Language: English
Currency: Dollar (BSD)
Calling Code: +1-242
Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the
Bahamas, is one of the thirteen countries that form the Insular
America, Antilles or Caribbean Islands, one of the thirty-five of
the American continent. Its capital and most populated city is
Nasáu, located on the island of New Providence. Constituted by more
than seven hundred islands (of which 24 are inhabited and more than
700 are uninhabited), cays and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, it is
located in the north of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic,
northwest of Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the US state of
Florida and east of the Florida Keys. Geographically, the Bahamas
form, together with the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Archipelago of
the Lucayas, also known as the Bahamas extension. By the manifesto
of the Royal Defense Force of the Bahamas, the territory of the
Bahamas occupies 180,000 square miles of ocean space, although
official measures would provide much more economic space.
Originally inhabited by the Lucayos, a branch of the Taíno ethnic
group, the Bahamas was the site where Christopher Columbus arrived
on his first trip to the New World in 1492 (island of San Salvador).
Most of them either were killed or moved to other corners of new
Spanish colonies. Then they were colonized by the Spaniards from
1513 to 1648, when English settlers from the island of Bermuda
settled on the island of Eleuthera.
The Bahamas became a
colony of the British crown in 1718, when the British banned piracy.
After the American War of Independence, thousands of Americans loyal
to the British crown settled on the islands along with their slaves,
which led to a plantation-based economy. After Britain banned the
slave trade in 1807, the Royal Navy brought many of the new African
illegal slaves to the Bahamas during the 19th century. Hundreds of
slaves escaped from the islands to Florida, and about 500 were freed
from US merchant ships. Slavery was abolished in the Bahamas in
1834. Even today, a large part of the population is descended from
these freed slaves. The Bahamas achieved independence as a monarchy
in the Commonwealth of Nations on July 10, 1973. In terms of per
capita income, the Bahamas is one of the richest countries in North
America (behind the United States and Canada).
Lucayan National Park is a nature reserve that covers beach, mangroves and jungles along with underground cave system.
Garden of the Groves is a pleasant botanical garden in the heart of the Grand Bahamas island. Garden of the Groves is a great way to escape hordes of tourists to get away to a tranquil, peaceful place.
The origin of the name has not been precisely established, there are two main hypotheses in this regard. According to one of them, the name comes from the phrase in the local dialect "Taíno ba ha ma" ("great upper middle land"); according to another hypothesis, the name originated from the Spanish combination "baja mar" ("shallow water" / "shallow sea" or "low tide"), reflecting the shallow waters in the area. The point of view was also expressed that this name may come from a word in the local dialect of Guanahani, the meaning of which is not precisely established.
The first Indian settlers in the Bahamas are considered to be the
Lucayans (hence the name of the Lucayan Islands), a branch of the Arawak
tribe, who arrived here around the 9th century. The islands were
discovered by Europeans in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. One of the
islands of the archipelago - Watling Island (San Salvador) - the first
land of the New World, discovered on October 12, 1492. Three years
later, the first Spanish colonists settled in the archipelago.
The Spaniards took the locals to Hispaniola (Haiti) as slaves, and after
25 years the Indian population was practically eliminated, and the
Spaniards left the settlement.
For another century, the islands
remained sparsely populated and unclaimed, until the King of England,
Charles I Stuart, handed them over to the Attorney General. In 1650, a
few English settlers from Bermuda arrived here and set up settlements on
the island of Eleuthera. At the same time, pirates began to settle in
the Bahamas, creating their bases for rest and repair of ships on
several islands of the archipelago. Pirates were expelled from the
Bahamas by the British in 1718.
The Bahamas became a British
colony in 1718, but remained sparsely populated until about 8,000
loyalists arrived here at the end of the 18th century, deported to the
islands along with their slaves from the proclaimed independence of the
United States (from New York, Florida and North and South Carolina).
After the American Revolutionary War of Independence, English
Loyalists began to bring thousands of people to the islands and in three
years greatly increased the population. In addition, they contributed to
the appearance of slaves and cotton on the islands, which shaped the
future of the islands. American-style plantations were built here, but
since the soil was not so good, most of the plantations ceased to exist
in the very first years.
In 1781, the islands were captured by
Spain, but in 1783 Great Britain managed to return them.
When the
slave trade was banned in Great Britain in 1807, the Royal Navy began to
intercept slave ships and free slaves in the Bahamas. Many loyalists
left the Bahamas after the abolition of slavery, often leaving their
lands to former slaves who began to lead a meager existence without
their masters, mainly engaged in fishing and agriculture. Although
equality and political rights were conditional: power on the islands
belonged to the white minority.
In the 19th century, a share of
smuggling arose in the agrarian economy. Also important for the future
of the islands was the fact that rich people appeared in the United
States, ready to spend money on vacations in a tropical paradise. By the
end of the 19th century, Florida had become a tourist region, and the
Bahamas received little additional income.
