Spanish Wells is a

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 ...

of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an 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. ...

. The settlement consists of a medium-sized town on the island of St. George's Cay wide by long, located approximately off the northern tip of

Eleuthera Eleuthera () refers both to a single island in the archipelagic state of the The Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahamas and to its associated group of smaller islands. Eleuthera forms a part of the Great Bahama Bank. The island of Eleuthera incor ...

island. According to the 2022 census, it has a population of 1,608 residents. It is the only majority white district in The Bahamas.

Overview

Spanish Wells is extended by a bridge that links it to neighboring Russell Island, which is long and has become an integral part of the community. Spanish Wells is so small that many residents get around the island using

golf cart A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced t ...

s instead of full-sized cars. Spanish Wells is known for its white powdery beaches, tropical breezes, laid back atmospheres and friendly people.

History

Historically, the island was used as a last stop for the

Spanish treasure fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet (, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its Spanish Empi ...

returning to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. Spanish

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

s and Spain's

medieval ships Medieval ships were the vessels used in Europe during the Middle Ages. Like ships from Ancient history, antiquity, they were moved by sails, oars, or a combination of the two. There was a large variety, mostly based on much older, conservative desi ...

refilled their water supply from wells created for this purpose - thus the English name of the settlement: ''Spanish Wells''. The first British colonists were the

Eleutheran adventurers The Eleutheran Adventurers were a group of English Puritans and religious Independents who left Bermuda to settle on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas in the late 1640s. The small group of Puritan settlers, led by William Sayle, were expel ...

from

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

(intending to be some of the first settlers of Eleuthera), who suffered shipwreck on a reef, known as the "Devil's Backbone" off Eleuthera in 1647. After living in a cave known as "Preacher's Cave" on Eleuthera, they ended up at Spanish Wells. Among other, later, groups of settlers were Crown

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

s, who left the United States after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

Economy

Spanish Wells has historically been a fishing village since its earliest inception. Although the economy used to share a heavier dependence on farming during its earlier years, almost equally split with its Fishing arm, Fishing has predominated the occupation from its origin until today. Fishing on Spanish Wells has also looked different in its method over the hundred years it has been practiced. "Smack Fishing," as it has been commonly known among the local inhabitants, has become the predominant form of Fishing. The term comes from "The Smack," which refers to a larger craft voyaging out with additional Dinghies, or as the locals call them, "Speed Boats." These trips can usually occur over a period of weeks at a time. Earlier voyages in the island's history would have been predominated by Net Fishing with a predominant method called "Hauling." Over the years, especially with the invention and wide distribution of condos, Smack trips have shifted from Fish to Rock Lobster, of which the local name is "Crawfish." This shift began to take place sometime in the 80's and has had almost a complete transformation of the entire fishing fleet towards harvesting wild Rock Lobster. With the rise of tourism in the early 2000's, the economy has also shared another major industry, Tourism. This trend took on a larger form during the mid 2010's, and has provided a great revenue source mostly for retired Lobster fishermen to nearby natural and manmade attractions.

Demographics

Spanish Wells is populated primarily by

White Bahamians White Bahamians are Bahamian citizens of European ancestry, most of whom trace their ancestry back to England, Scotland and Ireland. Bahamians of European descent are sometimes called " Conchs", a term that is also applied to people of White Bah ...

, who constitute 81.95% of the district's population.

Afro-Bahamians Afro-Bahamians are an ethnicity originating in the Bahamas of predominantly or partial native African descent. They are descendants of various African ethnic groups, many associated with the Bight of Biafra, Ghana, Songhai and Mali, the various ...

constitute a further 15.48% of the population. As of the 2010 census, the district is home to 1,551 residents.

Tropical storms

The area suffered extensive property damage during a direct hit from

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...

in 1992 and Floyd in 1999.

Notable people

Clay Sweeting Clay Glennford Sweeting (born 21 December 1985) is a Bahamian politician from the Progressive Liberal Party currently serving as MP for Central and South Eleuthera. Early life Sweeting was born in Spanish Wells, Eleuthera. He attended Spanish Wel ...

, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister

References

* Everild Young, ''Eleuthera the island called Freedom'', Regency Press (London, 1969) Districts of the Bahamas Eleuthera 1647 establishments in the British Empire {{Bahamas-stub