The merchant princes of Nassau : the maintenance of political hegemony in The Bahamas, 1834-1948

The former slave owning class in The Bahamas fought a rearguard action to defend its political, economic and social hegemony. It shaped the local Abolition Act of 1834 to meet its own requirements, particularly to ensure apprentices would remain in a position of subservience and obedience. The initial period of concern for the welfare and rights of the freedmen on the part of the Imperial Government soon waned and the white oligarchy was left to govern the newly emancipated without much interference from London. Imperial Government policy also aided the elite in preventing the formation of a class of independent, peasant freeholders. On the Out Islands labour or sharecropping tenancies, squatting and the working of commonage were the norm. Coercive labour systems procured a stable and dependent workforce in a number of industries. The cash economy was limited outside of Nassau and the merchant/landowners were in possession of the little available capital. Tough laws, designed to keep the lower classes in awe and fear of authorities, were passed by a Legislature dominated by the white elite. Much more was spent on law and order than education or social reforms. The Bahamas continued to be governed under the seventeenth century Old Representative system and the ruling class stubbornly protected its rights and privileges. But the constitutional system was not a responsible one and hardly representative. Open voting, inequitable constituencies, a franchise weighted in favour of the propertied classes, non-payment of representatives and plural voting ensured the return of the white Nassau merchants. The agro-commercial elite had a limited vision beyond its own interests, particularly in regard to financial policy. There were many struggles between the Legislature and the Governors over control of finance and expenditure, reaching its climax in the 1930s when the Governor insisted on Reserve Powers. The Colonial Office investigated the possibilities but realised that, barring a crisis, the initiative had to come from the Assembly, which would never have arisen in The Bahamas. The ruling whites experienced little challenge from the coloured and black middle classes. They sought to assimilate themselves into white society and distanced themselves from the black lower classes. They were generally conservative in their views. The non-whites did not attempt to form a political party, despite the fact Bahamian society became more polarised in the 1920s and 1930s. No leaders emerged to take advantage of the discontent. After the 1942 Riot, the ruling whites made a few limited concessions that safeguarded their dominance.