Artefacts and remains of Lucayans, a subgroup of the Taíno people indigenous to the Bahamas at the time of European discovery have been found in both Morgan's Cave on North Andros, and in the Stargate Blue Hole on South Andros. The population of the Bahamas is estimated to have been approximately 40,000 Lucayan-Taínos at the time of the arrival of the Spanish. Prized for their free-diving capabilities used in fishing conch, they were enslaved by the Spanish and mostly sent to Cubagua as pearl divers. An expedition by the Spanish in 1520 to round up all remaining Lucayans discovered only 11 people—the Lucayans were effectively extinct. After the extermination of the Lucayans, there were no known permanent settlements in the Bahamas—including Andros Island—for approximately 130 years. Spain laid claim to the Bahamas including Andros Island after Columbus’ discovery of the islands—his first landfall in the Western Hemisphere was on the Bahamian island of San Salvador. The Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, for whom the Americas are named, on a Spanish charter spent four months exploring the Bahamas in 1499–1500, and mapped a portion of the eastern shore of Andros Island. Ponce de Leon sailed by Andros on his journey from Cuba to Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth in 1513. The Bahamas passed back and forth from ownership by Spain and Great Britain for 150 years, with final ownership by Britain established by treaty in 1783, when Great Britain exchanged East Florida to Spain, receiving the Bahamas in return.
British colonial era 1648–1973
In 1648 British settlers from Bermuda established a colony on Eleuthera and in 1666 Charles Town—later renamed Nassau—was founded on New Providence.
During the late 1600s and 1700s various pirates and buccaneers frequented Andros Island. In 1713 the Bahama Islands were declared a Pirate's Republic. Morgan's Bluff and Morgan's Cave on
