The Abaco Islands lie in the northern Bahamas and comprise the main islands of Great Abaco and Little Abaco, together with the smaller Wood Cay, Elbow Cay

Elbow Cay

Elbow Cay is a six-mile long cay in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. Originally populated by British loyalists fleeing the newly independent United States of America in 1785, it has survived on fishing, boat building, and salvage...

, Lubbers Quarters Cay, Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay is an island in The Bahamas. It is located in the "Abaco Out Islands" and is long and 1/2 mile wide. It was named after the abundance of green turtles that inhabited the area. The population of the island is about 450 and its main settlement is New Plymouth which was founded in...

, Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay is an islet located in The Bahamas. It is a long but narrow islet which is 9 miles in length. It is located in the centre of the Abaco Islands...

, Castaway Cay

Castaway Cay

'Castaway Cay' is a private island in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Disney Cruise Line ships Disney Wonder, Disney Magic, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy. It is located near Great Abaco Island, and was formerly known as Gorda Cay...

, Man-o-War Cay

Man-O-War Cay

Man-O-War Cay is a small island in the Abaco region of the Bahamas.It has a population of about 300 Bahamian residents and about 135 foreign resident families. During the summer some local houses are rented by vacationing families that have a reputation as good house guests...

, Stranger's Cay, Umbrella Cay, Walker's Cay

Walker's Cay

Walker's Cay is an island located at the tip of the Abaco islands in the Bahamas, popular for sports fishing and scuba diving.Walker's Cay is the northernmost island in the Bahamas.The Walker's Cay marine area was declared a national park in 2002....

, Little Grand Cay, and Moore's Island

Moore's Island

Moore's Island is one of the districts of the Bahamas, on the Abaco Islands.Moore's Island is one of the little cays off the main land of Abaco. It is approximately long and wide and approximately from Abaco...

. Administratively, the Abaco Islands constitute five of the 31 Districts of the Bahamas

Districts of the Bahamas

Local government in the Bahamas exists in two forms, namely second-schedule and third-schedule district councils. There are a total of 32 local government districts: 13 second-schedule districts, which are further sub-divided into town areas, and 19 third-schedule districts, which are all unitary...

: North Abaco

North Abaco

North Abaco is one of the districts of the Bahamas, on the Abaco Islands.Some of the more known settlements within this district include:* Wood Cay* Crown Haven* Cedar Harbour* Coopers Town* Fire Road Village* Black Wood Village* New Plymouth...

, Central Abaco

Central Abaco

Central Abaco is one of the districts of the Bahamas, in the Abaco Islands. The district contains the largest town in the Abacos, Marsh Harbour, which is the commerce centre for the islands.Some of the more noticeable settlements are:* Little Harbour...

, South Abaco

South Abaco

South Abaco is one of the districts of the Bahamas, on the Abaco Islands.-References:...

, Moore's Island

Moore's Island

Moore's Island is one of the districts of the Bahamas, on the Abaco Islands.Moore's Island is one of the little cays off the main land of Abaco. It is approximately long and wide and approximately from Abaco...

, and Hope Town

Hope Town

Hope Town features one of the last operational kerosene-fueled lighthouses in the world. This lighthouse was built in 1862 and became operational two years later, it is striped horizontally red and white. Its light can be seen from away....

. Towns in the islands include Marsh Harbour

Marsh Harbour

Marsh Harbour is a town in Abaco Islands, Bahamas, with a population of 5,314.With more than five thousand residents, Marsh Harbour is the third largest town in The Bahamas, and the main focus of tourism in the Abacos. Marsh Harbour is a shipbuilding center, but tourism accounts for most of its...

, Hope Town

Hope Town

Hope Town features one of the last operational kerosene-fueled lighthouses in the world. This lighthouse was built in 1862 and became operational two years later, it is striped horizontally red and white. Its light can be seen from away....

, Treasure Cay

Treasure Cay

Treasure Cay, Bahamas is a small coastal community on the east coast of the island of Abaco in the Bahamas. Treasure Cay is approximately 165 miles due east of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States....

