1951 Annand Pictorial Map of the Bahamas

A splendid and vibrant 1951 pictorial map of the Bahamas by George Annand. It highlights elements of the islands' history, economy, and leisure activities, with the likely intention of attracting tourists.

A Closer Look

This map takes in the entire archipelago forming the Bahamas, roughly concurrent with the Lucayan Archipelago, composed of more than 3,000 island, islets, cays, and other features. It is rich with illustrations of different types of fish, ships, British currency, human figures (including pirates and bikini-clad beachgoers), and more.

Two insets are included at top-right, one of the island of New Providence (home to some 70% of the islands' population) and the other of the city of Nassau. A key at bottom corresponds to numbers on the Nassau inset map, identifying key sites in the city such as government buildings, wharves, markets, and churches.

The title cartouche includes the coat of arms of the Bahamas, with the motto 'Expulsis Piratis – Restituta Commercia,' while an illustration at bottom-right refers to the history of abundant piracy in the area in the 17th and early 18th century. A note next to San Salvador Island mentions the first landing of Columbus in the New World there in October 1492.

This map was made in the latter days of direct British colonial rule. A parliament for the islands had been established in 1940, after which it achieved internal autonomy in 1964 and full independence in 1973.

From Pirate Haven to Tourist Heaven

The history of the Bahamas is closely tied to piracy. The Spanish had claimed the islands in the wake of Columbus' voyages, but showed little interest in them, allowing the English to establish a small number of settlers there. However, the islands became central to the 'Golden Age of Piracy' in the 17th and early 18th century, as they provided an excellent haven for pirates to strike passing ships and quickly disappear among the innumerable islands of the archipelago. By the early 1700s, Nassau had been declared a 'Pirate Republic' and more than 1,000 pirates had established themselves in the region. To remedy the situation, the British declared the Bahamas a crown colony in 1718 and cracked down on the privateers.

Due to its strategic location, Nassau was the target of repeated attacks by foreign powers, especially the Spanish, but also American colonists during the American Revolution. After the war, British loyalist refugees, including large numbers of African-descended slaves and freedmen along with some Native Americans, settled on the islands. After the British Empire outlawed the slave trade in 1807, freed Africans from intercepted slave ships were also settled in the Bahamas (where the practice of slavery was outlawed in 1834). Additional Black and Native American refugees from the United States escaped to the Bahamas throughout the early-mid 19th century.

Remaining a largely forgotten corner of the British Empire, the Bahamas have thrived in the postwar period, when the country developed an economy relying on tourism and offshore finance. The comment at top-left about the agreeable climate of the islands, the emphasis on fishing and beaches, and presumably the map as a whole, were produced with the goal of promoting tourism, especially from nearby Florida.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by George Annand and published in 1951 in Miami. It is only listed among the holdings of three institutions and is scarce to the market.