Nassau, Bahamas, 1938

A visit to Nassau in the Bahamas, 1938. To purchase a clean DVD or digital download of this film for personal home use or educational use contact us at [e-mail]. To license footage from this film for commercial use visit: www.travelfilmarchive.com

[@Khailhavinn]

My grandma was 5years old in 1938

[@Peggyt-jp6mt]

6:51 mark The ship is anchored outside the Nassau harbour. You can see the lighthouse which is still there today. The harbour has been dredged and large cruise ships come into the harbour and moor at the docks.

[@stereogrIm]

Very interesting and charming, the street scenes are excellent. Everyone's a lot better dressed than today's tourists.

[@nesbitstreet]

No comparison! The Americans that visited the Bahamas then were respectable and polite. Today the Bahamians (who are respectable and polite) are presented with the dregs of American society. I worry that the Bahamian culture will become Americanized.

[@dhdh2918]

Christopher Mahoney hey...... you hurt my feelings....

[@TheBoss-ey1li]

@@nesbitstreet lol too late

[@donnaleehinsey9292]

Wow this is the year my father was born!! Deceased now!

[@nesbitstreet]

I know a lot about the Bahamas. It has had three bouts of prosperity: the US Civil War, US Prohibition, the period after jets but before the revolution (1959-67) and the post-Pindling period (1992-today). In 1938 the islands were desperately poor.

[@bahachick242]

WOW................where was this video shot?? Why were all those men around the boat?

[@Playpressed]

People dressed in three piece suits up north but in the bahamas had to be sweaty hot unless the ozone layer is fucked and its alot hotter now than it was back in the day

[@dayshawnalexander5654]

Laborers and Vacationers ...

[@tremayneestwick2561]

Realizing that everyone in this video is deceased !

[@showshowbily]

umm, how old are you than.?

[@shecutess]

Boy Nassau don't look like that no more!!

[@BahaLocz242]

Imagine today 😅

[@fourtyfour1814]

Lokka all that sponge

[@fourtyfour1814]

The boat is the queen mary

[@GarethWonfor]

Nope... the ship is the SS Normandie. Normandie had sleeker lines and wider, more swept back funnels than the Queen Mary. The most noticeable difference between the two was the Normandie's ultra-modern clipper bow though with distinctive streamlined top surfaces. This is clearly visible in the video at 7:04. For a side-by-side comparison of the two ships take a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/wetcharlie/4401486200

[@4773266]

Diving for coins!

[@shecutess]

Boy just like today. People always looking for hand outs. All those men around those boats looking like dogs at a table waiting for food to drop.

[@neptuneatlantic4883]

Actually, they presented a much anticipated show for cruise passengers. As a matter of fact, it was the very first "show" you would see. They are diving the silver dollars that passengers eagerly collected before a trip to Nassau. Boys would line their cheeks with as many coins as possible on one dive. Amazing !!!!

[@jarreddeleveaux6391]

If u was living in those days you would have had your hand out too my friend I don't think u Kno how it feels to be held back in your own land an watch others enjoy life whiles u an your family feels hopeless because all u had was a boat a few sons to ask for a quarter smh do sum history about the Bahamian people

[@kingoscar5884]

Woman please, this was a different time. The people were oppressed and held back.