In 1920, money poured
into the country like a river: after the adoption of Prohibition in the
United States, smugglers became more active in Nassau. The Bahamas were
the perfect platform for illicitly supplying the United States with
alcohol, and Nassau soon became a huge warehouse for rum. The city
invested a lot of money in construction, a large number of hotels
appeared. The repeal of Prohibition in the United States in 1933 brought
the Bahamas into the Great Depression. As in the United States, World
War II marked the end of the economic downturn. On September 2, 1940,
the United States leased land on the island of Exuma for the location of
its naval base for 99 years under the “destroyers for bases” agreement.
During the war, a lot of the US military came to the islands for
recreation, which significantly improved the economy of the Bahamas.
After the war, wealthy Americans began to come to the islands for
recreation, encouraged by the governor and his wife, Duke Edward of
Windsor and Duchess Wallis Simpson. The Duke and Duchess made a big
contribution to the development of tourism, as they believed that this
was a great way to pull the Bahamas out of the post-war devastation, and
after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the islands were in an advantageous
position due to the fact that many Western travelers were forced to
abandon resorts on Cuba. In Nassau, the American Air Force base was
expanded to receive international flights, the port was updated, and an
active advertising campaign began. The rise in wealth provoked the
development of party politics and the aggravation of ethnic tensions,
since the white elite received huge incomes from tourism, while the
black majority remained below the poverty line.
In 1964, in
accordance with the new Constitution, the islands were granted internal
self-government (Roland Simonette became the first Prime Minister of the
Bahamas), from July 10, 1973 - independence. The first prime minister of
an independent state was Linden Pindling. The head of state is still the
British monarch.
The black-backed Progressive Liberal Party (PLP)
came to power in 1967 and ended white dominance. The country has entered
the path of gaining independence. On July 10, 1973, the Bahamas became
an independent state within the British Commonwealth. Attempts to reform
the PLP led to a decrease in the value of real estate and the cessation
of economic growth. Party leaders were mired in corruption, some of them
involved in the international drug trade. Following US assistance to
stop the drug trade in the 1980s and the election of a business
administration in 1992, the Bahamas began to slowly re-emerge. In 1999,
Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd swept through the islands, destroying
houses, roads, reefs and resorts. By 2001, the damage had been repaired
and the Bahamas were once again a tourist attraction.
The Bahamas is an independent state based on the Westminster model of
political structure. The form of government of the Bahamas is a
constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the Queen of Great
Britain. It is officially represented by the Governor General, who is
appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Structurally, the Bahamas is a parliamentary system. Legislative power
is vested in a bicameral Parliament, consisting of the House of
Assembly, whose members are elected for a five-year term from 38
single-member districts, and the Senate, 16 members of which are
appointed by the Governor General (9 on the recommendation of the Prime
Minister, 4 on the recommendation of the leader of the opposition, 3 -
on the general recommendation of the prime minister and the leader of
the opposition). The leader of the party with the majority in the House
of Assembly serves as prime minister and chief executive. The Prime
Minister appoints cabinet members from among his supporters in the House
of Assembly. The President of the Supreme Court is appointed by the
Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of
the Opposition. Other referees are appointed on the recommendation of
the Referee Commission. The highest court of appeal is the Privy Council
in London.
By party criteria, the Bahamas is a multi-party system
dominated by the center-left Progressive Liberal Party and the
center-right Free National Movement. In the last elections held on May
10, 2017, the opposition Free National Movement won 34 out of 38 seats,
while the Progressive Liberal Party won 4 seats. Other parties failed to
get seats in the lower house of Parliament.
The Bahamas is a
state with a democratic political system. Freedom House refers them to
the group of free countries. In the ranking of failed states, the
Bahamas ranks 134th (group of strong states). In the ranking of
countries free from corruption, they occupy 21st place (a group of
countries with a low level of corruption).
Key officials:
Elizabeth II - Queen (since February 6, 1952), Cornelius Smith -
Governor General (since 2019), Philip Davis - Prime Minister (since
2021).
The Bahamas is an archipelago consisting of approximately 700 islands
and coral reefs and occupying an area of over 250 thousand km². The
land area - 10,070 km² - is comparable to the area of Jamaica.
Geographically, the Bahamas also includes the Turks and Caicos Islands,
which contain the British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos.
The population is mainly concentrated on the islands of New
Providence, where the capital of the state, Nassau, and Grand Bahama are
located. The largest island is Andros. The Bimini Islands are located
just 80 km east of Florida. The second largest city in the archipelago,
Freeport, is located on Grand Bahama. The most southeastern island is
Great Inagua.
The Bahamas are composed mainly of coral limestone,
occurring at a depth of about 1500 m. The flooded areas of underwater
elevations are vast shallow waters, abundant in coral reefs (the largest
is the Great Bahama Bank). The surface of the islands is flat, karst
landforms are widespread. There are beaches on the coast of the islands.
The highest point of the archipelago is at the top of Alvernia Hill, 63
meters above sea level (on Cat Island).
The climate of the
Bahamas is tropical, trade winds, with heavy rainfall in May-June and
September-October. The average temperature in January is +21 °C, in July
- about +30 °C. Quite frequent hurricanes hit the islands from June to
October.
