Great Inagua Island
| District of Inagua | ||
|---|---|---|
| District | ||
|
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.svg) |
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| Country |
 Bahamas |
|
| Island | Great Inagua | |
| Established | 1800 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | District Councils | |
| • Sr. Chief Councillor | Ronald Roker | |
| • Jr.Deputy Chief Councillor | Nirel Moultrie | |
| • Jr.Treasurer | Perontay Fawkes | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 1,679 km2 (648 sq mi) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 913 | |
| • Density | 0.54/km2 (1.4/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | EST (UTC−5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) | |
| Area code(s) | 242 | |
Inagua is the southernmost district of the Bahamas, comprising the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua. The headquarters for the district council are in Matthew Town.
The original settler name Heneagua was derived from a Spanish expression meaning 'water is to be found there'. Two names of apparent Lucayan origin, Inagua (meaning "Small Eastern Island") and Baneque (meaning "Big Water Island") were used by the Spanish to refer to Great Inagua.
Several documented treasure laden ships were destroyed on Inaguan reefs between the years of 1500 and 1825. The two most valuable wrecks lost off the Inaguas were treasure-laden Spanish galleons: the Santa Rosa in 1599 and the Infanta in 1788. Other ships of considerable value that were wrecked there include the French Le Count De Paix in 1713, the British HMS Lowestoffe in 1801, and the British HMS Statira in 1815.
Henri Christophe, king of northern Haiti from 1811 to 1820, built a summer retreat at the Northeast Point of Great Inagua. Local legend has it that he also buried a cache of gold there.
There is evidence of salt production being shipped to Spanish colonies as early as the 1600s, and its extraction was a going business by 1803. After World War I lower salt prices and competition had driven the small producers on Great Inagua out of business, and the salt works were abandoned except for incidental local use. In 1935 the Erickson brothers from Massachusetts founded West India Chemicals Ltd., purchasing the abandoned salt works from the British government. They drilled test holes, set up offices and began restoration of the buildings, but the locals who feared changes in the status quo power structure felt threatened and in August 1937 a riot broke out, an employee was killed, and the Ericksons were forced to flee. They soon returned and full-scale development resumed. In the mid-1950s Morton Salt bought the Great Inagua saltworks, which includes over eighty salt ponds, and is the second largest such operation in North America. Morton's is the major employer on the island.
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Wikipedia