The Bahamas (pronounced /ðə bəˈhɑːməz/ ( listen)), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, via-speaking country consisting of 29 islands An island or isle (/ˈaɪl/) is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, /ˈaɪ.ət/. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago, 661 cays A cay is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans (including in the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef), where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people. Their, and 2,387 islets As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability (rocks). It is located in the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres , it covers approximately twenty percent of the Earth's surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the " north of Cuba The Republic of Cuba (pronounced /ˈkjuːbə/ ; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos and Hispaniola Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west, and Puerto Rico to the east, directly within the hurricane belt. Hispaniola is perhaps most famous as the site of the first European colonies in the New World, (Dominican Republic Inhabited by Taínos since the 7th century, the territory of the Dominican Republic was reached by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. In Santo Domingo stand, among other firsts in the and Haiti Haiti (pronounced /ˈheɪti/ ; French Haïti, pronounced: [a.iti]; Haitian Creole: Ayiti, Haitian Creole pronunciation: [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti ; Repiblik Ayiti) is a Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago. Ayiti (land), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands Coordinates: 21°30′18″N 71°45′14″W / 21.505°N 71.754°W The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre, and southeast of the United States of America ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language (nearest to the state of Florida With an area of 65,758 square miles , it is ranked 22nd in size among the 50 U.S. states. Florida has the longest coastline in the Contiguous United States encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km). The state has four large urban areas, a number of smaller industrial cities, and many small towns). Its total land area is 13,939 km² (5,382 sq. mi.; slightly larger than the US states Connecticut and Rhode Island combined), with an estimated population of 330,000. Its capital is Nassau Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 260,000 , nearly 80 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas (330,000). Lynden Pindling International Airport, the major airport for The Bahamas, is located about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Nassau city centre, and. Geographically, the Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba The Republic of Cuba (pronounced /ˈkjuːbə/ ; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos, Hispaniola Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west, and Puerto Rico to the east, directly within the hurricane belt. Hispaniola is perhaps most famous as the site of the first European colonies in the New World, (Dominican Republic Inhabited by Taínos since the 7th century, the territory of the Dominican Republic was reached by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. In Santo Domingo stand, among other firsts in the and Haiti Haiti (pronounced /ˈheɪti/ ; French Haïti, pronounced: [a.iti]; Haitian Creole: Ayiti, Haitian Creole pronunciation: [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti ; Repiblik Ayiti) is a Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago. Ayiti (land) and Turks and Caicos Islands Coordinates: 21°30′18″N 71°45′14″W / 21.505°N 71.754°W The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre, the designation of the Bahamas refers normally to the commonwealth and not the geographic chain.
Originally inhabited by Arawakan The Arawakan languages are an indigenous language family of South America and the Caribbean Taino The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is believed that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawakan people of South America. Their language is a member of the Maipurean linguistic family, which ranges from South America across the Caribbean people, The Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonised The Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans (as the Bahamian Taino settlers referred to themselves) to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1650, when British The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land colonists from Bermuda Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,373 kilometres (853 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of settled on the island of Eleuthera Eleuthera is an island in The Bahamas, lying 50 miles east of Nassau. It is very long and thin—110 miles (180 km) long and in places little more than a mile wide. According to the 2000 Census, the population of Eleuthera is approximately 8,000. The name "Eleuthera" is derived from the feminine form of the Greek word ελεύθερος (.
The Bahamas became a Crown Colony A Crown colony was a type of colonial administration of the British Empire in 1718 when the British clamped down on piracy Piracy is a war-like act committed by private parties that engage in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea. Following the American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War or American War of Independence began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen former British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers, thousands of pro-British loyalists and enslaved Africans moved to The Bahamas and set up a plantation economy. The slave trade was abolished In Western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. The slave system aroused little protest until the 17th century[citation needed] when Quaker and evangelical religious groups condemned it as un-Christian and the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for in the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a in 1807 and many Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s. In World War II the Royal Navy operated almost were settled in The Bahamas during the 19th century. Slavery itself was abolished in 1834 and the descendants of enslaved and liberated Africans form the bulk of The Bahamas's population today.
The origin of the name "Bahamas" is unclear. It may derive from the Spanish baja mar ("shallow seas") or the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, ba-ha-ma ("large upper middle land").[5]
Contents |
History
Map of The Bahamas Main article: History of the Bahamas The verifiable history of the Bahamas can be traced back to Christopher Columbus' first voyage in 1492. The earliest permanent European settlement occurred in 1647 on the island of Eleuthera. The 18th century slave trade brought many Africans to the Bahamas. Their descendants constitute 85 per cent of the Bahamian population. The Bahamas gainedTaino The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is believed that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawakan people of South America. Their language is a member of the Maipurean linguistic family, which ranges from South America across the Caribbean people moved into the uninhabited southern Bahamas from Hispaniola Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west, and Puerto Rico to the east, directly within the hurricane belt. Hispaniola is perhaps most famous as the site of the first European colonies in the New World, and Cuba The Republic of Cuba (pronounced /ˈkjuːbə/ ; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos around the 11th century AD. These people came to be known as the Lucayans The Lucayan were the original inhabitants of the Bahamas before the arrival of Europeans. They were a branch of the Taínos who inhabited most of the Caribbean islands at the time. The Lucayans were the first inhabitants of the Americas encountered by Christopher Columbus. The Spanish started seizing Lucayans as slaves within a few years of. There were an estimated 30,000+ Lucayans at the time of Columbus's arrival in 1492. Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator, colonizer, and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. With his four voyages of exploration and several attempts at establishing a settlement on the island of Hispaniola, all funded by Isabella I of's first landfall in the New World The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans[note], who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa . The term "New World" should not be confused with "modern was on an island named San Salvador (known to the Lucayans as Guanahani), which is generally accepted to be present-day San Salvador Island San Salvador Island, also known as Watling Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas. Until 1986, when the National Geographic Society suggested Samana Cay, it was widely believed that during his first expedition to the New World, San Salvador Island was the first land sighted and visited by Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492, (also known as Watling's Island) in the southeastern Bahamas.
