The African-Bahamian connection

Like many Bahamians, you probably do not take the time to consider the relevance of our African connection. Many things that we Bahamians claim to hold rights to are in fact of African descent. From the 'authentically Bahamian' Junkanoo celebrations to the settlements that we live in, all have some connection to Mother Africa.

Starting from scratch...

The Slave Trade was officially abolished in 1807, and even so, a number of slave ships continued to pass through Bahamian waters holding 'illegally' enslaved Africans. The Royal Navy captured many of these ships and freed the Africans being held on board. The number of liberated Africans in New Providence quickly reached the thousands.

Governor Grant, in 1823, gave the first orders for the laying out of a settlement to accommodate the Africans. It was located just south of Nassau town and is known today as Grant's Town.

Governor of The Bahamas (1829-1833), Sir James Carmichael Smyth, also created villages where Africans, upon disembarking from the ships, were sent to start new lives. So began the development of Adelaide, Carmichael and Gambier.

Other Bahamian neighbourhoods that began as African Villages are Bain Town, Fox Hill and Sandilands.

Adelaide

Named after Willliam IV's Queen, Adelaide is situated 16 miles from Nassau, on the coast of the South West Bay.

The first settlers in this area were 'would-be' slaves captured from the Portuguese vessel Rosa in 1831. After suitable medical examination and treatment, 157 Africans were transported to Adelaide. They were supplied with hatchets and hoes for the purpose of farming and were expected to assist in the building of their own houses.

Three years later a new group of settlers arrived at the settlement. It is believed that many of them originated from the Congo, the Gold Coast and the East Coast of Africa. They erected simple houses suitable to the climate, consisting of wood and plaster with palmetto thatch. Daily rations of corn and rice were given to the Africans as well as a suit of clothing.

In the mid-1830s a hospital was established in the area and a superintendent was employed to maintain law and order even though it was reported that the people were "orderly and industrious". In 1835 an Infant School was built and later a school for older children was created. The Africans were able to have Divine Services in the 1830s when a chapel was erected.

Carmichael

In 1824 some Africans inhabited a place in the South Western part of the island of New Providence. They cultivated vegetables and fruits and sold them at the market in Nassau. In 1825 they moved to a settlement nearer the town, in order to be close to the said market. The former settlement was later called Carmichael, the latter Grant's Town.

Carmichael proved to be very useful during the post-slavery era. It has been used as a place of shelter and reception on occasions of numerous arrivals. The Church was equally as important, not only for Divine Worship, but also as a school and place of moral instructions. Thus Carmichael became a "thriving and extensive settlement of independent Africans."

Daily employment was given to the men through means of roads construction and building repair. Thus they were Government employed. Newly arrived Africans were supplied with clothes and utensils. The village became a training centre for the African men, its purpose being to prepare them for more profitable employment. The adults were given six months to acquire the experience necessary to become self-sufficient and self-confident. The male inhabitants of Carmichael were utilized as "sawyers" and lumbermen.

The Royal Gazette of 1835 discloses that at Carmichael "the people are industrious and labourious." Later in the mid-1850s Rev. Richard Chambers stated in his Quarterly Report that "the settlement of Carmichael is fast decreasing from its former flourishing state." The village became deserted after the older people died, and the younger ones moved nearer to town, as "there is no permanent means of support for the inhabitants."

Today the residents of Carmichael are not descendants of the earlier settlers. Carmichael is more of a political constituency than a village today.

Gambier

Gambier Village is located 9 miles away from Nassau on the North Western Coast. It is believed that it was named after Admiral John Gambier, a native of New Providence. The inhabitants of Gambier are similar to those at Carmichael and Adelaide in that they were all liberated Africans brought to The Bahamas by the Royal Navy after 1807.

A school was later founded around 1861, and the area around it was used for agriculture. The villagers, like those in Adelaide and Carmichael, were farmers and sold their produce at the Nassau Market.

Grant's Town

The Bahamas Argus 1835 reports that in 1825 a number of Africans migrated from a settlement in the South West part of New Providence, later to be called Carmichael, to a rocky tract of waste land located south of the town of Nassau, bordered by the Blue Hills. These Africans created an establishment, which was to be later known as Grant's Town.

They built houses and when a road was opened over the Blue Hills, they began small-scale cultivation. This area proved to be ideal for farming because there were no irrigation problems, since water was found four to six feet away from the earth's surface. As a result, the Africans grew fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, indian corn, sugar cane, oranges, mangoes, lime, avocados and sapadillas.

As the years passed the settlement flourished. In 1825, when the settlers migrated, the land had been laid out in allotments of a quarter of an acre each at the price of 10 shillings per lot or 2 sterlings per acre.

In 1835 there were 474 lots. A half of this had already been built on, or was in some state of improvement.

A population census for August 1835 shows that there were 160 men, l 76 women, 93 boys, and 118 girls residing in Grant's Town, a total of 547 people. Among them were 21 merchants, 8 seamen and 236 field labourers.

Posted: Wednesday December 10, 2003

© 2003 The Nassau Guardian