The Columbus Monument was constructed in 1989,next to the Santa Maria Light.The Memorial a dedication not only to Columbus, but also a late apology to the indigenous people of Long Island.
When the Lucayans first saw Spaniards, with their strange appearance,clothes, boats and weapons, they mistook them for superior beings sent from heaven and offered them food and drink.
Paul Albury wrote : "This delusion, understandable
under the circumstances, was probably the most tragic mistake those gentle people ever made".
The Lucayans did not survive their encounter with the Spaniards.Many were carried off into captivity to be used as slaves in Hispaniola, or as pearl divers off the coast of Venezuela. Pearl fisheries were then lucrative sources of wealth in the Indies, but Indian divers were needed to collect them. The Spaniards organized successive slave raids into the Bahamas to capture the men they needed.
By 1513 it is estimated that there was not a single Lucayan left in the Turks and Caicos or the surrounding islands now forming part of the Bahamas.
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Clarence Town with a population of 125 is a friendly community.It has two of the largest churches to be seen outside Nassau.
Flying Fish Marina was a friendly enjoyable stopover for lunch at the Outer Edge Grill.
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6 miles north of Clarence Town is Hamilton with its cave. Leonard Cartwright our guide gave us a knowledgeable tour. Legend has it that the Arawak Indians once inhabited the Hamilton caves, which were more recently used to mine bat guano for fertilizer.
We saw some gigantic stalagmites and stalactites.We learned that the Indians carved out stone bowles, there is a fresh water well and a population of fruit bats ( see photo gallery).
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