Nassau
Capital city
Top: Nassau skyline; Middle: Nassau Terminal Royal Place, Fort Charlotte; Bottom: Parliament Square, Christ Church Cathedral
Seal
Nickname:  Isle of June[citation needed]
Nassau Location of Nassau in The Bahamas Show map of Bahamas Nassau Nassau (Caribbean) Show map of Caribbean
Coordinates: 25°04′41″N 77°20′19″W / 25.07806°N 77.33861°W / 25.07806; -77.33861
Country	The Bahamas
Island	New Providence
Founded and Rebuilt/Renamed	Founded in 1670 as Charles Town, rebuilt as Nassau in 1695[1]
Area [2] (for New Providence)
• Total	200 km2 (80 sq mi)
Population  (2010)[3] (for New Providence)
• Total	246,329
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code	242

Nassau (/ˈnæsɔː/ NASS-aw) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is located on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas.^[2] As of April 2023, the preliminary results of the 2022 census of the Bahamas reported a population of 296,522 for New Providence, 74.26% of the country's population.^[4] Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country.^[5] It is the centre of commerce, education, law, administration, and media of the country.

Lynden Pindling International Airport, the major airport for The Bahamas, is located about 16 km (9.9 mi) west of the city centre of Nassau, and has daily flights to and from major cities in Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and the United States. Nassau is the site of the House of Assembly and various judicial departments and was considered historically to be a stronghold of pirates.^[6] The city was named in honour of William III of England, Prince of Orange-Nassau.

Nassau's modern growth began in the late eighteenth century, with the influx of thousands of Loyalists and their slaves to the Bahamas following the American War of Independence. Many of them settled in Nassau and eventually came to outnumber the original inhabitants.

As the population of Nassau grew, so did its populated areas. Today, the city dominates the entire island. However, until the post-Second World War era, the outer suburbs scarcely existed. Most of New Providence was uncultivated bush until Loyalists were resettled there following the American Revolutionary War; they established several plantations, such as Clifton and Tusculum. Slaves were imported as labour.

After the British abolished the international slave trade in 1807, they resettled thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy on New Providence (at Adelaide Village and Gambier Village), along with other islands such as Grand Bahama, Exuma, Abaco and Inagua. In addition, slaves freed from American ships, such as the Creole case in 1841, were allowed to settle there. The largest concentration of Africans historically lived in the "Over-the-Hill" suburbs of Grants Town and Bain Town to the south of the city of Nassau, while most of the inhabitants of European descent lived on the island's northern coastal ridges.

History

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.^[7] During this time there were frequent wars with the Spanish, and Charles Town was used as a base for privateering 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, 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 in Germany.^[8]

Lacking effective governors after Trott, Nassau fell on hard times. In 1703 Spanish and French allied forces briefly occupied Nassau. More so, Nassau suffered greatly during the War of Spanish Succession and had 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 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 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 that spent time in Nassau included Charles Vane, Thomas Barrow (who declared himself "Governor of New Providence"),^[10] Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and the infamous Edward Teach, better known as "Blackbeard".

In 1718, the British 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 Spanish attacked Nassau but failed to capture the town and the island.^[11]

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 Spain captured Nassau for the last time when Don Juan de Cagigal, governor-general of Cuba, attacked New Providence with 5,000 men. Andrew Deveaux, an American Loyalist who resettled on the island, set forth and recaptured the island for the British Crown with just 220 men and 150 muskets to face a force of 600 trained soldiers.

Lord Dunmore governed the colony from 1787 to 1796. He oversaw the construction of Fort Charlotte and Fort Fincastle in Nassau.

During the American Civil War, Nassau served as a port for 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 was further benefitted due to the imposed restrictions 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.^[12]

Geography

Located on New Providence Island, Nassau's harbour has a blend of old world and colonial architecture, and a busy port. The tropical climate and natural environment of the Bahamas have made Nassau an attractive tourist destination.

Nassau developed directly behind the port area. New Providence provides 200 km² of relatively flat and low-lying land intersected by low ridges (none of which restricted settlement). In the centre of the island there are several shallow lakes that are tidally connected.

The city's proximity to the United States (290 km (181 miles) east-southeast of Miami, Florida) has contributed to its popularity as a holiday resort, especially after the United States imposed a ban on travel to Cuba in 1963. The Atlantis resort on nearby Paradise Island accounts for more tourist arrivals to the city than any other hotel property of Nassau. The mega-resort employs over 6,000 Bahamians, and is the largest employer outside of the government.

Climate

Nassau has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen: Am), bordering on a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw), with hot wet summers, and mild dry winters.^[13][14] Temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year. During the wet season from May through October, average daytime high temperatures are 30–32 °C (86–90 °F), while during the dry season from November through April daytime temperatures are between 25 and 27 °C (77 and 81 °F), rarely falling below 15 °C (59 °F).