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The Commonwealth of The Bahamas is a North American, English-speaking country consisting of two thousand cays and seven hundred islands that form an archipelago. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida and the United States, north of Cuba, the island of Hispanola and the Caribbean, and northwest of the British overseas territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

History
Main article: History of the Bahamas
Although the area may have been populated previously, the seafaring Taino people moved into the southern Bahamas around the 7th century from Hispaniola and Cuba. These people came to be known as the Lucayans. There were an estimated 40,000+ Lucayans at the time of Columbus' arrival in 1492.

Christopher Columbus's first landfall in the New World was on an island he named San Salvador (known to the Lucayans as Guanahahani) which may be Samana Cay or present-day San Salvador Island (also known as Watling's Island), in the central part of the Bahamas Archipelago. Here, Columbus made contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with them.

Parts of the Bahamas as seen from an airplaneBahamian Lucayans were later taken to Hispaniola as slaves; and within two decades, Lucayan societies ceased to exist due to forced labour, warfare, massacre, disease, emigration and intermarriage. After the Lucayan population was eliminated, the Bahamian islands were virtually unoccupied. Until English settlers led by William Sayle came from Bermuda seeking religious freedom in 1647. The Eleutheren Adventurers established settlements on the island of Eleuthera which means Freedom. They later discovered New Providence and named it Sayle's Island. To survive, the settlers looted passing ships.

William Sayle asked King Charles II to appoint a group of Lord Proprietors to the Islands. They rented the islands from the king with rights of trading,tax, appointing governors, and administering the country. November 1st, 1670 the islands were granted to William earl of Craven, John Lord Burkley, Christopher Duke of Albermarle, St. George Carteret, Sir Peter Colleton and Anthony Lord Ashley. These Proprietors never visited the islands, they appointed Governors to rule for them.

The Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1717. Some 8,000 American Loyalists and their slaves moved to the Bahamas after 1783 from New York, Florida and the Carolinas. Slavery was abolished in the British Empire on August 1, 1834. This led to many fugitive slaves from the US braving the perils of the Atlantic for the promise of a free life in the Bahamas.

On May 8, 1782, during the American Revolutionary War, Count Bernardo de Gálvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, captured the British naval base at New Providence in the Bahamas.

The British made the islands internally self-governing in 1964. In 1973, the Bahamas became fully independent, but retained membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1967, Lynden Pindling became the first black premier of the colony, and in 1968 became prime minister. Another black Bahamian, Sir Milo Butler, was appointed governor-general upon Independence. Based on the pillars of tourism and offshore financial services, the Bahamian economy has prospered since the 1950s. Today, the country enjoys the third highest per capita income in the hemisphere. Despite this, the country faces significant challenges in areas such as education, health care, international narcotics trafficking, correctional facilities and illegal immigration.

The origin of the name "Bahamas" is unclear. It is thought to derive from the Spanish baja mar, meaning "shallow seas";[citation needed] others trace the name to the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, ba-ha-ma "large upper middle land".[citation needed]

Geography


Map of the BahamasThe closest island to the United States is Bimini, which is also known as the gateway to the Bahamas. The island of Abaco is to the east of Grand Bahama. The most southeastern island is Great Inagua. Other notable islands include the Bahamas' largest island, Andros Island, and Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Exuma and Mayaguana. Nassau, the Bahamas capital city, lies on the island of New Providence.

Andros Island, south sideTo the southeast, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and three more extensive submarine features called Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank, and Navidad Bank, are geographically a continuation of the Bahamas, but not part of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.[citation needed].

The climate of the Bahamas is subtropical to tropical, and is moderated significantly by the waters of the Gulf Stream, particularly in winter. The islands are low lying with an average elevation of only 10m. [3] Conversely, this often proves very dangerous in the summer and autumn, when hurricanes pass near or through the islands. Hurricane Andrew hit the northern islands during the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Floyd hit most of the islands during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Frances hit in 2004; the Atlantic hurricane season of 2004 was expected to be the worst ever for the islands. Also in 2004, the northern Bahamas were hit by a less potent Hurricane Jeanne. In 2005 the northern islands were once again struck, this time by Hurricane Wilma. In Grand Bahama, tidal surges and high winds destroyed homes and schools, floated graves and made roughly 1,000 people homeless, most of whom lived on the west coast of the island. They are still recovering to this day.

