 Today, the eight villages retain much of their own identity, with the municipality still containing as many as twelve churches.The history of fishery in the area goes back to the 18th century, and it was settled by English fishermen permanently in the early to mid-19th century.Many of the early fishermen originally lived in island settlements such as Swains Island, Pinchards Island, and Flower's Island just offshore and close to the rich inshore fishing grounds, but resettled to the mainland during the 19th century, with further island resettlement occurring within the area as late as 1953.