The Abaco Islands were first inhabited by the Lucayan. The first European settlers of the islands were Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution who arrived in 1783, as was also the case at Cat Island. These original Loyalist settlers made a modest living by salvaging wrecks, by building small wooden boats, and by basic farming.
Prior to the 1970s, a group of American businessmen, arms traffickers, supporters of free enterprise, a black agent of the information services, and a Member of Parliament of the British House of Lords planned the independence of Abaco, or that would have a UK dependency status similar to that of Anguilla. Abaco was to be a utopia for businessmen fearing socialism.
They would promise one acre (4,000 m²) to each of the natives on the island. This would have left thousands of acres for realtors and their financial backers. At least one flag was designed, combining the Hope Town Lighthouse with a Union Flag.
The British government had no interest in this scheme, which in any case would have been strongly opposed by the national government in Nassau. Finally, the locals did not support the plan, perhaps because unspoken racial issues are alleged to have mixed into it. In any event, the Abaco Independence Movement was quelled by 1975