Districts
Main article: Districts of the Bahamas
The districts of the Bahamas provide a system of local government everywhere in The Bahamas except New Providence, whose affairs are handled directly by the central government. The districts other than New Providence are:

Acklins
Berry Islands
Bimini
Black Point, Exuma
Cat Island
Central Abaco
Central Andros
Central Eleuthera
City of Freeport, Grand Bahama
Crooked Island
East Grand Bahama
Exuma
Grand Cay, Abaco
Harbour Island, Eleuthera
Hope Town, Abaco
Inagua
Long Island
Mangrove Cay, Andros
Mayaguana
Moore's Island, Abaco
North Abaco
North Andros
North Eleuthera
Ragged Island
Rum Cay
San Salvador
South Abaco
South Andros
South Eleuthera
Spanish Wells, Eleuthera
West Grand Bahama

Districts of the Bahamas

Demographics

Blacks 85%, Whites 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% according to the last census completed about the races on the island, which was recorded in 1953.

Population: 300,529 (July 2002 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 29% (male 43,964; female 43,250) 15-64 years: 64.7% (male 95,508; female 98,859) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 7,948; female 11,000) (2002 est.) Population growth rate: 0.86% (2002 est.) Birth rate: 18.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) Death rate: 7.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) Net migration rate: -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) Infant mortality rate: 17.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.87 years female: 73.49 years (2002 est.) male: 66.32 years Total fertility rate: 2.28 children born/woman (2002 est.) Nationality: noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian Ethnic groups: black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% Religions: Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% Languages: English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) Literacy (age 15+): total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.)

Source: The Bahamas guide

Culture and sports


Junkanoo celebration in the Bahamas.Bahamian culture is a hybrid of African and European influences. Perhaps its greatest expression is a rhythmic form of music called Junkanoo. Aside from Junkanoo, other indigenous forms of music include rake and scrape, calypso, and a unique form of hymnal, known internationally through the music of the late Joseph Spence. Marching bands are also an important part of life, playing at funerals, weddings and other ceremonial events. The country's first movie, Filthy Rich Gangster, was written and directed by a Bahamian named Jimmy Curry, who also wrote, produced and performed the regions first Hip Hop and Junkanoo Hip Hop records. Curry was also the first Bahamian signed to legendary American record label Sugar Hill Records. His firm is also re-releasing several of their movies including: Filthy Rich Gangster; Gun Lordz and others. In addition to movie and television productions, he has produced concerts, sporting events, and is the founder of the Bahamian American Arts Festival.

In the less developed outer islands - islands outside the capital Nassau, known as the "Out Islands" or "Family Islands" - crafts include basketry made from palm fronds. This material, commonly called "straw", is also plaited into hats and bags that are popular tourist items today.

Atlantic Spotted DolphinsRegattas are important social events in many family island settlements. They usually feature one or more days of sailing by old-fashioned work boats, as well as an onshore festival.

Some settlements have festivals associated with the traditional crop or food of that area, such as the "Pineapple Fest" in Gregory Town, Eleuthera or the "Crab Fest" on Andros. Other significant traditions include story telling.

A strongly religious country, there are more places of worship per person in the Bahamas than many other nations in the world. The islands are overwhelmingly Anglican Christian (over 80%). Baptists form the largest denomination (about one third), followed by the Roman Catholic churches. As of 2006, one out of every 191 Bahamian citizens in the population was a Jehovah's Witness.[4]

A few people, especially in the southern and eastern islands, practice Obeah, a spiritistic religion similar to Voodoo. Voodoo is also practiced by the large number of people from Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, and Dominican Republic.

