Today in History: July 12

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – On this day in Bahamian history – In 1962, Ruby Ann Cooper Darling became the first woman to register to vote in The Bahamas.

In 1961, parliament passed legislation to enable women to vote and in the general election of the following year, women voted for the first time.

When she was, 21 Cooper became the first woman to register for the general election and was also the first black woman to work in the reservations office at the Balmoral Hotel.

She is an ordained minister, counsellor, former senator, former member of parliament, and a sunday school teacher.

Then in 1992, there was a Los Angeles Times article about female pirates in The Bahamas. It spoke in length on the history of female pirates in the 1700’s and gave accounts on how they operated.

Fast forward to 2009, two boys, ages 5 and 9, were found after going missing for more than a month in the Andros wilderness.

The pair had gone crabbing and had not been seen for five weeks when a resident spotted them and phoned the local authorities.

The boys said they fell into a large cave-like hole and survived by eating fruits and drinking water from a puddle.

And finally in 2016, the United States Embassy issued a warning about crime in New Providence after The Bahamas released a travel advisory warning Bahamians to exercise caution when traveling to the United States due to an increase in fatal shootings.

The U.S. advisory warned Americans travelling to The Bahamas of an increase in armed robbery reports.