The Bahamas: Difference between revisions

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	The origin of the name "Bahamas" is unclear. It may derive from the Spanish ''baja mar'', meaning "shallow seas";{{Fact\|date=December 2007}} or the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, ''ba-ha-ma'' "large upper middle land".{{Fact\|date=December 2007}}		The origin of the name "Bahamas" is unclear. It may derive from the Spanish ''baja mar'', meaning "shallow seas";{{Fact\|date=December 2007}} or the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, ''ba-ha-ma'' "large upper middle land".{{Fact\|date=December 2007}}

	==Geography==
	{{main\|Geography of the Bahamas}}
	]

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	The closest island to the United States is ], which is also known as the gateway to the Bahamas. The island of ] is to the east of ]. The most southeastern island is ]. Other notable islands include the Bahamas' largest island, ], and ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. ], the Bahamas capital city, lies on the island of ].
	], south side]]
	All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15~20 m . The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia, or Como Hill, which has an altitude of {{convert\|63\|m\|ft}}.
	To the southeast, the ], and three more extensive submarine features called ], ], and ], are geographically a continuation of the Bahamas, but not part of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. {{Fact\|date=December 2007}}.

	The climate of the Bahamas is subtropical to tropical, and is moderated significantly by the waters of the ], particularly in winter. <ref> Bahamian dry forests, The Encyclopedia of Earth</ref> Conversely, this often proves very dangerous in the summer and autumn, when hurricanes pass near or through the islands. ] hit the northern islands during the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Floyd hit most of the islands during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. ] 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 ]. In 2005 the northern islands were once again struck, this time by ]. 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==		==Districts==

Revision as of 17:07, 12 May 2008

The Commonwealth of The BahamasThe Bahamas
Flag Coat of arms of Bahamas Coat of arms
Motto: "Forward, Upward, Onward Together"
Anthem: "March On, Bahamaland"Royal anthem: "God Save the Queen"

Capital	Nassau
Official languages	English
Demonym(s)	Bahamian
Government	Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy

• Monarch	Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor-General	Arthur Dion Hanna
• Prime Minister	Hubert Ingraham

Independence from the United Kingdom

• Self-governing	1964
• Full independence	July 10, 1973

Area
• Total	13,878 km (5,358 sq mi) (160th)
• Water (%)	28%
Population
• 2007 estimate	330,549 (177th)
• 1990 census	254,685
• Density	23.27/km (60.3/sq mi) (181st)
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$6.524 billion (145th)
• Per capita	$17,843 (38th)
HDI (2007)	0.845 Error: Invalid HDI value (49th [2])
Currency	Dollar (BSD)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Calling code	1 242
ISO 3166 code	BS
Internet TLD	.bs

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.

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 aeroplane

Bahamian 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 Eleutherian Adventurers established settlements on the island of Eleuthera - the name derives from the Greek word for freedom. They later discovered New Providence and named it Sayle's Island. To survive, the settlers looted passing ships.

In 1670 King Charles II granted the islands to the Lord Proprietors of the Carolinas, who rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing governors, and administering the country. During proprietary rule, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates, including the infamous Blackbeard. To restore orderly government, the Bahamas was made a British crown colony in 1718 under the royal governorship of Woodes Rogers, who cracked down on piracy.

During the American Revolutionary War, 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, after the British defeat at Yorktown, a Spanish fleet appeared off Nassau, which surrendered without a fight. But the 1783 Treaty of Versailles - which ended the global conflict between Britain, France and Spain - returned the Bahamas to British sovereignty.

After the American Revolution, some 8,000 Loyalists and slaves moved to the Bahamas from New York, Florida and the Carolinas. The Americans established plantations on several out islands and became a political force in the capital. The British went on to abolish 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 was finally abolished in the British Empire on August 1 1834.

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. 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 capital income in the hemisphere. Despite this, there are significant challenges in areas such as education, health care, international narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration from Haiti.

The origin of the name "Bahamas" is unclear. It may derive from the Spanish baja mar, meaning "shallow seas"; or the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, ba-ha-ma "large upper middle land".

