Inagua – salt, shipwrecks and a king's summer retreat
Salt has shaped Inagua for centuries: as early as the 1600s it was being produced here and shipped to Spanish colonies, and by 1803 salt extraction was an established business. The first inhabitants were the Lucayan (Taíno) people, who crossed from Hispaniola or Cuba in dugout canoes between 500 and 800 CE. The islands' reefs were also feared by sailors: between 1500 and 1825 many ships were lost here, among them the Spanish treasure galleons Santa Rosa in 1599 and Infanta in 1788. Henri Christophe, king of northern Haiti, even built a summer retreat at the Northeast Point of Great Inagua. Today Inagua remains a quiet, remote district in the south of the Bahamas. Do you know stories from Inagua? Share them with the community!