Long Cay (formerly known as Fortune Island; pt, Caio Longo; es, Cayo Largo; french: Île de la Fortune) is an island in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

in an

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

that includes

Acklins Island Acklins is an island and district of the Bahamas. It is one of a group of islands arranged along a large, shallow lagoon called the Bight of Acklins, of which the largest are Crooked Island () in the north and Acklins () in the southeast, and ...

and Crooked Island. It is 8 square miles (21 km²) and is in the

Acklins and Crooked Islands Acklins and Crooked Islands was a district of the Bahamas until 1996, and as Acklins, Crooked Island and Long Cay until 1999. (islands are located at ) It consisted of a group of islands semi-encircling a large, shallow lagoon called the Bight ...

District. , its population was 29.

Geography

Long Cay lies to the west of a shallow

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

called the

Bight of Acklins The word is derived from Old English ''byht'' (“bend, angle, corner; bay, bight”). In modern English, bight may refer to: * Bight (geography), recess of a coast, bay, or other curved feature * Bight (knot), a curved section, slack part, or loo ...

and is an extension of the western arm of Crooked Island, separated from it by a channel about one mile wide. The main town is Albert Town, now largely a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

. Douglas Town was another former settlement only about 500 meters from Albert Town. Great Salt Pond lies in the middle of the island. The southernmost point is known as Windsor Point, called ''Cabo Hermoso'' by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

History

On 19 October 1492, Long Cay was discovered by Columbus on his first voyage to the New World, and he named it Ysabela. Albert Town became a port in the sponge and salt industries and a port of call for the

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...

and the

Pacific Mail Steamship Company The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...

to recruit stevedore labour. The grandfather of W. E. B. Du Bois was born on Long Cay in 1803.

References

Islands of the Bahamas {{Bahamas-geo-stub