From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Island and District in the Bahamas
Island and district in Bahamas
Crooked Island
is an island and
district
, part of a group of
Bahamian islands
defining a large, shallow lagoon called the
Bight of Acklins
, of which the largest are Crooked Island in the north and
Acklins
in the south-east, and the smaller are
Long Cay
(once known as Fortune Island) in the north-west, and
Castle Island
in the south.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The indigenous
Lucayan people
called the island
Jumento
, meaning "upper land of the middle distance".
[2]
Meanwhile, the
Spaniard
explorers had named the island
Isabella
.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The islands were settled by American
Loyalists
in the late 1780s who set
cotton plantations
using over 1,000
slaves
. After the
abolition of slavery
in the
British Empire
these became uneconomical, and the replacement income from
sponge
diving has now dwindled as well. The inhabitants now live by fishing and small-scale farming.
It is believed that the first Post Office in the Bahamas was at
Pitts Town
on Crooked Island.
Population
[
edit
]
The main town in the group is
Colonel Hill
(pop. 51) on Crooked Island.
The population of Crooked Island was 330 at the 2010 census.
[3]
Transportation
[
edit
]
The island is served by
Colonel Hill Airport
.
Politics
[
edit
]
The island is part of the
MICAL constituency
for elections to the
House of Assembly of the Bahamas
.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
Second-Scheduled Districts
| |
---|
Third-Scheduled Districts
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
22°45′N
74°13′W
/
22.750°N 74.217°W
/
22.750; -74.217