# Acklins

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For the name, see [Acklin](/source/Acklin). For Acklins ground iguana, see [Cyclura rileyi nuchalis](/source/Cyclura_rileyi_nuchalis).

**Acklins** is an island and [district](/source/Districts_of_the_Bahamas) of the [Bahamas](/source/Bahamas).

It is one of a group of islands arranged along a large, shallow lagoon called the [Bight of Acklins](/source/Bight_of_Acklins), of which the largest are [Crooked Island](/source/Crooked_Island,_Bahamas) (76 square miles or 200 square kilometres) in the north and Acklins (120 square miles or 310 square kilometres) in the southeast, and the smaller are [Long Cay](/source/Long_Cay) (once known as Fortune Island, (8 square miles or 21 square kilometres)) in the northwest, and [Castle Island](/source/Castle_Island,_Bahamas) in the south.

## Etymology

The indigenous [Lucayan people](/source/Lucayan_people) called the Acklins as *Yabaque*, meaning "large western land".[2]

## History

The islands were settled by American [Loyalists](/source/Loyalist_(American_Revolution)) in the late 1780s who set up [cotton plantations](/source/Cotton_plantation) maintained by over 1,000 [slaves](/source/Slavery). After the [abolition of slavery](/source/Abolitionism_in_the_United_Kingdom) in the [British Empire](/source/British_Empire), the plantations became uneconomical, and the replacement income from [sponge](/source/Sponge) diving has now dwindled along with the rest of the natural sponge industry after the advent of synthetics. The inhabitants now live by fishing and small-scale farming.

Although Acklins Island has relatively few historical landmarks, there are some noteworthy places. Acklins is home to numerous [Lucayan](/source/Lucayan_people) sites. An ancient site, thought to be one of the largest Lucayan settlements in The Bahamas, sits along [Pompey Bay Beach](/source/Pompey_Bay_Beach), just south of [Spring Point](/source/Spring_Point,_Bahamas). Ten ancient Lucayan sites have been unearthed by [National Geographic Society](/source/National_Geographic_Society) archeologists on [Samana Cay](/source/Samana_Cay) alone, which is northeast of Spring Point in Acklins.

[Plana Cays](/source/Plana_Cays), also northeast of Spring Point, is a protected reserve for endangered great [iguanas](/source/Iguana) and the very rare [Bahamian hutia](/source/Bahamian_hutia) (a guinea pig-like rodent), the only native mammal of The Bahamas.

The population of Acklins was 565 at the 2010 census, with the largest populations at [Lovely Bay](/source/Lovely_Bay) in the northwestern tip of the island and in [Salina Point](/source/Salina_Point) in the southernmost area of the island.[3]

## Transportation

The island is served by [Spring Point Airport](/source/Spring_Point_Airport).

## Politics

The island is part of the [MICAL constituency](/source/MICAL_(Bahamas_Parliament_constituency)) for elections to the [House of Assembly of the Bahamas](/source/House_of_Assembly_of_the_Bahamas).[4]

## References

1. ["Census population and housing"](https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/wcm/connect/c0d9fae8-54df-49e3-b4b9-92e29e0b264c/2022+CENSUS+PRELIMINARY+RESULTS_FINAL+April+12+2023.pdf?MOD=AJPERES). *Bahamas Gov*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230415193553/https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/wcm/connect/c0d9fae8-54df-49e3-b4b9-92e29e0b264c/2022+CENSUS+PRELIMINARY+RESULTS_FINAL+April+12+2023.pdf?MOD=AJPERES) 15 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

1. Ahrens, Wolfgang P. (2015). ["Naming the Bahamas Islands: History and Folk Etymology"](https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/oc/article/view/14910). *[Onomastica Canadiana](/source/Onomastica_Canadiana)*. **94** (2): 101. [ISSN 2816-7015](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2816-7015). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230221041210/https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/oc/article/view/14910) 2023-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-21.

1. ["Acklins population by settlement and total number of occupied dwellings: 2010 census"](http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/wcm/connect/a86daca4-104c-4aac-be84-db353339412d/ACKLINS+POPULATION+BY+SETTLEMENT_2010+CENSUS.pdf?MOD=AJPERES). Bahamas Department of Statistics.

1. Scott, Rachel (31 May 2021). ["Moultrie: MICAL should be two seats"](https://www.thenassauguardian.com/news/moultrie-mical-should-be-two-seats/article_1649ee25-bbef-50ca-9ecf-6efa5211288c.html). *The Nassau Guardian*. Retrieved 20 May 2024.

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