Historically, the Bahamas has a rich and varied past. Originally inhabited by the Lucayan, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, it became a significant site during the Age of Discovery when Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the New World here in 1492. The islands later became a pirate haven in the early 18th century, drawing infamous pirates like Blackbeard. By the mid-18th century, the Bahamas became a British colony, and during the American War of Independence, it was a loyalist stronghold.