Modern-day Nassau, capital of the Bahamas, is a mecca of tourist shops, restaurants, and resorts. But between those, if one knows where to look, are remnants of a rather cool British colonial city. Old forts, stunning colonial architecture, and one of the coolest staircases I’ve ever seen… these are some of the glimpses into the Nassau of old.

The British came to the Bahamas in 1648, with a group of Puritans from Bermuda (and their slaves) establishing a colony on Eleuthera in 1648. New Providence was colonized via land grant from Charles II in 1670, and a city named for him. What is now Nassau began as Charles Town.

Who did the English find here when they and their slaves arrived? Actually, nobody. The indigenous people of these islands, the Lucayans, were all gone. How was that? Christopher Columbus made landfall on the Bahamian island of San Salvador in 1492, meeting the local natives at that point. By 1494, with the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas by Spain and Portugal dividing the New World between them, Spain needed manpower to build their burgeoning colonies. The Lucayans were mostly enslaved and sent to Hispaniola (today’s Haiti and Dominican Republic) to work the sugar plantations. Hence the islands of the Bahamas were empty when the British arrived.

This and much of the other history of the Bahamas can be learned at the Bahamas Historical Society, a small museum in Nassau only open on weekdays. It should be noted, however, that when I visited, the single volunteer staffing the museum gave a rather one-sided view of Bahamian history. That account praised Columbus despite his successors coming to these islands enslaving the population, only mentioned population of the Bahamas in terms of whites (omitting the rather brutal slavery history here, which you can read about by clicking this link), and declared that any future without the British monarch was unacceptable. (Your experience may differ with a different volunteer, and the small exhibits and collection of artifacts might be worth seeing regardless. Just take that into account.)

In 1695, Charles Town was renamed Nassau in honor of King William III, whose other title was Prince of Nassau. But the city was small and poorly governed. From 1706 to 1718, Nassau was ruled by the pirates who sailed from here, raiding Caribbean shipping. (Click here to read about Nassau and the Golden Age of Piracy.) In 1718, Governor Woodes Rogers, himself a former privateer, largely put an end to piracy, and re-established the Bahamas as a colony under direct British rule.

Nassau and the Bahamas remained small, just a tiny town and Fort Nassau, whose remnants today are just a plaque and an arch in downtown. Then came the American Revolution. Loyalists, those who fought for the Crown, were offered land grants here on the islands following American independence, as it wouldn’t have been safe for many of them to remain. So they came, more than quadrupling the white population of the Bahamas and of Nassau, along with an even larger population of slaves.

With that growth of the city, new defenses were constructed, with Lord Dunmore, governor from 1787 to 1796, building Fort Charlotte and Fort Fincastle.

Fort Fincastle is just a tiny outpost, commanding the top of the tallest hill on the island of New Providence. (Hill is a fairly generous term.) Dwarfed by the early twentieth century water tower next to it, the fort today offers good views over Nassau Harbor and out to Paradise Island. But the most interesting part of the fort is the staircase leading to it.

Fort Fincastle (and indeed all of the defenses of Nassau) is built of limestone quarried from right here in the city itself. The most direct route up to the fort from the city is via the Queen’s Staircase, 66 steps cut directly from the limestone, accessed by a narrow gorge that was the quarry itself. Today, it is one of the top tourist attractions in the city, with visitors posing for photos on and in front of the staircase, as well as the man-made waterfall next to it. (Note: you can approach the fort via paved streets from the northwest and go down the stairs instead of up.)

For a more interesting set of fortifications, a visit to Fort Charlotte is in order. Sitting to the west of the city, and guarding the entrance to the harbor, Fort Charlotte is actually a few connected batteries expanded over the decades. (The fort was in use through the end of World War One, although it never saw combat in all of its existence.) Admission is reasonable, and signage is good, telling both the history of the fort, and of what life would have been like being stationed here in Nassau.

The best part of visiting Fort Charlotte is the original cannon, dating from the time of Victoria. Although today they’d only guard against cruise ships, the fort still seems like it would do a decent job commanding the harbor.

Within Nassau itself, some lovely colonial buildings remain. The Bahamian Parliament, which we will speak about more in another article that will cover the modern history of the Bahamas as an independent country, dates to 1815. It – and many other governmental buildings – is and always has been pink.

The British Colonial Hotel was built in 1901, although the current iteration only dates to 1924 after the original burned down.

Other balconied beauties can be discovered almost at random, interspersed with the more modern constructions catering to tourists.

In 1964, a new constitution gave the Bahamas self-governing autonomy, and in 1973, the country achieved full independence, thus ending the colonial period for good, and bringing us to the modern era, which we will talk about soon.

For the majority of the history of Nassau, the city was the seat of a British colony. And while those days – and the ups and downs of colonial rule – are over, visitors can still see some of what remains from that period. Fortifications stand watch over the city’s harbor, balconies extend over narrow streets, and bright pink governmental buildings lead to limestone stairs. Explore away!

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