The History of Staniel Cay and Exuma Bahamas—

From Pirates to Pig Island

This is a short excerpt from my travel guide Staniel Cay Unveiled: Travel, Taste, and Capture the Exuma Cay Bahamas

A Little History of Exumas

Aerial view of a coastal town surrounded by turquoise water with small islands and a distant sandy beach.Staniel Cay is a small cay in the Exuma Cays, an archipelago in the Bahamas. This cay is famous not only for its crystal-clear waters, white sandy beaches, and abundant marine life but for the now world-famous swimming pigs, and the many movies and music videos filmed there. However, only some know that Staniel Cay has a rich history of fascinating stories and events. In this chapter, we will uncover some of the history of Staniel Cay, including its pirate past, a few famous visitors, and the beloved Pig Beach on Big Major Cay.

In the 1700s, after the historic American War of Independence, the islands became a haven for loyalists who fled to the area to seek refuge for themselves and their slaves. During this time, many plantation owners set up cotton plantations, including the Hermitage Estate. Members of the Ferguson family left the Carolinas and were the first to establish the remote village of Hermitage on Little Exuma. Also among the new settlers were the prominent Lord John Rolle and his father Dennis Rolle, who were originally from England and about 140 slaves.

Cotton plantations flourished for a short time until soil exhaustion and caterpillar infestation set in. Dennis Rolle left the area ,and his son, who inherited his property in 1796, generously divided up the land among the slaves. In turn, they gratefully adopted his surname, and the area became known as Rolle Town. During the 1820s, it was the island’s largest slave settlement. Today, over sixty percent of the native population in the Exuma Islands has the surname Rolle. We have a lot of Rolle’s living on Staniel Cay

You can learn more about the History of the Exumas at https://bahamianology.com

Staniel Cay: A History from Loyalist Settlement to Tourist Paradise

Staniel Cay, a sun-soaked island in the Bahamas’s Exuma Cays chain, boasts a captivating history filled with intriguing twists and turns. Here’s a glimpse into its past:

Early Days (1783):

The story begins in 1783 when American loyalists, displaced by the American Revolution, settled the Exuma Cays. Staniel Cay became part of this new Bahamian community. Life revolved around fishing and subsistence farming, with the island remaining relatively unknown for over a century.

 

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