Originally founded as another Charles-Towne, the city was renamed Nassau in honor of King William III of the house of Orange-Nassau. This city has a particularly colorful past: In 1706 the city's officially appointed Governor skipped town, thus severing the Crown's direct control over the Bahamas.
The islands languished for almost a decade in the hands of British citizens with little or no interest in Statesmanship. By 1713, the entire region had become a haven for pirates and it was in this period that Benjamin Hornigold declared Nassau to be a pirate republic. He proclaimed himself governor and thereafter every pirate of any sense and reputation used Nassau as a base of operation, transforming this small city of barely 1000 residence into a "nest of infamous bastards", according to the Governor of Bermuda.
(Note: Great find on the Pirate Republic. I'd heard of that but thought it was all bogus - RL)
(Note: It's so wonderful! I mean, NOT wonderful for the people that got murdered, ravished and marooned, but fantastic for our purposes. This gives us an anchor - ML)