Eleuthera

From Freepedia

Image:New providence eleuthera.jpg

Eleuthera is an island in the Bahamas, lying 50 miles (80 km) east of Nassau. It is very long and thin—110 miles (180 km) long and in places little more than a mile wide. The population is 8,000 (2000 census). The name "Eleuthera" is derived from the Greek word for "free".

The original population of Taino, or Arawaks, was mostly deported by the Spanish to work in the mines of Hispaniola, where they died out by 1550. The island is believed to have been unoccupied until the first European settlers—puritan pilgrims- arrived in 1648 from Bermuda. They gave the island its current name, meaning 'freedom' in Greek. Some people think that Chistopher Columbus may have come to Eleuthera before any other islands in the West Indies.

The island was quite prosperous in the period from 1950 to 1980, attracting several prominent American industrialists such as Arthur Vining Davis, Henry Kaiser, and Juan Tripp. Frequent visitors included movie stars like Robert DeNiro as well as The Prince of Wales and a pregnant Princess of Wales.

Due to changes in foreign ownership policy with The Bahamas becoming independent in 1973, all of the large resorts and agricultural businesses were abandoned or compelled to be sold to government-favored Bahamian interests. Because of the strain of a newly forming country, these businesses failed during the period 1980 to 1985.

Present-day Eleuthera has one 23 room resort, from a historic high in 1970 of over 1000 rooms in fifteen resorts. Unemployment on the island is near 80%, with most employment derived from government jobs, and domestic service and construction trades primarily concentrated in a growing foreign second-home market.

Despite continuing economic malaise, the islanders are still lively and exuberant. The main island is a unique destination for tourists, without the trappings of casinos and mega resorts. Natural attractions include the Glass Window Bridge, Hatchet Bay caves and Surfer's Beach in the north, and Ocean Hole and Lighthouse Beach at the south end.

The principal settlements are Governor's Harbour (the administrative capital) Rock Sound, Tarpum Bay (the last remaining fishing village) Harbour Island with its unusual pink sandy beaches, and Spanish Wells, home of what are considered throughout the Bahamas as the most industrious people in the nation. The island is particularly noted for the excellence of its pineapples and holds an annual Pineapple Festival in Gregory Town.