Ownership of the Bahamas has passed back and forth between Spain and Great Britain for one hundred and fifty years, until British ownership is established by treaty in 1783, when Great Britain cedes East Florida to Spain, receiving the Bahamas in return.

About fifteen hundred Loyalists leave New York and move to Abaco in the summer of 1783.

They plan and build the town of Carleton, probably present-day Hope Town.

Disputes over food distribution lead some of these settlers to found a rival town at Marsh Harbour.

Conflict between disgruntled settlers and the officials responsible for helping become a constant feature of life on the islands.

Sea island cotton is first sown by the settlers in 1785 and although both 1786 and 1787 produce good crops, the 1788 crop is blighted by caterpillars.

Other settlements on the islands are Green Turtle Cay, Man-o-War Cay, and Sandy Point.