Surprisingly, The Bahamas not only has its historical roots in Britain, but also the Netherlands, and Germany as well. The capital city of Charles Town, named after one king, (King Charles II (1660-1685)) was changed to Nassau, in honour of another conquering king.
Kings and Queens are traditionally referred to by title and first name; you rarely get to hear their last names. King William III (1689 – 1702) of England’s full name was William Orange – Nassau and William III, Stadtholder of Guelders, Holland, Zealand, Utrecht and Overijssel, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. William was a bit of a badass in European history. On 5th November 1688, William of Orange-Nassau, said sailed his fleet of over 450 ships over to England. It was the might of the fleet coming across the harbour which made the Royal Navy at the time, stand aside. Once landed William marched, with a tremendous gathering of local support, onto London. An impressive show of 20,000 strong, caused the supporters of King James II and his own army to defect and join William.
The name Nassau, which would become the name for the capital city of the Bahamas, has its origins in Germany. The Castle of Nassau was founded around 1100 AD by a German named Count Dudo-Henry of Laurenburg and was the founder of the House of Nassau. The earliest know mention of Nassau refers to the Villa Nassova, an estate, of the Bishopric of Worms in a deed dated 915 AD. In the year 1348, Emperor Charles IV granted Nassau town, along with all rights and property to Count Dudo-Henry of Laurenburg. Five hundred or so years later in 1806, the town became part of the Duchy of Nassau. Through the rights of succession and inheritance, from this family, a long, long, long time ago, there was left a lot of wealth, like castles and property and money to the Orange family including the name Nassau. It was through inheritance from the German family of Nassau, that William’s family, the Oranges of the Netherlands, adopted the name Nassau. The new last name became Orange-Nassau.
The House of Orange-Nassau, from which the name of the capital city of the Bahamas is named after, still features prominently in the Netherlands.
