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San Salvador

 
Dictionary: San Sal·va·dor1   (săn săl'və-dôr', sän säl'vä-dôr') pronunciation
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An island of the central Bahamas in the West Indies. It is generally identified as the first landfall of Christopher Columbus (October 12, 1492).

 

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Columbia Encyclopedia: San Salvador
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San Salvador, island of the Bahamas, West Indies. Many historians believe that it was the first land sighted by Columbus in the New World in 1492. The indigenous population called it Guanahani, and it has also been named Watling or Watlings Island. It was formerly confused with what is now known as Cat Island.

The Bahamas: San Salvador: History
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More on San Salvador

They say it was here, in 1492, that Christopher Columbus first set foot ashore in the New World. Did he? There's a certain amount of evidence to support the theory, but some at National Geographic might beg to differ. Their choice is an island 65 miles farther south, Samana Cay.

At the time when Columbus made his historic landing, many of the islands, San Salvador included, were inhabited by Lucayan Indians. The explorers, and those that followed, quickly enslaved the Indians, shipped them out, and worked them to death. As an added bonus, they introduced the luckless Lucayans to a whole range of new diseases against which they had no defense. And so, by the mid-1500s, the Lucayans had been exterminated.

Today, once a year, on the weekend closest to October 12, visitors converge on the island for the Columbus Day celebrations. There's always plenty to eat, dancing in the streets, and lots of fun in the sun. If you can make it, this is a good time to visit.

John Watling
An extraordinarily bloodthirsty, but pious, English pirate, John Watling made San Salvador his base of operations during the latter part of the 17th century. In fact, for many years, San Salvador was known as Watling's Island. It was renamed only in 1926, thanks mainly to the efforts of Father Chrysostome Schreiner, a Catholic missionary who lived here until his death in 1928. The impressive ruins of Watling's Castle, at Southwest Point, are all that remain of what is reputed to be the pirate's home. Archaeologists, however, say the ruins are not that old, dating only from the early 19th century. Stories of buried treasure on the island abound, as they do throughout the Out Islands. As to John Watling, he came to sticky end, like most of his contemporaries – at the end of a rope.
Watling's Castle
Wikipedia: San Salvador Island
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For San Salvador Island of the Galápagos see San Salvador Island (Galápagos)
Map of Bahamas

San Salvador Island, also known as Watling Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas. Until 1986, when the National Geographic Society suggested Samana Cay, it was widely believed that during his first expedition to the New World, San Salvador Island was the first land sighted and visited by Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492. Columbus' records indicate that the native inhabitants of the territory where he landed called the island Guanahani.

The United Kingdom gained control of what are now The Bahamas in the early 1700s. For some time, San Salvador was the home of John Watling (alternately referred to as George Watling), who gave the island its alternative name by which it was officially known until 1925. At that time, the name "San Salvador" was transferred from another place, now called Cat Island, and given to "Watling Island" under the belief that it seemed a much more likely match for Columbus' description of Guanahani.

Today, thanks to its many sandy beaches, the island's prosperous main industry is tourism. About 500 people reside on San Salvador Island and its principal community is Cockburn Town, the seat of local government.

The Gerace Research Center (formerly the Bahamian Field Station) is located on the north end of the island on the shores of Graham's Harbour. Over a thousand students and researchers use the station every year as a base of operations from which to study tropical marine geology, biology, and archaeology.

The island is home to many shallow-water reefs which allow snorkelers to observe hundreds of fish species without the use of SCUBA equipment. It is also known for its quick drop in the continental shelf, allowing for numerous dive sites.

The administrator is Jordan Ritchie, Sr. Dep. Administrator.

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Coordinates: 24°06′N 74°29′W / 24.1°N 74.483°W / 24.1; -74.483

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
The Bahamas. The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. Copyright © 2007 by Hunter Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "San Salvador Island".  Read more