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Aspects of South Florida history and that of The Bahamas
often connect our news and events, our culture and people. It’s why a few posts about Bimini appear in this blog.
Recently I met a few Fort Lauderdale residents either from or who have visited San Salvador Island, about 380 miles southeast of Miami. This 12-mile long, five-mile-wide island is home to fewer than 1,000 residents.
San Salvador’s history is intriguing. A consensus of historians and geographers point to San Salvador as the probable site of the first landfall in the Americas of explorer and mapmaker Christopher Columbus.
After leaving the Canary Islands September 6, 1492 Columbus
reached what he thought was Asia on October 12, 1492. “He saw, as the day
dawned, a level island…covered with trees.”
A crew member later described the place as having “very green trees and much
water.” Curious but peaceful Lucayan Arawak Indians greeted the European
visitors. They called their home Guanahani (meaning "small land in upper waters"); Columbus renamed it San Salvador,
meaning Holy Savior.
Columbus continued to travel westward seeking riches not
found in San Salvador Island. The Lucayan population, decimated by European
disease and hardships imposed by European slavery, disappeared in less than 30
years. The Spanish never populated San Salvador and abandoned it.
Island history thereafter is about others seeking opportunities, including English pirates.
Pirate George (or John) Watling operated briefly from there in 1680,
making part of his fortune through “wrecking.” He and his men intentionally
caused ships to run aground leaving crew and cargo vulnerable to murder and
plunder. (Wrecking in early Florida meant salvaging crew and cargo and selling
or keeping cargo when they could and by consent. At times wrecking was the main source of
income among settlers.)
Watling pirated in and around San Salvador in 1680. He died in Peru in 1681 in an unsucessful mission. He left quite a reputation; the island was referred to as Watling’s (or Watling) Island for nearly 300 years. There was plenty of news about Watling Island in the 1800s. Newspapers in London published dispatches from the island about hurricanes as well as frequent reinsurance notices after ships wrecked off the island.
Watling Island, along with its neighboring 700 islands of
The Bahamas (baja mar means shallow sea in Spanish) became a British colony in 1718. The
Bahamas gained independence July 10, 1973.
And when and why was the island renamed San Salvador? The story goes back about 100 years and resulted from the efforts of Father Chrysostom Schreiner, the first permanent Catholic priest (Benedictine Order) assigned to The Bahamas. He arrived in Nassau in 1891. For years he researched the history of the 1492 Columbus landing.
Controversy swirled around the site of landfall for years.
Some researchers used incorrect maps in pinpointing the site. Others, such as
Captain A. B. Beecher R.N. Polter, consulted journals Christoher Columbus left
and was convinced the journals, not the maps, were correct. His book, The
Landfall of Columbus on his First Voyage, published in 1856, details his research
and conclusions. Even American writer
and historian Washington Irving (1783-1859) jumped into the debate claiming Cat
Island, 57 miles northwest, was the actual landing site. (Cat Island is site of
the tallest point in The Bahamas—about 204 feet.)
Father Chrysostom moved to San Salvador in his later years*
where he died in 1928, but not before convincing the Parliament of The Bahamas
to change the name and encouraging the recognition of the island as “one of the
most important shrines in the world.”
The Parliament of The Bahamas recognized his efforts with Act. No 27 of 1926 ( from Bahamas Laws Portal) that states: "Cat Island to be referred to as Cat Island. The island now known as Watlings Island to be referred to as San Salvador or Watling Island.”
Common use won. We know this tiny island today as San
Salvador Island.
Visitors
Visitors these days stay at several places, including Riding Rock Inn Resort and Marina.
Scuba diving enthusiasts explore San Salvador’s underwater caves and caverns. Anglers laud its fishing; the International Game Fishing Association noted a record wahoo catch—155 pounds—in 1990.
Points of interest:
Capital of San Salvador: Cockburn Town (pronounced Coburn). One of the smallest towns in The Bahamas
Churches: Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Church, St.
Augustine’s Anglican Church
San Salvador Museum (former jail)
New World Museum
Dripping Rock Cave
Father Schreiner’s Grave
Dixon Hill Lighthouse
Ruins of Watling’s Castle (authenticity in doubt; Watling most likely did not live there)
Christopher Columbus Statues
San Salvador may be small, but it holds historical significance and offers a singular Bahamian experience.
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Unrelated but interesting: The first plane (Rogers Airline out of Miami) to fly into San Salvador arrived in 1927. The pilot stopped to refuel while on a project to build wireless installations in The Bahamas. Father Chrysostom and a commissioner were taken on a brief flight over the island, perhaps the first residents to fly over San Salvador.
Note: An internet search on San Salvador without also using “island,” will often produce entries for the capital of El Salvador in Central America.
Sources:
Howard, Blair. Visitor’s Guide to The Bahamas.
Published in Orlando: 2013 (no other publishing information in book)
Kelly, Michael James, San Salvador.
Chicago: American Popular Publication Co. 1892
Ramsey, Peter. A History of the Bahamas. Published
in Orlando (no other publishing information): 2025.
The Illustrated London News, Oct. 22, 1842
The Times, Nov. 8, 1843 (London)
The Guardian, Nov. 15, 1845 (London)
Daily News, Aug. 23, 1856 (London)
The Guardian, May 21, 1906 (London)
The Daily Telegraph, Sept. 26, 1908 (London)
The Daily Telegraph, May 5, 1920 (London)
Salt Lake Tribune, May 26, 1925
The Daily Telegraph, Aug. 9,1926 (London)
The Herald, Jan. 29, 1928 (Miami)
The Miami Herald, July 18, 2002
https://www.bahamashistorythroughmaps.com/
https://islandmapstore.com/2021/01/san-salvador/
Tags: The Bahamas, San Salvador Island, Father Chrysostom Schreiner, Christopher Columbus landing, fishing, scuba diving
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