There are practically no rivers in the Bahamas. Many
salt lakes (communicating with the sea).
Vegetation cover is
relatively poor. Savannas or thickets of thorny evergreen bushes
predominate; a significant area is occupied by pine forests. On the
islands of Andros and Greater Abaco, deciduous and evergreen tropical
forests grow; on the coasts - groves of coconut palms.
The fauna
is quite poor and is represented mainly by birds (mostly migratory
waterfowl), as well as iguanas, agoutis and bats. Sea waters are rich in
fish, crustaceans and mollusks. National Park on the island of Great
Inagua - the largest concentration of flamingos in the world; the island
is home to over 50,000 individuals.
Agave (sisal), pineapple,
orange tree, banana, tomato, sugar cane are cultivated.
Administrative division
Currently, the state is divided into 31
districts (English districts). This system was created in 1996, and
until 1999 there were 23 districts.
Population
Population -
399,361 (May 2021).
Annual growth - 2,301 (2021)
Birth
rate: average 17 children per day (0.70 per hour)
Mortality: an
average of 7 people per day (0.27 per hour)
Migration population
growth: an average of 6 people per day (0.23 per hour)
Life
expectancy - 71.2 years (68.8 men, 73.6 women)
Male population -
195,313 (48.9%), female population - 204,048 (51.1%) (2021)
Infection with the immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - 3% (2007 estimate).
Ethno-racial composition: 85% - blacks and mulattoes, 12% - whites,
3% - Asians and Hispanics.
The official language is English,
immigrants from Haiti use Haitian Creole (based on French).
Literacy - 95.6% (2003).
Religion
The Bahamas is a
predominantly Christian country (92%). Atheists and non-believers make
up 5.7% of the population. In 2010, there were 6,500 spiritists in the
Bahamas. Most of them - especially in the southern and eastern islands -
practice bothah, a religion similar to voodoo. Voodoo itself is
practiced exclusively by immigrants from Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican
Republic and Jamaica. Among the non-Christian groups, one should also
name the Bahai faith (1.4 thousand), Judaism (300 people), Hinduism (100
people).
The largest Christian groups are Baptists (75,000),
Catholics (51,000), Pentecostals and Charismatics (43,000), Anglicans
(27,000), Adventists (21,000) and Methodists (16,000).
Economy
The Bahamas is a developing state specializing in international and
tourism services. Tourism gives the Islands over 60% of GDP.
Approximately half of the employed population is directly or indirectly
connected with the tourism business. Most tourists arrive or sail from
the United States.
GDP per capita (in 2015) - $ 24,394 (30th
place in the world, between Spain and Bahrain).
Agriculture (5%
of employees) - citrus fruits, vegetables, poultry.
Industry (5%
of employees) - cement production, oil transportation, salt extraction,
rum production, aragonite extraction, pharmaceutical production.
Tourist business and banking - 50% of employees, in other areas of
services - 40% of employees.
It is a member of the international
organization of ACT countries.
Transport system
New Providence
has about 1000 km of roadways (some of which are privately owned), 209
km on Eleuthera, 156 km on Grand Bahama and more than 885 km on the
outer islands.
Nassau (New Providence), Freeport (Grand Bahama)
and Matthew Town (Inagua) are the main ports of the Bahamas. There is a
mail ship from Nassau to the outer islands several times a week.
The main airports of the state: Linden Pindling International Airport,
the largest airport in the Bahamas and the country's largest
international airport, is located in the west of New Providence Island,
16 km from Nassau, and Freeport International Airport, located 5 km from
the city. In addition, there are 60 more airports and runways on the
remaining islands.
Mass media
The Bahamas has no government
restrictions on print and radio or television broadcasting.
The
state cooperates with the only broadcaster - ZNS Bahamas, which is
funded by the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas (BCB). Cable TV is
widely available. BCB also operates Radio Bahamas, the main public radio
station.
Daily newspapers The Bahama Journal, Freeport News, The
Nassau Guardian and The Tribune; The Punch is published twice a week and
there are several other weekly newspapers. The Bahamas Tourist News and
What's On magazine are published once a month, and international
editions of these publications are also available.
According to
2007 data, Internet users in the Bahamas were 362 people per 1,000.
Compulsory education in the Bahamas is limited to 12 years old and
starts at the age of 5. The enrollment ratio is 88% for primary schools
and 84% for secondary schools (2006). The ratio of students to teachers
is approximately 15:1 in primary and 13:1 in secondary school (2006).
The academic year starts in September.
The College of The Bahamas
is the main institution of higher education in the country. In 1998, The
Eugene Dupuch Law School was opened on the basis of the University of
the West Indies. Similar curricula and programs are offered at Manley
Law School and Wooding Law School. Students can also apply to the
University of the West Indies, which has branches in Nassau and campuses
in Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Other higher
technical and vocational schools and private colleges provide training
in the following disciplines: theology, secretarial skills, accounting
and computer technology.