Bahamas and the American Civil War
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Despite being a territory of the British Empire, the Bahamas was affected by the American Civil War. Much as it was during the Golden Age of Piracy, the Bahamas was a haven for
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and
blockade runners A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usuall ...
that were aligned with the Confederate States. Although Florida is only 55 miles away, the state then had few ports of any real consequence and so blockade runners would make their trips from
Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
to
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, the largest Confederate port on the
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.
Grand Bahama Island Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island i ...
had a decreasing population in the 19th century because of Nassau, but after the Civil War began in 1861, Grand Bahama Island's population doubled because of the blockade runners' actions. Nassau was also altered by the war. The first blockade runner docked there on December 5, 1861. By the end of the war, 397 ships sailed from the Confederacy to Nassau, and 588 went from Nassau to the Confederacy. Nassau imports were valued at £234,029, and its exports were worth £157,350. In 1864, at the pinnacle of trade from the Confederacy to Nassau, imports were valued at £5,346,112 and exports at £4,672,398. Asa Blockade runners would take cotton from Charleston to Nassau, a trip of 560 miles with 48 hours of sailing. As the Union had blockaded all Confederate ports, blockade runners had to be fast. They traded cotton at Nassau for British goods, with the cotton eventually finding its way to British cotton mills.
Civil war and prohibition benefited The Bahamas
'' The Islands of the Bahamas Official Tourism Site After the end of the war, the Bahamas fell into hard times and would not recover from until another period of American turmoil. During
American Prohibition In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a nationwide constitutional law prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and ...
,
Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...
was exported illegally to the United States. Like the end of the Civil War, the end of Prohibition also ended the fortunes of the Bahamas. A considerable number of Bahamians can trace their ancestry back to Southerners who left America before and during the war.Barlas, pg. 59.


See also

* History of the Bahamas * Blockade runners of the American Civil War *
United Kingdom in the American Civil War The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland remained officially neutral throughout the American Civil War (1861–1865). It legally recognised the belligerent status of the Confederate States of America (CSA) but never recognised it as a natio ...
*
Canada in the American Civil War At the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865), Canada did not yet exist as a federated nation. Instead, British North America consisted of the Province of Canada (parts of modern southern Ontario and southern Quebec) and the separate colo ...
*
African Americans in the American Civil War A large contingent of African Americans served in the American Civil War. The 186,097 black men who joined the Union Army included 7,122 officers and 178,975 enlisted soldiers. Approximately 20,000 black sailors served in the Union Navy and for ...
* Foreign enlistment in the American Civil War


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahamas In The American Civil War American Civil War by location Foreign relations during the American Civil War 19th century in the Bahamas Wars involving the Bahamas Bahamas–United States relations 1860s in the Caribbean 1860s in the British Empire History of the Colony of the Bahamas