The Exumas Information

Most of Exuma's 3,600 residents live on Great Exuma or Little Exuma, the two largest islands which are connected by a short bridge. These friendly and outgoing people, many of whom make their living by fishing or farming, are genuinely happy to welcome holidaymakers.

As well as crops of onions, tomatoes, pigeon peas, guavas, papayas and mangoes, you'll also find wild cotton growing on Exuma - a testament to the importance of this plant in the island's history.

One of The Islands of the Bahamas' most prestigious events, the annual Family Island Regatta, is held every April in picturesque Elizabeth Harbour in George Town. A tribute to tradition, the regatta is a race between Bahamian workboats - hand-made sloops with wooden hulls, canvas sails and tall wooden masts. George Town is also home to the Government Administration Building, a pink-and-white building modeled on Government House in Nassau. A few steps north is St Andrew's Anglican Church, a beautiful 150-year-old white building with blue doors and shutters that is an active place of worship today.

History:

Over time, the Exumas have gone through many changes - from a salt-mining colony, to a haven for pirates, to a cotton-producing colony - and each has influenced its historical development.

During the cotton plantation era, Lord John Rolle, who imported the first cotton seeds in the late 18th century, had more than 300 slaves working on Great Exuma, all following the custom of the day, adopted their master's surname. When cotton proved to be a financial failure for him, and with the prospect of emancipation looming, Lord John Rolle deeded the 2,300 acres of land given to him by the British Government to his foremen slaves. This land has, in turn, been passed on to each new generation and can never be sold to outsiders.

Today, as many of the islanders are direct descendants of those plantation slaves, almost half of the residents go by the name of Rolle, and one of the largest settlements is named Rolleville.