About Eleuthera and Harbour Island

First settled in 1648, Eleuthera is perhaps the best known of the Out Islands and one of the main agricultural centres of The Bahamas. Eleuthera is shaped like a praying mantis, and this strip of an island is just under 8 km wide and 177 km long, with hills of rich red soil at its centre that are ideal for producing pineapples, tomatoes and a variety of vegetables. In fact, in the late 1800s, Eleuthera dominated the world pineapple market with its luscious fruit that possessed a rare sweetness. 

Stunning two-ocean vista

Today, the island's lush pineapple plantations and natural beauty aren't all that attract visitors. Ask anybody on Eleuthera and Harbour Island – Bahamas residents will tell you all about the views! There's the magnificent glass window bridge to the north of Eleuthera which offers spectacular views of the deep blue Atlantic on one side, and the turquoise Caribbean Sea on the other, out beyond The Bahamas. Eleuthera also has a scattering of settlements, grottos and hidden caves that combine to create the island’s remote and laid-back ambience.

Scuba fun and games

Eleuthera and Harbour Island – Bahamas hot spots for water activities – are also famous for great fishing holes and dive sites. The Devil's Backbone is a popular spot just north of Spanish Wells. It’s a long stretch of fringed reef and a vast playground for a variety of reef and deep-sea fish that are attracted to the many shipwrecks. The challenging Current Cut, running between Eleuthera and the small island of Current, makes for fun dives; changing tides send a rollercoaster current through a 100-yard wide channel.

The Eleutheran Adventurers

More than 300 years ago, English Adventurers in search of religious freedom founded the Western World’s first true seat of democracy and named it Eleuthera, the Greek word for freedom. Its settlers, fleeing persecution in Bermuda and England, called themselves the Eleutheran Adventurers. Time and circumstances would prove them worthy of the name.

Sayle and his survivors

Led by Captain William Sayle, a former governor of Bermuda, the Adventurers first went ashore on this hilly, verdant isle near Governor’s Harbour, but before long disputes arose among the 70-strong group, and Sayle and his faction headed off toward the northern part of the island by boat. Tragically, their boat floundered on the treacherous reefs near Eleuthera – Bahamas waters could be perilous for those old ships - and their supplies were lost. Having made it to shore, many came close to starvation, living and worshipping in a cavern that is now known as Preacher’s Cave.

From Eleuthera to Harvard

To find help to support his fledgling colony, Sayle repaired his boat and journeyed to the US. His efforts were rewarded and a much-needed shipment of supplies was sent by their Puritan relatives in the newly formed colonies of Massachusetts and Virginia. The Eleutherans thanked them in return with rare and valuable wood - the proceeds from which were actually used to help build Harvard College. 

The birthplace of The Bahamas

As time progressed many, if not most, of the original Adventurers drifted away, leaving only a small committed group remaining on Eleuthera. Bahamas residents and visitors alike are lucky they remained: that group gave the islands of The Bahamas their first written constitution which called for the establishment of a republic. Today, the 'birthplace of The Bahamas', is one of the most developed of the Out Islands.