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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:

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Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
Columns	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

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Government and politics

Main article: Politics of The Bahamas

The Bahamas is an independent country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom.

Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State, represented by a Bahamian governor-general. The prime minister is the head of government and is the leader of the party with the most seats in the elected House of Assembly. The current governor-general is Arthur Dion Hanna and the current prime minister is Hubert Alexander Ingraham. The upper house (the Senate) is appointed. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament.

The party system is dominated by the centre-left Progressive Liberal Party and the centre-right Free National Movement. A handful of splinter parties have been unable to win election to parliament. These parties have included the Bahamas Democratic Movement, the Coalition for Democratic Reform and the Bahamian Nationalist Party.

Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Although The Bahamas is not geographically located in the Caribbean, it is a member of the Caribbean Community. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.

Demographics

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Main article: Demographics of the Bahamas

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.

**1953 census results by island**
Region	European	%	Mixed	%	African	%	Total
New Providence	6,758	14.80%	6,804	14.90%	32,108	70.30%	45,670
Andros and Berry Islands	97	1.30%	299	4.01%	7,065	94.69%	7,461
Grand Bahama and Bimini	450	8.30%	721	13.31%	4,248	78.39%	5,419
Abaco	1,146	33.63%	225	6.60%	2,037	59.77%	3,408
Harbour Island	861	56.42%	53	3.47%	612	40.10%	1,526
Eleuthera	662	10.93%	1,062	17.54%	4,332	71.53%	6,056
Cat Island	12	0.37%	86	2.69%	3,103	96.94%	3,201
Exuma	59	2.02%	61	2.09%	2,799	95.89%	2,919
San Salvador and Rum Cay	46	5.56%	51	6.17%	730	88.27%	827
Long Island and Ragged Island	564	13.84%	2,072	50.83%	1,440	35.33%	4,076
Crooked Islands, Acklins and Long Cay	7	0.32%	513	23.44%	1,669	76.24%	2,189
Mayaguana and Inagua	60	3.74%	95	5.93%	1,448	90.33%	1,603
Bahamas	10,722	12.71%	12,042	14.28%	61,591	73.01%	84,355

Source:

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

In the less developed outer islands, handicrafts include basketry made from palm fronds. This material, commonly called "straw", is plaited into hats and bags that are popular tourist items.

File:Atlantic Spotted Dolphins Bahamas 1139303856.jpg

Atlantic Spotted Dolphins

Regattas 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 Christian. Baptists, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are the largest denominations.

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

Sailing and Track and field athletics are 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 400 m in 2004 and the women's relay team in the 4×100m in 2000). They are also very active in the world of karting, the current Bahamian champion is Genevieve Siddons.

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Bahamas

The Bahamian dollar is pegged to the US dollar, and US notes and coins are used interchangeably with Bahamian notes and coins within the islands for most practical purposes. However, government mandated exchange controls still apply for the purchase of any foreign currency.

The Bahamas is classified as an upper middle-income developing country and has the third highest per capita income in the western hemisphere (after the United States and Canada). Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for about two thirds of the gross domestic product (GDP). Offshore finance is the second largest industry, accounting for about 15 per cent of GDP.

The government continues to promote tourism and financial services while aiming for greater diversification through agriculture, fishing, manufacturing and e-commerce.

File:Bahamaslogo.png

Logo of the Bahamas

In the 1960s, the country enjoyed robust growth averaging 9 per cent annually as direct foreign investment spurred the development of tourism. A global economic downturn after the 1973 oil price shock coincided with Bahamian independence and led to a drop in foreign investment. Toward the end of the decade economic performance improved, led by growth in tourism; and international narcotics trafficking. Real GDP growth in the 1980-84 period averaged 3 per cent, but declined in the late 1980s. GDP growth was 0.3 per cent in 1995 and accelerated to 6 per cent in 1999. After 9/11 the economy nosedived and began picking up again in 2003.

Historically, most development has occurred on New Providence and Grand Bahama, causing significant migration from the Family Islands to these two urban centres and straining their infrastructure. The government is also faced with the burden of duplicating facilities and services throughout the archipelago.