, Coopers Town

Coopers Town

Coopers Town is a city in Abaco, the third largest island of the Bahamas.The town is the northernmost of the island's main centres of population. It was settled in the 1870s by the Cooper family from Grand Bahama. Early industry included pineapple and sea-sponge harvesting, but both industries have...

, and Cornishtown.

History

The Abaco Islands were first inhabited by the Lucayan

Lucayan

The Lucayan were the original inhabitants of the Bahamas before the arrival of Europeans. They were a branch of the Taínos who inhabited most of the Caribbean islands at the time. The Lucayans were the first inhabitants of the Americas encountered by Christopher Columbus...

. The first Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an settlers of the islands were Loyalists

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

 fleeing the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 who arrived in 1783, as was also the case at Cat Island. These original Loyalist settlers made a modest living by salvaging wrecks, by building small wooden boats, and by basic farming.

Prior to the 1970s, a group of American businessmen, arms traffickers, supporters of free enterprise

Free enterprise

-Transport:* Free Enterprise I, a ferry in service with European Ferries between 1962 and 1980.* Free Enterprise II, a ferry in service with European Ferries between 1965 and 1982....

, a black agent of the information services, and a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 of the British House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 planned the independence of Abaco, or that would have a UK dependency status similar to that of Anguilla

Anguilla

Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...

. Abaco was to be a utopia

Utopia

Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...

 for businessmen fearing socialism.

They would promise one acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

 (4,000 m²) to each of the natives on the island. This would have left thousands of acres for realtors and their financial backers. At least one flag was designed, combining the Hope Town Lighthouse with a Union Flag

Union Flag

The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...

.

The British government had no interest in this scheme, which in any case would have been strongly opposed by the national government in Nassau

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...

. Finally, the locals did not support the plan, perhaps because unspoken racial issues are alleged to have mixed into it. In any event, the Abaco Independence Movement was quelled by 1975.

Demographics

The combined population of the islands is about 13 000, and the principal settlement and capital is Marsh Harbour. The racial make up is about 50% white and 50% black.

In addition to Marsh Harbour there are several other settlements on Great Abaco including Cherokee Sound, Coopers Town

Coopers Town

Coopers Town is a city in Abaco, the third largest island of the Bahamas.The town is the northernmost of the island's main centres of population. It was settled in the 1870s by the Cooper family from Grand Bahama. Early industry included pineapple and sea-sponge harvesting, but both industries have...

, Crossing Rock, Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay is an island in The Bahamas. It is located in the "Abaco Out Islands" and is long and 1/2 mile wide. It was named after the abundance of green turtles that inhabited the area. The population of the island is about 450 and its main settlement is New Plymouth which was founded in...

, Hope Town

Hope Town

Hope Town features one of the last operational kerosene-fueled lighthouses in the world. This lighthouse was built in 1862 and became operational two years later, it is striped horizontally red and white. Its light can be seen from away....

, Little Harbour, Rocky Point, Sandy Point

Sandy Point, Bahamas

Sandy Point is a town in the Bahamas located in the South Abaco District. It is the last settlement in the southern end of the chain. Sandy Point was named because of the amount of sand on its beaches. It is south of the famous Disney castaway island ....

, Spring City, Treasure Cay

Treasure Cay

Treasure Cay, Bahamas is a small coastal community on the east coast of the island of Abaco in the Bahamas. Treasure Cay is approximately 165 miles due east of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States....

, Wilson City, and Winding Bay.

Surrounding Great Abaco are several smaller islands known as cay

Cay

A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...

s , many of which are popular with tourists visiting the islands. A few notable cays include Castaway Cay

Castaway Cay

'Castaway Cay' is a private island in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Disney Cruise Line ships Disney Wonder, Disney Magic, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy. It is located near Great Abaco Island, and was formerly known as Gorda Cay...

 (formerly Gorda Cay), Elbow Cay

Elbow Cay

Elbow Cay is a six-mile long cay in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. Originally populated by British loyalists fleeing the newly independent United States of America in 1785, it has survived on fishing, boat building, and salvage...

, the Grand Cays, Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay is an islet located in The Bahamas. It is a long but narrow islet which is 9 miles in length. It is located in the centre of the Abaco Islands...

