Spanish Wells, Bahamas

Spanish Wells Welcome Sign
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SpanishWells.jpg
Author: Septjacks


Spanish Wells is a tiny island located off the shore of Eleuthera Island, in the Bahamas. It has a population of only 1,500 people (2012 estimate). The island measures two miles long and half a mile wide. It belongs to the Spanish Wells district established in 1996.

European settlement of Spanish Wells began earlier than most of the other islands of the Bahamas, in the 17th century rather than in the 18th. The island was the final stopover for Spanish ships before the embark on the trans-Atlantic voyage for Spain. This is where they refill their water supply ahead of the journey, hence the name Spanish Wells.

In 1647, a shipwreck deposited the first European colonists on Spanish Wells. Their ship broke apart at Devil's Backbone, a coral reef off Eleuthera Island, and they manage to get ashore on Spanish Wells. There they sought refuge at a cave that became known as Preacher's Cave.

A second wave of settlers arrived in the later part of the 18th century. They were Crown Loyalists who left mainland America following the American Revolutionary War. Some of these settlers came with their slaves and started plantations on the island.

Spanish Wells suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999, as it happened to be in their direct path.

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