Elbow Cay

Elbow Cay
Waters	Atlantic Ocean
Archipelago	Abaco Islands
Geographical location	26 ° 32 ′ N , 76 ° 58 ′ W Coordinates: 26 ° 32 ′ N , 76 ° 58 ′ W
Residents	about 600
main place	Hope Town

Elbow Cay is a cay in the Bahamian Abaco Islands in the Atlantic Ocean .

geography

Map of Elbow Cay

Elbow Cay is about 8 kilometers east of the main island of Great Abaco . The elongated island is about 8 × 1 kilometers in size. The main town Hope Town is in the north of the island.

history

The islands' natives were believed to be the Lucaya Indians.

From 1783 to 1785 loyalists from New York , North Carolina , South Carolina, and Florida settled on the island.

For a long time, the salvage of ships that ran into distress off the island was a source of livelihood. As a result, not all of the island's residents were pleased with the lighthouse being built in 1864.

In the 1850s, numerous residents fell victim to a cholera epidemic .

Hope Town was the center of wooden shipbuilding on Abaco from 1840 to 1921 . With the advent of steam shipping , the demand for wooden ships decreased. The wood industry temporarily offered jobs. From 1916 onwards, many residents emigrated to Nassau , Miami or Key West in search of work .

From 1870 to 1938, the manufacture of bath sponges was an important source of income. During the US prohibition period 1920–1933, alcohol smuggling was also an economic factor. In 1924 a telegraph office was opened.

The first hotels and rental apartments were built in the 1960s. Since then, tourism has developed into the island's most important industry.

On September 1, 2019 12:40 local time met in Elbow Cay with the eye of Hurricane Dorian be the strongest tropical cyclone in the history of the Bahamas on land. According to an initial analysis of satellite images, around 300 buildings were destroyed and around 650–750 damaged.

tourism

In addition to the bays, the island's biggest tourist attraction is the Elbow Cay Lighthouse . Other places of interest are the Wyannie Malone Museum and the historic cholera cemetery. Popular tourist activities include diving , snorkeling , surfing , windsurfing and boat trips.

There are no cars on the island, golf carts can be used for longer trips .

supporting documents

^ ^A ^b The Rough Guide to the Caribbean. Rough Guides, 2002, ISBN 978-1-85828-895-6 , p. 110 f., Limited preview in the Google book search.
↑ ^a ^b Story of Hope Town. In: hopetownmuseum.com . Retrieved September 6, 2019.
↑ Greyson Beights: Abaco History. In: theabaconian.com . June 22, 2018, accessed on September 13, 2019.
↑ Krystel Brown: PM: This is the worst day of my life. In: thenassauguardian.com . September 1, 2019, accessed on September 6, 2019.
^ Hurricane Dorian Response: The Bahamas. In: reliefweb.int . Pacific Disaster Center, September 10, 2019, accessed on September 28, 2019, p. 4 (PDF; 1.64 MB).

[roughguide-1] A ^b The Rough Guide to the Caribbean. Rough Guides, 2002, ISBN 978-1-85828-895-6 , p. 110 f., Limited preview in the Google book search.

[hopetownmuseum-2] Story of Hope Town. In: hopetownmuseum.com . Retrieved September 6, 2019.

[3] Greyson Beights: Abaco History. In: theabaconian.com . June 22, 2018, accessed on September 13, 2019.

[4] Krystel Brown: PM: This is the worst day of my life. In: thenassauguardian.com . September 1, 2019, accessed on September 6, 2019.

[5] Hurricane Dorian Response: The Bahamas. In: reliefweb.int . Pacific Disaster Center, September 10, 2019, accessed on September 28, 2019, p. 4 (PDF; 1.64 MB).