References

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Population estimates for the Bahamas take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
United Nations, 2007.

External links

Geographic locale

Template:Countries and territories of the Caribbean

Countries and dependencies of North America

Sovereign states

Entire	Antigua and Barbuda The Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States
In part	Colombia San Andrés and Providencia France Guadeloupe Martinique Caribbean Netherlands Bonaire Saba Sint Eustatius Venezuela Nueva Esparta Federal Dependencies

Dependencies

Denmark	Greenland
France	Clipperton Island St. Barthélemy St. Martin St. Pierre and Miquelon
Netherlands	Aruba Curaçao Sint Maarten
United Kingdom	Anguilla Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Montserrat Turks and Caicos Islands
United States	Puerto Rico United States Virgin Islands
North America portal

International membership

v t e Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Secretariat (Secretary-General)
History	West Indies Federation Caribbean Free Trade Association Treaty of Chaguaramas Single Market and Economy (CSME)	Caribbean portal
Members	Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Dominica Grenada Guyana Haiti Jamaica Montserrat St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago
Associate members	Anguilla Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Turks and Caicos Islands
Observers	Aruba Colombia Dominican Republic Mexico Puerto Rico Sint Maarten Venezuela
Institutions	Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO) Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) Court of Justice (CCJ) Disaster Emergency Management (CDEMA) Examinations Council (CXC) Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Single Market and Economy (CSME)
Related organizations	CARIFORUM Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
Member of the Community but not of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) British overseas territory awaiting entrustment to join the CSME

v t e Commonwealth realms and dominions
Current	Antigua and Barbuda (monarchy) Australia (monarchy) Bahamas (monarchy) Belize (monarchy) Canada (monarchy) Grenada (monarchy) Jamaica (monarchy) Realm of New Zealand Cook Islands New Zealand Niue Papua New Guinea (monarchy) Saint Kitts and Nevis (monarchy) Saint Lucia (monarchy) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (monarchy) Solomon Islands (monarchy) Tuvalu (monarchy) United Kingdom (monarchy)
Former	Barbados (monarchy) Ceylon (monarchy) Fiji (monarchy) The Gambia (monarchy) Ghana (monarchy) Guyana (monarchy) India Ireland (monarchy) Kenya (monarchy) Malawi (monarchy) Malta (monarchy) Mauritius (monarchy) Newfoundland Nigeria (monarchy) Pakistan (monarchy) Rhodesia (monarchy) Sierra Leone (monarchy) South Africa (monarchy) Tanganyika (monarchy) Trinidad and Tobago (monarchy) Uganda (monarchy)
Annexed by Canada in 1949 Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965, but this was not recognised internationally. Declared itself a republic in 1970.

Members of the Commonwealth of Nations

Sovereign states
(members)

Associated states

Dependent territories

Australia	Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Antarctic Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Norfolk Island
New Zealand	Ross Dependency Tokelau
United Kingdom	Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands

Source: Commonwealth Secretariat – Member Countries

English-speaking world

Further links

Articles

Lists

Countries and territories where English is the national language or the native language of the majority
Africa	Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Americas	Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda The Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands Dominica Falkland Islands Grenada Guyana Jamaica Montserrat Saba Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States United States Virgin Islands
Europe	Guernsey Ireland Isle of Man Jersey United Kingdom
Oceania	Australia New Zealand Norfolk Island Pitcairn Islands

Countries and territories where English is an official language, but not the majority first language
Africa	Botswana Cameroon Eswatini The Gambia Ghana Kenya Lesotho Liberia Malawi Mauritius Namibia Nigeria Rwanda Sierra Leone Somaliland South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Americas	Puerto Rico
Asia	Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong India Pakistan Philippines Singapore
Europe	Gibraltar Akrotiri and Dhekelia Malta
Oceania	American Samoa Cook Islands Fiji Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru Niue Northern Mariana Islands Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tokelau Tuvalu Vanuatu

Dependencies shown in italics.

People was forced to leave if they wrere not loyalist

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