A Thread of Bahamian Firsts:

The 1st Bahamian island corrupted by the Europeans was the island of Guanahani, now named San Salvador.

Christopher Columbus landed on the island on October 12th, 1492 in what is believed to be the settlement named Long Bay.

After the depopulation of the indigenous Bahamian people, the Lucayans, the 1st island to be resettled was Eleuthera in 1648.

Colonised by the Company of Adventurers for the Plantation of the Islands of Eleutheria (Eleutheran Adventurers). They settled in Preacher's Cave.

The 1st capital of The Bahamas was Cupid's Cay/Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera. Its name refers to the fact that it was the seat of government for the colony.

Charles Town eventually replaced it as the capital. It was renamed Nassau in 1695 & remains the capital today.

The 1st motto was, "Expulsis Piratis – Restituta Commercia." (1728)

The colony became the Pirate's Republic. The motto reflects then-governor Woodes Rogers' goal to expel pirates & restore commerce.

It was replaced with "Forward, Upward, Onward, Together" in 1971.

The 1st post office in The Bahamas was built on Crooked Island in what is now the settlement of Pitts Town Point.

Today, a small resort now sits on the property of where the post office was and the resort's lobby kept one of the original walls of the post office.

The 1st city in The Bahamas was Nassau.

On Nov 4th, 1861, by letters patent, Christ Church (Anglican) in Nassau Town became a cathedral thus making Nassau a city on the same date.

The cathedral remains as the Anglican 'mother church' in The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands.

The first church built in The Bahamas was the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church in The Bight, Long Island.

It was built in the 1600s by the Spanish and most of the building remains standing today.

The 1st jail in The Bahamas was built on the island of Long Cay.

Historically, the island was home to several thousand people. Today, only 12 people still live on the island in one settlement, Albert Town. Every other settlement has been deserted.

The Bahamas was the 1st country to produce pineapples on a large scale & the 1st large-scale export of pineapples was in 1884.

While Hawaii may be more famous its pineapple farming, the fruit was initially introduced from The Bahamas.

Pineapples are featured on the nickel.

The 1st public secondary school to open in The Bahamas was THEE Government High School (IYKYK). It opened in 1925.

Prior to this, all secondary schools in the colony were private institutions and attached to the various Christian denominations that were present in the colony.

The 1st airline to start scheduled service to The Bahamas was Chalk's Airline (Miami to Bimini) in 1919.

The 1st airport was Oakes Field & opened in 1936. It was replaced by Windsor Field (now LPIA) as the main airport in 1957. Prior to 1936, all flights were by seaplanes.

The 1st hotel in The Bahamas was built by Henry Flagler & opened in 1901. It was the Colonial Hotel & occupied the grounds of what is now The British Colonial Hilton.

The site was also where the 1st fort, Ft Nassau, sat. It was demolished in 1897 to build the hotel.

The 1st radio broadcast in The Bahamas was in 1937 & made from Nassau.

Radio broadcasting in the colony started as a need to warn the residents of hurricanes as the islands were struck so frequently by the storms.

1st out island radio broadcast was from made Harbour Island.

The 1st flag of The Bahamas was adopted in 1869. The flag was a British blue ensign and featured the badge of the colony.

It was replaced in 1953 by a British red ensign and also featured the colony's badge.

The current flag of The Bahamas was adopted in 1973.

The 1st (& only) combat action that The Bahamas was involved in took place in 1950, 6wks after the Royal Bahamas Defense Force was established.

A Cuban fighter jet sunk an RBDF vessel & simulated rocket attacks over Ragged Island.

4 marines were killed by the Cubans.

The Bahamas' 1st appearance at the Olympic Games was in 1952. Prior to this, any Bahamian wishing to compete had to do so for Great Britain.

The 1st medal (a bronze) was won in 1956 in sailing & in 1964, the 1st gold medal was won; also in sailing.

The 1st medal won in athletics for The Bahamas at the Olympic Games was a bronze medal in 1992 in the triple jump event. The medal was won by Frank Rutherford.

The 1st gold medal in athletics was won in 2000 in the women's 4x100m by Savatheda Fyne, Chandra Sturrup...

...Pauline Davis-Thompson, @fastfergie16 and Eldece Clarke (who ran in the prelims).

The gold medal win in 2000 made The Bahamas the smallest country in the world to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games' history in the sport of athletics.

The 1st political party in The Bahamas was the Progressive Liberal Party found in 1953.

It was followed by the United Bahamian Party in 1956. The pair were originally the main political parties of The pre and early independence Bahamas.

On its route to freedom from the UK, under a self-governing Bahamian cabinet, the 1st Premier of the Bahamas was Sir Roland Symonette in 1964.

The 1st Prime Minister became Sir Lynden Pindling under an amended constitution giving more liberties to the colony in 1969.

The Bahamas 1st introduced the dollar (replacing the pound) in 1966. 1st coins were introduced & 2 years later paper currency was introduced.

Today, though less frequently used, $3 bills & 15¢ coins remain in circulation as they were roughly 1 pound & 1 shilling, respectively.

The 1st governor-general of The Bahamas was Sir Milo Butler (1973-1979), a native of Rum Cay.

The 1st woman to be appointed governor-general of The Bahamas was Dame Ivy Dumont nee Turnquest (2001-2005), a native of Long Island.

1st woman to be ordained a priest in The Bahamas was the Rev. Angela Palacious in 1999.

This was the first time a woman was ordained a priest in Anglican church's history in The Bahamas which spanned well over a century.

The Church of England began ordaining women in 1994.

The 1st Bahamian soap opera premiered in 1970.

It was broadcasted via radio and its episodes lasted for 15 minutes. The show ran for 137 weeks.

It was written by Jeanne Thompson & Sonia Mills, a Jamaican, whom Thompson befriended while living on the island of Jamaica.

The 1st Grammy awarded to Bahamians was in 2001 to the @bahamenofficial for their hit "Who Let the Dogs Out."

The 1st individual Bahamian to receive a Grammy nomination was Sketch Carey for his role as co-producer of music on Grammy-nominated album by Jah Cure.

If you made here, to the end, you're a