EXUMA CAYS

group of some 365 cays and islands, part of the Bahama Islands, situated in the Atlantic Ocean. The Exuma Cays begin some 35 miles (56 km) east-southeast of Nassau, stretch southeast in a gently curving arc for about 90 miles (145 km), and have an area of 112 square miles (290 square km). Most of the inhabitants live on the islands of Great Exuma and Little Exuma. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, which includes many islands, islets, and cays and covers some 176 square miles (456 square km), was established in 1958 to preserve the many underwater reefs and uninhabited cays for exploration. Great Exuma, with an area of 61 square miles (158 square km), was a place of settlement for American Loyalists during the American Revolution. Several thousand acres of Great Exuma were granted to the Englishman John Rolle in the late 18th century. The cotton plantations that were established there proved to be uneconomical, many of the planters left the island, and slavery was abolished in 1838. Tourism is now the major factor in the economy. Pop. (1990) 3,556.