Editing Nassau, The Bahamas (section)

==History==
{{See also|Piracy in the Caribbean}}

The town that would be called Nassau was founded in 1670 by British noblemen who brought British settlers with them to New Providence. They built a fort, and named it '''Charles Town''' in honour of England's King Charles II.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thebahamasguide.com/islands/new-providence/history-of-new-providence/ |title=History of New Providence - the Bahamas Guide |access-date=May 7, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610051823/http://thebahamasguide.com/islands/new-providence/history-of-new-providence/ |archive-date=June 10, 2017}}</ref> During this time there were frequent wars with the [[Spain|Spanish]], and Charles Town was used as a base for [[privateer]]ing against them.  In 1684 the town was burned to the ground during the [[Raid on Charles Town]]. It was rebuilt in 1695 under Governor [[Nicholas Trott]] and renamed Nassau in honour of King [[William III of England|William III]], who belonged to a branch of the [[House of Nassau]]. William was the Dutch [[Stadtholder]] (''stadhouder'' in Dutch), and, from 1689, the King of England, Scotland and Ireland. The name Nassau ultimately derives from the town of [[Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate|Nassau]] in Germany.<ref>{{cite book |author=Marley, David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q1a4j2HNmjUC&q=Nassau+1695&pg=PA6 |title=Historic Cities of the Americas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |page=6 |isbn=1-57607-027-1 |access-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-date=April 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410105932/https://books.google.com/books?id=q1a4j2HNmjUC&q=Nassau+1695&pg=PA6 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Wesleyan Chapel and Mission Premises. In the Eastern District of New Providence, Bahamas (p.6, 1849) - Copy.jpg|thumb|300px|Wesleyan Chapel and Mission Premises. In the Eastern District of New Providence, Bahamas (p.6, 1849) (Ebenezer Methodist Church, Nassau, Bahamas)<ref name=offering1849>{{cite journal |title=Wesleyan Chapel and Mission Premises. In the Eastern District of New Providence, Bahamas (p.6, 1849) |journal=Wesleyan Juvenile Offering |date=1849 |volume=VI |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVwEAAAAQAAJ&q=wesleyan+tamil+chapel+bangalore&pg=PA140 |access-date=November 9, 2015 |publisher=Wesleyan Mission-House |location=London |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818042750/https://books.google.com/books?id=TVwEAAAAQAAJ&q=wesleyan+tamil+chapel+bangalore&pg=PA140 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

[[File:Flag of the Flying Gang.svg|thumb|left|[[Jolly Roger]] of the Flying Gang]]
Lacking effective governors after Trott, Nassau fell on hard times. In 1703 Spanish and French allied forces [[Raid on Nassau|briefly occupied]] Nassau. More so, Nassau suffered greatly during the [[War of the Spanish Succession|War of Spanish Succession]] and witnessed Spanish incursions during 1703, 1704 and 1706. From 1703 to 1718 there was no legitimate governor in the colony. Thomas Walker was the island's last remaining appointed official and although evidence is scarce, it appears that he was acting in the role of deputy governor upon [[Benjamin Hornigold]]'s arrival in 1713. By this time, the sparsely settled Bahamas had become a [[Piracy in the Caribbean|pirate]] haven known as '''New Providence'''. The Governor of Bermuda stated that there were over 1,000 pirates in Nassau and that they outnumbered the mere hundred inhabitants of the town. They proclaimed Nassau a [[Pirates' republic|pirate republic]], recognising the island's prosperous state in which it offered fresh fruit, meat and water and plenty of protection amid its waterways. Nassau's harbour was tailor-made for defence and it could take around 500 vessels, though it was too shallow to accept large battleships. Benjamin Hornigold, along with his great rival [[Henry Jennings]], became the unofficial overlord of a veritable pirate republic which played host to the self-styled [[Flying Gang]]. Other pirates of note that spent time in Nassau included [[Charles Vane]], [[Thomas Barrow (pirate)|Thomas Barrow]] (who declared himself "Governor of New Providence"),<ref name="CSP-VOL29">{{cite book |last1=Headlam |first1=Cecil |title=America and West Indies: July 1716 {{!}} British History Online |date=1930 |publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |pages=139–159 |edition=Vol 29 |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol29/pp139-159 |access-date=October 15, 2017 |language=en |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016070217/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol29/pp139-159 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Calico Jack Rackham]], [[Anne Bonny]], [[Mary Read]], and the infamous Edward Teach, better known as "[[Blackbeard]]".

In 1718, the British government sought to regain control of the islands and appointed Captain [[Woodes Rogers]] as Royal governor. He successfully clamped down on the pirates, reformed the civil administration, and restored commerce. Rogers cleaned up Nassau and rebuilt the fort, using his own wealth to try to overcome problems. In 1720, the [[Raid on Nassau (1720)|Spanish attacked Nassau]] but failed to capture the town and the island.<ref name="Little193">{{cite book |last1=Little |first1=Bryan |title=Crusoe's Captain |date=1960 |publisher=Odhams Press |pages=193–94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t7y-ngEACAAJ |access-date=September 16, 2020 |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224061133/https://books.google.com/books?id=t7y-ngEACAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

During the wars in the [[Thirteen Colonies]], Nassau experienced an economic boom. With funds from privateering, a new fort, street lights and over 2300 sumptuous houses were built and Nassau was extended. In addition to this, mosquito breeding swamps were filled.

In 1776, the [[Battle of Nassau]] resulted in a brief occupation by American [[Continental Marines]] during the [[American War of Independence]], where the marines staged their first amphibious raid on Fort Montague after attempting to sneak up on Fort Nassau. In 1778 after an overnight invasion, American raiders led by Captain Rathbun, left with ships, gunpowder and military stores after stopping in Nassau for only two weeks. In 1782 [[Capture of the Bahamas (1782)|Spain captured Nassau]] for the last time when Don Juan de Cagigal, governor-general of Cuba, attacked New Providence with 5,000 men. In April 1783, [[Andrew Deveaux]], an American Loyalist who resettled on the island, set forth [[Capture of the Bahamas (1783)|and recaptured the island]] for the British Crown with just 220 men and 150 muskets to face a force of 600 trained soldiers.

[[John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore|Lord Dunmore]] governed the colony from 1787 to 1796. He oversaw the construction of [[Fort Charlotte (Nassau)|Fort Charlotte]] and [[Fort Fincastle (The Bahamas)|Fort Fincastle]] in Nassau.

During the [[American Civil War]], Nassau served as a port for [[Blockade runners of the American Civil War|blockade runners]] making their way to and from ports along the southern Atlantic Coast for continued trade with the Confederacy.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Nassau profited from [[Prohibition in the United States]].

During the [[Cuban Revolution]] of 1959, tourism further benefitted due to the [[United States embargo against Cuba|restrictions imposed]] on American citizens visiting [[Cuba]]. Today, Nassau's location close to the [[United States]] and ties between the U.S. and The [[Bahamas]] make it a common tourist destination.<ref>[https://www.tourismtoday.com/sites/default/files/frequently_requested_statistics_brochure_2019_latest_1.pdf Frequently Requested Tourism Statistics Brochure 2019] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929195149/https://www.tourismtoday.com/sites/default/files/frequently_requested_statistics_brochure_2019_latest_1.pdf |date=September 29, 2022 }}, Tourism Daily</ref>