Abaco Islands

Spain regarded the depopulated Bahamas as unprofitable and dangerous to sail — in 1593 a Spanish fleet of 17 ships was wrecked off Abaco — and the first European settlers arrived only in 1783, when about 1,500 Loyalists left New York after the American War of Independence and landed at a sandy harbour north of Marsh Harbour, near today's Treasure Cay. More Loyalists from the Carolinas came by way of Florida in the 1790s and founded the isolated settlement of Cherokee Sound, and Elbow Cay was settled in 1785. The settlers lived modestly on salvaging wrecks, building small wooden boats and farming. The striped lighthouse at Hope Town was built in 1862 and lit in 1863.

Abaco's Loyalist roots showed again at independence. In the 1972 election the islands' result was less clear-cut than the country's clear majority for independence, islanders petitioned London to let Abaco stay apart, and the British refused; after independence in 1973 an Abaco Independence Movement campaigned for self-determination within a federal Bahamas.

On 1 September 2019 Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Elbow Cay with winds of 185 mph, tying the record for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane. It severely damaged most buildings and infrastructure in Marsh Harbour and caused destruction across the cays; Hope Town's lighthouse survived.

The Abacos have a distinct Loyalist heritage. Villages such as Hope Town, New Plymouth, Man-O-War Cay and Great Guana Cay keep their traditional clapboard houses; New Plymouth's steep-pitched roofs, unique in the Bahamas, go back to settlers from New England, and in Hope Town new buildings must follow Bahamian architecture. New Plymouth's Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden, a national monument, honours prominent Bahamians around bronze figures of a Black and a white Loyalist woman, and the village has been a sister city of Key West since 1977.

Boats are the islands' great craft. Man-O-War Cay is known for a boatbuilding tradition that goes back to the couple remembered as its founders, whose village was laid out with room for roads, a church, a school and a cemetery. Fishing, diving, snorkelling and sailing shape life, and the islands host fishing tournaments and regattas.

Life on the cays is small-scale and close-knit: Hope Town keeps cars and golf carts out of its centre, and supplies arrive by barge each week. On Green Turtle Cay a museum shows the work of a noted Bahamian painter, and the cays' Loyalist history is kept alive in their architecture and memorials.

About 17,200 people lived in the Abaco Islands at the 2010 census, and Marsh Harbour, the capital and commercial hub, had about 6,300 in 2012, making it the third-largest town in the Bahamas. Other settlements on Great Abaco include Treasure Cay, Coopers Town, Fox Town, Cherokee Sound, Sandy Point and Spring City; the cays have small villages such as Hope Town, with about 460 people in 2010, and Man-O-War Cay, with about 200.

Tourism is a major part of the economy and reached about 300,000 visitors in 2019, drawn by the water — boating, swimming and fishing. Lobstering is a main industry on Green Turtle Cay, and the Marls, an extensive area of mangroves and flats, supply fish for local tables and sport. Marsh Harbour holds most of the islands' services, from the post office and grocery stores to travel agents.

Hurricane Dorian changed daily life in 2019, destroying homes and infrastructure across Marsh Harbour and the cays. On the cays, golf carts, boats and bicycles are the usual transport, and most supplies come in by sea.

The Abacos eat from the sea. Spiny lobster, caught by the islands' lobster fishermen, conch and fish are the staples. Conch salad, made with raw conch, cracked conch and conch fritters appear on almost every menu, and fried or grilled grouper is everyday fare. The Marls, an extensive area of mangrove flats, supply fish for local households as well as for sport anglers. Spiny lobster, called crawfish in the islands, is also exported to the United States.

Plates come with peas 'n' rice, baked macaroni "pie" and coleslaw. Souse, a lime-and-pepper broth, and johnnycake are often eaten for breakfast, and guava duff, a boiled pudding with guava folded into the dough and served with a sauce, is the classic dessert.

The restaurants and bars of Marsh Harbour, Hope Town and New Plymouth serve boaters and residents alike. Kalik and Sands beer and Bahamian rum are the usual drinks, and rum punches are a fixture of the waterfront.