready Canadian who made his fortune in a gold strike. During the 40’s he built the Bahamas Country Club, the Cable Beach golf course, and Nassau’s first commercial airport. Tourism was fast becoming the islands most profitable industry. Political History and Current Events For more then 300 years, the country had been ruled by whites; members of the United Bahamian Party (UBP) were known as the Bay Street Boys, after Nassau’s main business thorough-fare. But the voice of the overwhelming black majority was being heard in the land. In 1953, a London-educated barrister named Lynden Pindling joined the opposition Progressive Liberal Party. Pindling’s magnetism kept him in power through independence from Britain in 1973. In August 1992 there came the biggest political upset since Pindling took power in 1967. The Free National Movement party headed by lawyer Hubert Ingraham was elected to make it better in the Bahamas again. The biggest news in the Bahamas today is the purchase of Paradise Island Resort and Casino by Sun International Hotels. A $125 million upgrade to the property and a planned expansion of $250 million to commence in late 1996 places Atlantis on the short list of many northern travelers. Disney is progressing with plans to develop Gorda Cay in the Abaco’s as a major part of their North American family marketing program. Sandal’s and Breeze’s super clubs are just completing major refurbishment’s to facilities on Cable Beach. These many improvements bode well for making the Bahamas the place to be. ==== http://www.bahamas.net.bs/history/20cent.htmlhttp://www.bahamas.net.bs/histo ry/20cent.html The Bahamas in the 20th Century By the turn of the 20th century, an extraordinary mix of culture and folklore was standing shoulder to shoulder with the American rich, hungry for vacations in a warmer climate. The Bahamas benefited yet again from a regular stream of Americans. Put on the map by the American Civil War, the property boom in nearby Florida and the efforts of entrepreneurs such as Henry Flagler, The Bahamas was slowly but surely off to its start as a desirable destination. On the outbreak of World War One in 1914 however, Bahamians in their hundreds left the country to fight in Europe. Post-war depression came, and with it, another hand of good fortune - Prohibition. Soon, Nassau was a great open liquor market, with cases by the thousands freely changing hands on their way to 'Rum Row' off the Jersey coast. Many Bahamians became rich during the Prohibition. The Bahamas once again was becoming the pirate paradise of Woodes Rogers time. Liquor and gambling attracted funds, in turn used to build new hotels and clubs. The rich wintered in this paradise and despite the efforts of the US Customs, the money continued to flow. When the end came in 1933, the Bahamas once again emptied and the country's unemployed rose steadily once again. Even greater events followed - the outbreak of war in 1939. It was at this time that The Bahamas had a distinguished visitor - The Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The Duke, having abdicated the English throne to the horror and shock of much of Europe, came to the islands and brought with him his wife and a huge torrent of publicity. The Bahamas was once again in the limelight. During the war, the British and American High Command chose a New Providence site to build a huge pilot training base. Riots ensued over wages for construction workers on the project and Bay Street, largely dominated by entrenched white power, was sacked and burned. The airbase was eventually built and modernised after the war to became Nassau International Airport. In 1942, publicity of a less desirable kind pushed The Bahamas into the news again. Sir Harry Oakes, Canadian gold magnate and one of the richest men in the world, was found brutally murdered in bed one morning. The shock of Sir Harry's death was felt world-wide. Sir Harry's son-in-law was arrested and tried for the crime but found not guilty. The true murderer was never found. The mere fact that personalities such as the Windsors and Sir Harry Oakes resided in The Bahamas was another clue to the country's future however - a warm, offshore retreat where the well-heeled could relax and shelter from harsher climes. In the aftermath of World War Two, many pondered about what to do with the nation's sluggish economy. It was the controversial Sir Stafford Sands who began to shape The Bahamas' post-war direction. Sir Stafford and his colleagues established a Development Board to market the islands as a desirable holiday destination. With jet air services and a newly dredged Nassau harbour to accommodate the largest ships, The Bahamas started to see the rewards of tourism. Similarly, a tax haven was established which today embraces the country's huge offshore financial industry. On July 10, 1973, after nearly 250 years as a colony, The Bahamas became and independent nation. ==== http://home.dti.net/lawserv/leary.html 1969: Leary critics will eventually point with suspicion to his close connections during this time to an international LSD-smuggling cartel, the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, which is rumored to be a CIA front. The Brotherhood is controlled by Ronald Stark, whom an Italian High Court will later conclude has been a CIA agent since 1960, and the Brotherhood's funds are channeled through Castle Bank in the Bahamas, a known CIA "proprietary." DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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