Officially, the national sport of the Bahamas is cricket[5] [6] [7]. Though still the most popular, its popularity has declined. Sailing and Track and field athletics are also popular sports in the country. Football and rugby also have strong followings while American sports such as basketball, softball, baseball and American football are gaining in popularity.

Bahamians have won Olympic gold medals in sailing (Sir Durwood Knowles and Cecile Cooke in 1964) and track and field (Tonique Williams-Darling in the 400m in 2004 and the women's relay team in the 4×100m in 2000).

Economy

Tourism plays an important part in the economy of the Bahamas.The Bahamas's currency is the Bahamian dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar. US notes and coins are used interchangeably with Bahamian notes and coins within the islands for most practical purposes; however, banks levy a small exchange rate for the purchase of US dollars with the Bahamian dollars. In the mid-1980s, the Bahamas was classified as an upper middle-income developing country and ranked among the wealthiest nations in the Caribbean region. In addition, the Bahamas is the third (3rd) wealthiest country in the western hemisphere. Tourism was the nation's primary economic activity. In 1986 the World Bank reported that tourism directly and indirectly accounted for approximately 50 percent of employment. Tourism's share of the gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at 70 percent by the United States Department of Commerce.

In order to lessen the economy's dependency on tourism, the government has followed a policy of diversification since the 1970s, emphasising development in the industrial and agricultural sectors. Success, however, has been limited. The nation experienced setbacks in the early 1980s with the closing of steel and cement plants and oil refineries. Because industries locating in the Bahamas tended to be capital intensive, the industrial sector's share of the labor force was estimated at just 6 percent in 1979. Industry's share of GDP was estimated at about 10 percent in the mid-1980s. The agricultural sector (including fishing) also employed only about 6 percent of the labour force in the early 1980s. Despite various programs to boost production, the World Bank estimated that agriculture in the Bahamas accounted for less than 5 percent of GDP in 1986. The nation's banking and finance sector experienced significant growth in the 1970s and 1980s. This sector contributed approximately 7 percent to GDP in the mid-1980s but employed only about 3,000 Bahamians.

Logo of the BahamasThe overall performance of the economy during the past several decades has been positive. In the 1960s, the country recorded robust economic growth; growth rates averaged 9 percent annually as direct foreign investment spurred the development of tourism. Economic performance in the 1970s was not as successful. The international economic recession caused a reduction in investment, especially after the 1973 and 1979 oil price shocks. Bahamian independence in 1973 also caused a certain amount of uncertainty, contributing further to reduced foreign investment. Toward the end of the decade, however, economic performance improved, led by growth in tourism; investment soon followed suit, resulting in a boom in the construction sector and an increase in employment levels.

The economy continued to perform well in the early and mid-1980s. Real GDP growth in the 1980-84 period averaged 3 percent. The only notable setback occurred in 1981, when recession in the United States resulted in a decline in stopover visitors (hotel occupants rather than cruise ship or day visitors) and the manufacturing sector was hurt by the closing of several plants; real GDP for that year fell by 9 percent. Tourism recovered quickly, however. In 1982 about 1.7 million foreign tourists visited the Bahamas, and by 1986 that figure had grown to 3 million. GDP was US$1.8 billion in 1985, and per capita GDP was estimated at US$7,822.

The nation was not without economic problems. Growth and development were not uniform throughout the country. Most development occurred in New Providence and Grand Bahama, causing significant migration from the Family Islands to these two urban centres. This migration strained the infrastructure and social sectors of New Providence and Grand Bahama. The government also was faced with the heavy burden of spreading facilities and services throughout the Family Islands. A second problem of the Bahamian economy was its dependence on a single sector, tourism; that sector's well-being was in turn affected by the economy in the United States, the source of most tourists. To reduce this dependency, the government actively pursued a policy of diversification. Finally, the country was afflicted with the problem of structural unemployment; in 1986 unemployment levels were estimated in the 17- to 22-percent range. Industrial development tended to be capital intensive because of a high wage structure and a scarcity of technically skilled labour.