List of governors of the Bahamas

This is a list of governors of the Bahamas. The first English settlement in the Bahamas was on Eleuthera. In 1670, the king granted the Bahamas to the lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina, but the islands were left to themselves. The local pirates proclaimed a 'Privateers' Republic' with Edward Teach (Blackbeard) as chief magistrate in 1703. In 1717, the Bahamas became a British crown colony, and the pirates were driven out.

During the American War of Independence, the Bahamas were briefly occupied by both American and Spanish forces. In 1964, the Bahamas achieved self-governance, and, in 1973, full independence.

List

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Image Governor From To
Governors of Eleuthera (1648–1657):
William Sayle 1648 1657
Proprietary governors of the Bahama Islands (1670–1706):
Hugh Wentworth 1671 December 1671
John Wentworth December 1671 1676
Charles Chillingworth 1676 1677
Robert Clarke 1677 1682
Richard Lilburne 1682 1684
British rule temporarily disrupted due to joint Spanish and French raid on Charlestown
Thomas Bridges 1686 1690
Cadwallader Jones 1690 1694
Nicholas Trott 1694 1697
Nicholas Webb 1697 1699
Read Elding
(acting)
1699 1701
Elias Haskett 1701 1701
Ellis Lightfoot 1701 1703
Edward Birch 1704 1704
Privateer's Republic (1706–1718)
Royal governors of the Bahama Islands (1718–1776)
 
Woodes Rogers 26 July 1718 1721
George Phenney 1721 1728
 
Woodes Rogers August 1729 16 July 1732
Richard Fitzwilliam
(acting)
1734 1738
John Tinker 1741 1758[1]
John Gambier
(acting)
1758 1760
 
William Shirley 1760[2] 1775
Montfort Browne 1775 3 March 1776
Commandant of the Bahama Islands (during American occupation, 1776)
 
Samuel Nicholas 3 March 1776 17 March 1776
Royal governors of the Bahama Islands (1776–1782)
John Gambier
(acting)
1776 1778
John Robert Maxwell 1780 8 May 1782
Governors of Louisiana (during Spanish occupation)
 
Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid,
Count of Gálvez
8 May 1782 19 April 1783
Royal governors of the Bahama Islands (1783–1969)
Andrew de Vau (acting) 1783 1783
John Robert Maxwell 1783 1784
James Edward Powell
(Lieutenant-governor)
1784 1786
John Brown
(acting)
1786 1787
 
The 4th Earl of Dunmore 1787 1796
Robert Hunt
(acting)
1796 14 February 1797
John Forbes
(Lieutenant-governor)
14 February 1797 June 1797
Lieutenant-General William Dowdeswell 20 November 1797 1801
John Halkett 1801 1804
Charles Cameron 8 May 1804 1820
Lewis Grant 1821 1829
 
Sir James Carmichael Smyth, 1st Baronet 1829 1833
Blayney Townley Balfour 1833 1835
William MacBean George Colebrooke 1835 1837
Sir Francis Cockburn 1837 1844
George Benvenuto Mathew 1844 1849
John Gregory 1849 1854
 
Sir Alexander Bannerman 1854 1857
Charles John Bayley 1857 1864
Rawson William Rawson 1864 1869
Sir James Walker 1869 1871
 
Sir George Cumine Strahan
KCMG
1871 1873
 
Sir John Pope Hennessy
KCMG
13 March 1873[3] 1874
 
Sir William Robinson 1874 1880
Jeremiah Thomas Fitzgerald Callaghan
CMG
1880 1881
Sir Charles Cameron Lees
KCMG
1882 January 1884
 
Sir Henry Arthur Blake
GCMG, DL
4 January 1884 1887
 
Sir Ambrose Shea
KCMG
1887 1895
Sir William Frederick Haynes Smith 1895 1898
 
Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter 1898 1904
Sir William Grey-Wilson 29 November 1904 1912
Sir George Basil Haddon-Smith 29 October 1912 1914
 
Sir William Lamond Allardyce
KCMG
15 June 1914 1920
Sir Harry Edward Spiller Cordeaux
KCMG, CB
8 December 1920 1926
Sir Charles William James Orr December 1926 January 1932
 
Sir Bede Edmund Hugh Clifford 10 January 1932 1937
Sir Charles Cecil Farquharson Dundas 1936 1940
 
The Duke of Windsor 18 August 1940 16 March 1945
Sir William Lindsay Murphy 28 July 1945 1950
Sir George Ritchie Sandford 5 January 1950 December 1950
Sir Robert Arthur Ross Neville 7 December 1950 1953
The Earl of Ranfurly 21 December 1953 1956
 
Sir Oswald Raynor Arthur 1 April 1957 1960
Sir Robert Stapledon 18 July 1960 1964
Sir Ralph Grey,
GCMG, GCVO, OBE, GCSt.J. P.C
3 June 1964 1968
Sir Francis Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce,
KCMG
1 November 1968 1969
Governors of the Commonwealth of the Bahama Islands (1969–1973)
Sir Francis Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce (The Lord Thurlow from 1971),
KCMG
1969 1972
Sir John Warburton Paul
GCMG, OBE, MC
14 May 1972 10 July 1973
On 10 July 1973 the Bahamas gained full independence from the United Kingdom and the viceroy became the Governor-General of the Bahamian Monarch.

References

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  1. ^ More Monumental Inscriptions: Tombstones of the British West Indies by Vere Langford Oliver: "His Excellency John Tinker died 10 July 1758 aged 58. 18 years Governor and Commander-in-Chief over these Islands"
  2. ^ Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, Volume 27 by Isaac Kimber and Edward Kimber. "William Shirley is appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Bahama Islands in the room of John Tinker deceased - 6 November 1758"
  3. ^ "Appointment of John Pope Hennessy as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahama Islands". The Edinburgh Gazette (8355): 165. 18 March 1873.

Sources

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  • Wettenhall, R. L. "Gregory, John (1795–1853)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Natl Centre of Biography, Australian Natl University. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
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