An alternative theory holds that Columbus landed to the southeast on Samana Cay, according to calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history writer and editor Joseph Judge based on Columbus's log. Evidence in support of this remains inconclusive. On the landfall island, Columbus made first contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with them.
The Spaniards who followed Columbus depopulated the islands, carrying most of the indigenous people off into slavery.[citation needed] The Lucayans throughout The Bahamas were wiped out by exposure to diseases An infectious disease is a clinically evident illness resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. These pathogens are able to cause disease in animals and/or plants. Infectious pathologies are also to which they had no immunity.[6] The smallpox Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple". The term "smallpox" was first used in Europe that ravaged the Taino Indians after Columbus's arrival wiped out half of the population in what is now The Bahamas.[7]
It is generally assumed that the islands were uninhabited by Europeans until the mid-17th century. However, recent research suggests that there may have been attempts to settle the islands by groups from Spain, France, and Britain, as well as by other Amerindians. In 1648, the Eleutherian Adventurers migrated from Bermuda Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,373 kilometres (853 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of. These English Puritans established the first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleuthera Eleuthera is an island in The Bahamas, lying 50 miles east of Nassau. It is very long and thin—110 miles (180 km) long and in places little more than a mile wide. According to the 2000 Census, the population of Eleuthera is approximately 8,000. The name "Eleuthera" is derived from the feminine form of the Greek word ελεύθερος (—the name derives from the Greek word for freedom. They later settled New Providence New Providence is the most populated island in the Bahamas. The original attraction of New Providence was that it had one of the best sheltered natural small vessel harbors in the Caribbean, naming it Sayle's Island after one of their leaders. To survive, the settlers resorted to salvaged goods from wrecks.
In 1670 King Charles II Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors Lord Proprietor was the gubernatorial title for the noble "ruling" proprietors of certain British proprietary colonies in North America, such as Maryland or Carolina of the Carolinas, who rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing governors A governor is a governing official, usually the executive (at least nominally, to different degrees also politically and administratively) of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, a governor may be the title of each appointed or elected politician who governs a constituent state, and administering the country.[8]
18th century
During proprietary rule, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates Piracy is a war-like act committed by private parties that engage in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea, including the infamous Blackbeard Edward Teach or Edward Thatch , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies during the early 18th century. To restore orderly government, The Bahamas were made a British crown colony The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories of the United Kingdom, which do not form part of the United Kingdom itself. They are the remnants of the British Empire that have not acquired independence or have voted to remain British territories in 1718 under the royal governorship of Woodes Rogers Woodes Rogers was an English sea captain, privateer, and, later, the first Royal Governor of the Bahamas. He is known as the captain of the vessel that rescued the marooned Alexander Selkirk, whose plight is generally believed to have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, who, after a difficult struggle, succeeded in suppressing piracy.[9] In 1720 he led local militia to drive off a Spanish attack.
During the American War of Independence, the islands were a target for American naval forces under the command of Commodore Ezekial Hopkins. The capital of Nassau on the island of New Providence was occupied by US Marines for a fortnight.
In 1782, following the British defeat at Yorktown, a Spanish fleet appeared off the coast of Nassau, which surrendered without a fight.
After American independence, some 7,300 Loyalists and their slaves moved to the Bahamas from New York, Florida and the Carolinas. These Americans established plantations on several islands and became a political force in the capital. The small population became mostly African from this point on.
The British abolished the slave trade in 1807, which led to the forced settlement on Bahamian islands of thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy. Slavery itself was finally abolished in the British Empire on August 1, 1834.
20th century
Modern political development began after the Second World War. The first political parties were formed in the 1950s and the British made the islands internally self-governing in 1964, with Roland Symonette of the United Bahamian Party as the first premier.
In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the Progressive Liberal Party became the first black premier of the colony, and in 1968 the title was changed to prime minister. In 1973, The Bahamas became fully independent, but retained membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first black governor-general (the representative of Queen Elizabeth II) shortly after independence.
Based on the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance, the Bahamian economy has prospered since the 1950s. However, there remain significant challenges in areas such as education, health care, international narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration from Haiti.
|
NYU Washington Square News
Being a Rhodes scholar, a likely first-round NFL draft pick, an aspiring neurosurgeon, a handpicked future president of the Bahamas and, according to Cornel ...
and more »
Cut Furos
ue, 27 Apr 2010 13:54:13 GM
The top pick for many women is . the Bahamas. . Who would want to pass these up. The waters that you see there are the cleanest than you have ever seen. Put your feet in sandy beaches and walk hand in hand. From water sports to secluded ...
