Seventy Puritans, led by William Sayles, are thought to have sailed from Bermuda in
1649
on a quest for religious freedom.
Why did the Puritans leave Bermuda?
The small group of Puritan settlers, led by a man named William Sayle, were expelled from Bermuda
for their failure to swear allegiance to the Crown
, and left in search of a place in which they could freely practice their faith. This group represented the first concerted European effort to colonize the Bahamas.
Why did the Puritans migrate to Bermuda during the early 17th century?
Captain William Sayles and a group of Puritans, known as the Eleutheran Adventurers, sailed from Bermuda
in search of religious freedom
. Along the way, they found this beautiful gem of an island and named it Eleuthera.
Why did the Puritans choose the Bahamas?
To help them, the Puritans gained the support of Captain William Sayle, an ex-governor of Bermuda. He and his followers decided to try
the Bahamas as their religious haven
. In a visit to England, Sayle convinced a few English people to join him.
Who came to the Bahamas in 1647?
THE PURITANS
IN THE BAHAMAS
In 1647, an investment of £100 would buy a membership in the Company of Eleutheran Adventurers, entitling a man to 300 acres to be then further divided later on into individual lots to which another 2,000 acres would be added.
What happened to Sayle when he returned to Bermuda?
He left Bermuda with seventy settlers, mostly Bermudians and some English, who were looking for a place where they could worship God freely. To this end they settled on
the Island of Segatoo
which they gave the name Eleuthera, from the Greek word meaning freedom.
What do you know about Puritans?
The Puritans were members of
a religious reform movement known
as Puritanism that arose within the Church of England in the late 16th century. They believed the Church of England was too similar to the Roman Catholic Church and should eliminate ceremonies and practices not rooted in the Bible.
What was New Providence once called?
| Geography | Bahamas | Largest settlement Nassau | Demographics | Population 274,400 (2016) |
|---|
Is Bermuda part of the United Kingdom?
Bermuda is
an internally self-governing British overseas territory
with a parliamentary government. Under its 1968 constitution, the British monarch, represented by the governor, is the head of state.
What does Eleuthera mean in English?
“Eleuthera” derives from the feminine form of the Greek adjective ἐλεύθερος (eleútheros), meaning
“free”
. Known in the 17th century as Cigateo, it lies 80 km (50 miles) east of Nassau. It is long and thin—180 km (110 miles) long and in places little more than 1.6 km (1.0 mile) wide.
What country owns the Bahamas?
The Bahamas is
an independent country
. It was formerly a British Territory for 325 years. It became independent in 1973 and joined the United Nations during the same year. Despite its proximity to the United States, at no point was the Bahamas ever a U.S. territory.
What language did the Lucayans speak?
They spoke
the Taíno language, one of the Arawakan languages
. The highly developed Lucayan culture boasted its own language, government, religion, craft traditions, and extensive trade routes. Christopher Columbus’s diario is the only source of first-hand observations of the Lucayans.
What was Bahamas called before independence?
The Bahamas, archipelago and country on the northwestern edge of the West Indies. Formerly
a British colony
, The Bahamas became an independent country within the Commonwealth in 1973.
Where did the slaves in The Bahamas come from?
Most Africans brought to The Bahamas were West African. Slaves came from
West Central Africa
(3,967 Africans), the Bight of Biafra (1,751 Africans), Sierra Leone (1,187 Africans), the Bight of Benin (1,044 Africans), the Windward Coast (1,030 Africans), Senegambia (806 Africans) and from the Gold Coast (484 Africans).
Why did many Bahamians migrate to Florida in the 1920s?
Many went to Florida to work in agriculture or to Key West to labor in fishing, sponging, and turtling. Two main factors that contributed to increased Bahamian migration were
the poor economic climate and opportunities in the Bahamas
, as well as the short distance from the Bahamas to Miami.
