The early inhabitants of the Abaco Islands were the Arawak Indians or Lucayans.  The Arawak were peaceful by nature and arrived in the area after fleeing the fierce Caribs in South America. 

After the arrival of Columbus in the New World in 1492, Spanish treasure seekers followed and abducted 40,000 Arawak men and women to work as slaves in their prosperous settlements in Cuba and Hispaniola, almost completely depopulating the Bahamas by 1513. 

Upon the arrival of Ponce de Leon in
the Bahamas in 1514, he found no trace of the Arawaks.

Since the Islands of the Bahamas are not particularly fertile and have no minerals of considerable value, the area did not attract new inhabitants and remained unsettled for over 100 years after the disappearance of the Arawaks.

During the 1500's the Bahamas was simply a stop on the long voyage for galleons loaded with gold and silver from Mexico and the rest of the Caribbean returning to Spain.  Eventually the waters of the Bahamas, which is derived from the Spanish "bajamay" meaning shallow, claimed too many Spanish ships.  After losing 17 treasure laden ships on the reefs in Abaco in 1595, the Spanish began to steer clear of the islands.  However, wild horses that were brought by the Spanish still roam and can been seen on Great Abaco.

France did attempt to establish "Lucayoneque", a colony on Great Abaco in 1625.  The first French to arrive noted excellent anchorages, abundant fresh water and the wild pigs that still roam Abaco today.  The reason for the disappearance of Lucayoneque and the early French settlers from Abaco is unrecorded.

The navigational challenges presented by the waters of the Bahamas later provided an opportunity for pirates.  The lack of established communities and government was an ideal setting for those hiding from the law.  From 1713 until 1718, Charles Town, which later became Nassau, on New Providence Island was the base of operations for hundreds of pirates and privateers including Edward Teach, aka "Blackbeard"

Abaco, and the other Out Islands of the Bahamas, became the place where the pirates came to clean and repair the hulls of their ships in the shallow bays and creeks.  Coco Bay, White Sound, Black Sound and Bluff Harbour were popular locations for the pirates' work on Green Turtle Cay. A clean hull was essential for the speed that pirate ships required to overtake their targets and out run their pursuers.

King George I offered amnesty to all pirates in 1718 and sent Captain Woodes Rodgers to Charles Town as the new Governor of New Providence with the intention of ending piracy in the Bahamas.  Blackbeard refused the King's offer and fled to the Carolinas to continue his career.

Charles Vane and his crew were the only pirates who decided to refuse the King's Royal pardon and remained in Charles Town to stand their ground.  Upon the arrival of Captain Woodes Rodgers in the harbour at New Providence, Charles Vane quickly realized his ship was trapped. The pirate attempted to accept the Royal pardon with the condition that he could retain all his stolen property from years of pirating.  The conditions of his surrender were not accepted by Captain Woodes Rodgers, so after creating a diversion at night, Charles Vane and his crew escaped Charles Town to the protected bays and inlets of Green Turtle Cay in Abaco.

Charles Vane was eventually captured and his numerous acts of piracy were well documented during his trial, including taking a sloop called "John and Elizabeth" off the coast of Abaco.  Subsequent to his trial, which did not go well for him, Charles Vane was hanged on
March 29, 1720.

The modern history of Green Turtle Cay began at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War.  The first settlers who established New Plymouth in 1784 wished to remain loyal to the crown and fled New England after American Independence.  Shortly thereafter, families began arriving from Virginia and the Carolinas.  The first settlers to Abaco were intent on farming, however frustrated with the quality of the soil, they switched their attention to the sea for their livelihood. 

In addition to fishing, sponging and ship building, the early residents of Green Turtle Cay salvaged the contents of wrecked ships.  Bahamian nautical charts were initially non-existent and later unreliable. During the years between 1845 and 1870, 40% of Bahamian imports were salvaged items from wreckers.  At one time, Green Turtle Cay was the home port for 20 wrecking vessels. 

Although wreckers are credited with saving numerous crew members from ships run on the reefs, it became apparent that all wrecks were perhaps not "accidental".   England decided that navigational aids, such as lighthouses, were necessary in Abaco to reduce the shipwrecks.  To the objection of local wreckers, the construction of lighthouses began in Abaco in 1838 at Hole-in-the Wall and subsequently Hope Town.  In spite of residents attempts to sabotage the building process, the lighthouses were finally constructed and essentially ended the wrecking occupation in Abaco.

By the time of the American Civil War, perhaps as a result of the influence of pirates and wreckers, the Bahamian economy had become proficient at creating profits from contraband.  During the Civil War in the states, New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay provided a port of safety for Confederate blockade runners.  During the years of prohibition in the United States, rum runners traversed the Gulf Stream to deliver their loads of illegal liquor.

New Plymouth, which is the sister city of Key West, produced many of the "Conchs" who relocated and settled in the Florida Keys.  In 1847, Captain Richard Roberts known as "Tuggy" left Green Turtle Cay to relocate in Key West.  He liked his Green Turtle Cay home so much, he disassembled the house and took it with him to Florida.  Captain Richard Roberts' reassembled home still stands in Key West at 408 William Street, where he reconstructed the house. This plaque can be seen at 408 William Street in Key West, Florida

In 1892, Key West had a population of 25,000 of which 8,000 were Bahamians.  William Curry, born on Green Turtle Cay in 1821, went penniless to Key West but would go on to great success in business, primarily wrecking on the reefs of the Florida Keys.  He became Florida's first millionaire and began constructing the Curry Mansion in Key West in 1855, which is today operated as a bed and breakfast.   Curry Mansion  

The Bahamas gained full independence from England in 1973.  However, the descendants of Abaco's Loyalists remained loyal to the crown right up to the end.  In 1972, as the new Bahamian government was being structured, a group from Abaco contemplated revolution when their petition to the Queen to separate from the rest of the Bahamas and remain a British crown colony was denied. 

With their fascinating history and lineage that includes pirates, Loyalist refugees and wreckers, your visit with the residents of Green Turtle Cay will make your vacation experience unforgettable!