Why go
Charles Town's destruction, Nassau's renaming, Woodes Rogers's campaign against piracy and later attacks all centred on control of this port. Fort Montagu and the harbour make more sense when seen as parts of those struggles rather than as isolated pirate landmarks.
The full story
The settlement once called Charles Town was burned during a Spanish raid in 1684. Rebuilt, it was renamed Nassau in 1695 for William of Orange-Nassau. With little effective colonial government in the early eighteenth century, the port became a base for pirates, among them Blackbeard. Britain appointed Woodes Rogers governor in 1718; he suppressed piracy and worked to rebuild colonial administration. Control remained contested. American Continental Marines briefly occupied Nassau in 1776, landing near Fort Montagu during the American War of Independence. Spain captured New Providence in 1782, and Loyalist Andrew Deveaux retook Nassau in 1783. These episodes show why the port mattered to powers operating across the Atlantic and Caribbean. The later city grew through trade and settlement, including the arrival of American Loyalists and enslaved people after the Revolution. Nassau's history continues beyond the pirate years and beyond the waterfront forts; the development of New Providence also reflects slavery, emancipation and the growth of communities south of the old town.