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LONG ISLAND
Only 80 miles long and four miles wide, Long Island
is one of the most scenic hideaways in The Bahamas, famous for its world class
scuba diving and bone fishing. it is divided by the Tropic of Cancer sand
is bordered by two contrasting coastscapes, one with soft white beaches, the
other with rocky headlands that plummet straight into the crashing waves.
The land varies from sloping hillsides, to stark white flatlands, to swamps, to
pristine beaches, creating a picturesque haven for seamen and sun lovers alike.
Long Island was originally named Yuma by the Lucayan
Indians and was renamed Fernandina by Christopher Columbus upon his third
landfall in the New World.
Then in 1790, Loyalists from the Carolinas and their
slaves settled on Fernandina. They built large plantations and produced
sea island cotton until the abolition of slavery, which rendered their
businesses unprofitable. Today, many of the loyalist mansions still stand
as a reminder of the island's past. Although
the plantations are overgrown and non-productive, agriculture is still a very
important part of life.
Pothole farming, which is a method that utilizes
natural holes in the limestone where fertile topsoil collects, yields much of
the food supply for the other islands, including peas, corn, pineapples and
bananas. Raising sheep, goats and pigs is
also popular amongst Long Islanders.
The pace of life has not changed much from Long
Island's deep past. The carriage road, built more than a century ago, is
lined by the island's major settlements of Burnt Ground, Simms, Wood Hill,
Clarence Town, roses and South Point, all situated around harbors and
anchorages.
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