Inagua

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Inagua is the southernmost district of the Bahamas, comprising the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua. The headquarters for the district council are in Matthew Town.<ref>In 2012 $20,000 was contracted for repairs to the government complex in Matthew Town, including repairs to "the clock tower rooftop, the post office area and the upstairs district council area." Template:Cite news</ref>

History

The original settlers were the Lucayan people(Taíno), who arrived sometime between 500 and 800 CE, crossing in dugout canoes from Hispaniola and/or Cuba to the Bahamas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The larger island was initially called by the name Heneagua, which may derive from a Spanish expression meaning 'water is to be found there'.<ref name="Saunders-180">Template:Cite book</ref> Two names of apparent Lucayan origin, Inagua (meaning "Small Eastern Island") and Baneque (meaning "Big Water Island"), were used by the Spanish to refer to Great Inagua.<ref>Julian Granberry and Gary S. Vescelius. (2004) Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles. The University of Alabama Press. Template:ISBN p. 83</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>D. Gail Saunders, “The 1937 Riot In Inagua, The Bahamas,” Nieuwe West-Indische Gids / New West Indian Guide, Vol. 62, No. 3/4 (1988), pp. 129-145 at p. 13.1.</ref>

Between the years of 1500 and 1825, many documented treasure laden ships were destroyed on Inaguan reefs. The two most valuable wrecks lost off the Inaguas were treasure-laden Spanish galleons: the Santa Rosa in 1599; and the Infanta in 1788. Other ships of considerable value that were wrecked there include the French Le Count De Paix in 1713,<ref>Template:Cite book citing "America and West Indies: July 1716," Calendar of State Papers; "Journal, July 1716: Journal Book S," Journals of the Board of Trade and Plantations, Volme 3; March 1715 – October 1718 (1924), pp. 159–173</ref> the British HMS Lowestoffe in 1801,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:template wrapper|{{#if:|list|wrap}}|_template=cite book

|_exclude=case, year, _debug
| last1 = Colledge
| first1 = J. J. 
| author-link1= J. J. Colledge
| last2 = Warlow
| first2 = Ben
| date = 2006
| orig-date = 1969
| title = Ships of the Royal Navy: {{#if:|The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy|The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy}}
| edition = Rev.
| location = London
| publisher = Chatham Publishing
| isbn = 978-1-86176-281-8

}}</ref> and the British HMS Statira in 1815.<ref>The Statira Shoal, just southeast of Great Inagua, is named after it and is where the ship wrecked. Template:Cite book</ref>

As early as the 1600s, salt was being produced and shipped to Spanish colonies,<ref name="Pavlidis-300" /> and its extraction was a going business by 1803.<ref name="Pavlidis-300" />

Henri Christophe, king of northern Haiti from 1811 to 1820, builtTemplate:When a summer retreat at the Northeast Point of Great Inagua.<ref name="Pavlidis-300">Template:Cite book</ref> Local legend has it that he also buried a cache of gold there.<ref>Template:Cite book, reprinted in 1984 in London by Robert Hale Ltd. Template:ISBN</ref>

By 1918, after the end of World War I, lower salt prices and competition had driven the small producers on Great Inagua out of business, and the salt works were abandoned except for incidental local use.Template:Sfn

In 1935, the Erickson brothers from Massachusetts founded West India Chemicals Ltd., purchasing the abandoned salt works from the British government.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> They drilled test holes, set up offices, and began restoration of the buildings, but the locals<ref>Notably George and Willis Duvalier who were sentenced to hang as a result of the riot. Template:Cite news</ref> felt threatened, fearing changes to the power structure status quo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 1937, a riot broke out, an employee was killed, and the Ericksons were forced to flee.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> They soon returned, and full-scale development resumed.<ref name="Salt-Tourism">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the mid-1950s, Morton Salt bought the Great Inagua saltworks,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which includes over 80 salt ponds,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Self-published inline now the second largest such operation in North America.<ref name="Salt-Tourism" /> Morton is the major employer on the island.<ref>In 2008 Morton employed about 60% of the island's working population. Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Morton Salt’s Inagua facility damaged by Irma. Template:Webarchive The Nassau Gardian. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2019.</ref>

Islands

Great Inagua

Great Inagua is the second largest island in the Bahamas at 596 sq mi (1544 km²), Template:Citation needed span It lies about Template:Convert from the eastern tip of Cuba. The island is about Template:Convert in extent and mostly flat with some sand hills, the highest points being East Hill at Template:Convert, Salt Pond Hill at Template:Convert, and James Hill at Template:Convert.<ref name="Saunders-180" /> It encloses several lakes, most notably the Template:Convert long Lake Windsor (also called Lake Rosa) which occupies nearly a quarter of the interior. The population of Great Inagua is 913 (2010 census).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The island's capital and only harbour is Matthew Town, named after George Matthew, a 19th-century Governor of the Bahamas. This town houses the Morton Salt Company’s main facility, producing one million tonnes of sea salt a year — the second largest solar saline operation in North America and Inagua's main industry.Template:Citation needed

Great Inagua Airport (IATA: IGA, ICAO: MYIG) is located nearby.<ref name="Morin2014">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Curran & Glumac 2023">Template:Cite book</ref>

A large bird sanctuary in the centre of the island has a population of more than 80,000 West Indian flamingoes and many other bird species, including the Bahama parrot, Inagua woodstar, Bahama pintail, brown pelican, tricolored heron, snowy egret, reddish egret, stripe-headed tanager, double-crested cormorant, Neotropic cormorant, roseate spoonbill, American kestrel, and burrowing owl. The Union Creek National Reserve is specially set aside for the study of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas).<ref name="Tourism-Eco">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Little Inagua

The neighbouring Little Inagua, Template:Convert to the northeast, is uninhabited and occupied by a large Land and Sea Park.<ref name="Tourism-Eco" /> It has an area of Template:Convert, with herds of feral donkeys and goats (descendants of stock introduced by the French). Various species of endangered sea turtles breed on the island.<ref name="Tourism-Eco" /> Little Inagua has a large protective reef extending up to Template:Convert away from the island in all directions, which prevents boats from coming too close.Template:Citation needed

Politics

The island is part of the MICAL constituency for elections to the House of Assembly of the Bahamas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Gallery

• MainHouseMatthewtown.jpg

  Main Guest House in Matthew Town, Great Inagua

• Matthew Town, Great Inagua, Bahamas.jpg

  Downtown Matthew Town, Great Inagua

• OldPrisonMatthewtown.jpg

  Old disused prison, Matthew Town, Great Inagua

• PrisonWindowMatthewtown.jpg

  Window in old prison, Matthew Town, Great Inagua

• PoliceStationMatthewtown.jpg

  Modern police station, Matthew Town, Great Inagua

• GroceryStoreMatthewtown.jpg

  Grocery store in Matthew Town, Great Inagua

• Morton Salt facilities, Great Inagua.jpg

  Part of the Morton Salt facilities on the north shore of Great Inagua

• NorthShoreGreatInagua.jpg

  Northern rocky shore of Great Inagua exposing Pleistocene reef limestones

• Great Inagua and Little Inagua from ISS.jpg

  Great Inagua and Little Inagua viewed from the International Space Station on 2022-12-09

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book Also published under the title: Inagua: Which is the Name of a Very Lonely and Nearly Forgotten Island. (Natural History of the island)
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Great Inagua Photos, January 2006
• The Nassau Guardian