Mayaguana (from

Taíno language Taíno is an Arawakan language formerly spoken widely by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. In its revived form, there exist several modern-day Taíno language variants including Hiwatahia-Taino and Tainonaiki. At the time of Spanish contact ...

''Mayaguana'', meaning "Lesser Midwestern Land") is the easternmost island and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

. Its population was 277 in the 2010 census. It has an area of about . About north of Great Inagua and southeast of the capital Nassau, Mayaguana is considered the halfway point between

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and is about off

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

. It is a popular stopover for boaters en-route to the eastern Caribbean.

Etymology

The indigenous Lucayan people (Taíno) named the island ''Mayaguana'' (or ''Mariguana'') meaning "lesser mid-western land".

History

Mayaguana was inhabited by Lucayans (Taino) prior to the arrival of the Spanish following 1492. After the last of the Lucayans were carried off to

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

by the Spanish early in the 16th century, the island remained uninhabited until 1812, when people began to migrate from the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

, which are located about southeast. The

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian historian Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen suggested in 1824 that Mayaguana is

Guanahani Guanahaní (meaning "small upper waters land") was the Taíno language, Taíno name of an island in the Bahamas that was the first land in the New World sighted and visited by Christopher Columbus' Voyages of Christopher Columbus#First voyage (14 ...

, the first island visited by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

at his discovery of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. His theory has found little support. ''Mayaguana'' apparently was the Lucayan name (meaning "Lesser Midwestern Land" ) for the island. The first

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

to circumnavigate the globe, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

sloop HMS ''Driver'', wrecked on Mayaguana on 3 August 1861, 14 years after the completion of her epic voyage in 1847. During

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...

and the

Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

, the United States space program had a missile tracking station on what is now Mayaguana Airport. The station was used to help keep

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

s on course. The Mayaguana Airport was built by US Army Engineers attached to the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. The airport was built as a runway for jet planes that would follow missiles fired from Cape Canaveral. Real-time sighting and photography was the best technology of the time for observing the flight of the missiles. The Bahamian government has recently approved working with American investors MMC to turn Mayaguana into a "

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

zone," complete with

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

development of approximately 14% of the island. Actually, this is 14% of the total landmass but essentially most of the coastal region. The proposal was met with moderate resistance by Mayaguanians, who look forward to economic expansion but are unsure of what change is to come. This development is still in a planning phase and is trying to maintain the nature of the island as a quiet eco-tourist destination while still creating sustainable economic growth.

People

The largest settlement is Abraham's Bay (pop. 143) on the south coast; other settlements are the neighboring towns of Betsy Bay (pop. 44) and Pirate's Well (pop. 90) in the northwest with the population slowly decreasing. The uninhabited areas of Upper Point (north shore), Northeast Point, and Southeast Point are largely inaccessible by road.

Culture

The Betsy Bay Homecoming Festival is held annually in Mayaguana. As of 2020, the All Mayaguana Regatta was also held annually in Mayaguana.

Economy

The least developed Bahamian island, Mayaguana has never really seen major growth largely due to the government taking little interest in the economy. However, the government has provided some locals with entry-level positions at various government offices while the local government does its best to provide local jobs. Others make a living by either fishing, farming, petty shops or home businesses, although few. Considered the most isolated Bahamian island, Mayaguana uses the country's mail boat system as its primary form of import and export. Mayaguana is scheduled once a week for delivery and pickup by M/V Lady Rosalind II. As of 2019, Mayaguana did not have a bank, or even an ATM. Money transfers to and from the island are by money transmission businesses, the Bahamas Postal Service, or by travelors carrying cash.

Food

Mayaguana is known for fresh sea food. Sea life regularly caught for commercial purposes include conch, grouper, spiny lobster, snappers and tuna. Marlin and bone fish found in Bahamian waters are fished for sporting activities only.

Environment

Mayaguana is known for its woody terrain. Bahamian dry forests'

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

s, common lignum-vitae ('' Guaiacum officinale''), and holywood lignum-vitae ('' G. sanctum'') can be found throughout the island. The island is home to several government

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

s. As the southeasternmost island in the Bahamian Commonwealth, Mayaguana is bordered to its east by deep waters of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Offshore, there are many underwater

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s, as well as

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

s. Mayaguana is home to the Bahamian flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), Bartsch's iguanas,

plover Plovers ( , ) are members of a widely distributed group of wader, wading birds of subfamily Charadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily, though only about half of them include it in their name. Species lis ...

s, terns, and

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

. Nesting

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

s can be found throughout the undeveloped northern part of the island. About 118 species of bird are found on the island, including two large brown booby

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

Tourism

Mayaguana remains one of the most pristine and untouched islands in the Bahamas. Yet the island – home to beautiful beaches, unique wildlife and world-class fishing – has never fully reached its development potential. Most tourists who visit do so for the unspoiled essence of the island. Visitors can also enjoy

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

, bonefishing, snorkeling, white-crowned pigeon hunting and bird watching. The eastern part of the island is a popular area for crabbing (catching local island crabs) and off-trail bikers.

Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

is also a growing spectrum. Booby Cay is home to hundreds of iguanas indigenous only to Mayaguana. There is also an interesting species of booby birds that is also found on a separate cay on the northern side of Mayaguana. Blackwood Point, located in upper Pirates Well is where the Bahamian flamingo can be found feeding year round. The island is accessible by the Mayaguana Airport (MYG), which is located southeast of Abraham's Bay and is visited by Bahamasair as well as private aircraft. New construction is set to take place at the Mayaguana Airport before the fourth quarter of 2017.

Politics

The island is part of the MICAL constituency for elections to the House of Assembly of the Bahamas.

References

External links

Islands of the Bahamas: Mayaguana
{{Authority control Districts of the Bahamas Islands of the Bahamas