, Man-O-War Cay

Man-O-War Cay

Man-O-War Cay is a small island in the Abaco region of the Bahamas.It has a population of about 300 Bahamian residents and about 135 foreign resident families. During the summer some local houses are rented by vacationing families that have a reputation as good house guests...

, Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Cay is an island in The Bahamas. It is located in the "Abaco Out Islands" and is long and 1/2 mile wide. It was named after the abundance of green turtles that inhabited the area. The population of the island is about 450 and its main settlement is New Plymouth which was founded in...

, Moore's Island

Moore's Island

Moore's Island is one of the districts of the Bahamas, on the Abaco Islands.Moore's Island is one of the little cays off the main land of Abaco. It is approximately long and wide and approximately from Abaco...

, and Walker's Cay

Walker's Cay

Walker's Cay is an island located at the tip of the Abaco islands in the Bahamas, popular for sports fishing and scuba diving.Walker's Cay is the northernmost island in the Bahamas.The Walker's Cay marine area was declared a national park in 2002....

.

Activities

The islands are a noted base for sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

 activities in the Bahamas, as well as resort tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

.

The Abacos Islands in the Bahamas have four national parks that attract tourists: Pelican Cays Land & Sea Park, Abaco Wild Horse Preserve, Man-O-War Cay

Man-O-War Cay

Man-O-War Cay is a small island in the Abaco region of the Bahamas.It has a population of about 300 Bahamian residents and about 135 foreign resident families. During the summer some local houses are rented by vacationing families that have a reputation as good house guests...

, and Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay is an islet located in The Bahamas. It is a long but narrow islet which is 9 miles in length. It is located in the centre of the Abaco Islands...

.

Transportation

Marsh Harbour Airport

Marsh Harbour Airport

Marsh Harbour Airport is an airport serving Marsh Harbour, a town in the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas.Marsh Harbour is a major tourist attraction in the Bahamas. The airport serves Nassau and a few Florida cities...

 and Treasure Cay Airport

Treasure Cay Airport

Treasure Cay Airport is an airport serving Treasure Cay, in the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas.-Facilities:The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 14/32 with an asphalt surface measuring ....

 serve the islands. Marsh Harbour Airport is famous because of the nine lifes lost among them a famous popstar named Aaliyah
Outer islands can be reached by ferries operated by Alburys Ferry Service and Green Turtle Ferry.
Bahamas Fast Ferry operates between Nassau and Sandy Point on the southern end of Abaco. On the main island cars and boat are available. While on some of the smaller cays, golf carts and boats are the main mode of transportation, along with bikes or scooters.

Environment

The Abaco Islands boast important natural areas, especially important coral reef areas, barrier-island terrestrial habitats and large forests of Bahamian Pine (Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis

Caribbean Pine

The Caribbean Pine, Pinus caribaea, is a hard pine native to Central America, Cuba, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It inhabits tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, which include both lowland savannas and montane forests...

), some of which still contain old-growth trees. As development expands in the Abacos, local groups have begun to more fiercely fight for the preservation of their natural resources, such as in the development case on Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay is an islet located in The Bahamas. It is a long but narrow islet which is 9 miles in length. It is located in the centre of the Abaco Islands...

.

Notable species include the Bahamian subspecies of Cuban Amazon (Amazona leucocephala bahamensis), which exists only in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, the Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...

, the southern Bahamas and Abaco. This population is unique in that nests in limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 solution cavities rather than tree cavities. Abaco is also known for its intact elkhorn

Elkhorn coral

Elkhorn coral is considered to be one of the most important reef-building corals in the Caribbean. This species of coral is structurally complex with many large branches. The coral structure closely resembles that of elk antlers. These branches create habitats for many other reef species such as...

 and staghorn coral

Staghorn coral

The Staghorn coral is a branching coral with cylindrical branches ranging from a few centimetres to over two metres in length and height. It occurs in back reef and fore reef environments from 0 to 30 m depth. The upper limit is defined by wave forces, and the lower limit is controlled by...

 structures, and for its critically endangered breed of feral horse, the Abaco Barb.