Language: English
Currency: Dollar (BSD)
Calling Code: +1-242
The extensive Bahamas island chain with over 700
islands lies on the northern edge of the Caribbean, southeast of
Florida and northeast of Cuba. Only 30 islands are inhabited and are
a popular tourist destination.
The Bahamas consist of a chain
of around 700 larger islands and over 2,000 cays, small islands,
atolls and coral reefs. The core of the large islands is also made
of coral limestone. In 1864, Governor Sir Rawson W. Rawson stated in
his annual report to the Colonial Office in London: "The land
holdings consist of 29 islands, 661 cays and 2,387 reefs." Most of
the large and inhabited Bahama islands are long and narrow. A main
road runs lengthways, the "Queen's Highway" or "King's Highway."
However, these so-called highways are almost all narrow, in poor
condition and full of potholes.
Emigrants from Bermuda and
the Turks Islands extracted salt from large, suitable beach lakes by
natural sun drying. In 1850, the first large-scale salt production
plant was built on Inagua. Most of it was exported to the USA until
the USA imposed high taxes on salt imports.
At the end of the
19th century, sponges were the most important industry on the
Bahamas. At the beginning of this century, attempts were made to
establish sponge plantations in the shallow waters off various
islands. In 1938, the "sponge plague" destroyed 90% of all deposits.
Sisal, imported from Yucatan, Mexico, temporarily became the second
most important export factor. US interests founded the Andros Fibre
Company. On the one hand, tropical woods were exported, and on the
other, chipboard was made locally from waste wood. Some islands were
originally densely forested. Declining profits led to the industry's
sudden collapse; today it is tourism and banking.
Tourism
from North America, which began after World War II, only brought
major construction projects and revenue to the islands of New
Providence, with its capital Nassau, and Grand Bahama. The other
islands, the so-called "Out Islands", remained largely left out and
underdeveloped. This only changed somewhat after the events of
September 11th. The USA increased its financial commitment to the
islands "on its doorstep". The sparsely populated islands, where
almost everyone knows everyone, which had already been peacefully
overrun by American soldiers during World War II and were used as
military bases, were classified as safe for American tourists and
thus interesting.
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.
Jonkanoo and Goombay
Junkanoo dates back to the slave era. Over
Christmas, the slaves were given three days off work to visit their
scattered relatives on the nearest plantations. The costumes, music and
dances at these celebrations were an old African tradition. Particularly
hardworking slaves were rewarded with discarded clothes from their
masters. The name "Jonkanoo" refers either to the African king John
Canoe, or to the word Gensinconnu, which means "person with masks". This
event used to take place in the southern states of the USA and Jamaica.
The majority of Bahamians are descended from the Yoruba tribe. Early
Junkanoo celebrations are reminiscent of a death cult of this tribe.
Like most African tribes, the Yorubas also worship their ancestors and
believe that a person's spirit never dies. The masks are supposed to
represent the spirit of a specific person. Originally, the masks in the
Bahamas were made of fabric or crinkled paper, and many masks were only
painted on the face. Today they are also made from a wire frame, cover
the whole body and represent a figure, then they can weigh up to 150 kg.
The commercialization of the Jonkanoo began in the 1920s and has
since developed into the Bahamian carnival. On December 26th (Boxing
Day) and January 1st, parades and processions with colorful costumes,
masks and marching bands take place mainly in Nassau. The best costumes
and music groups are awarded prizes. The Goombay drum music and dance
elements can still be found in West Africa today. Accompanied by
"cowbells", whistles and the sounds that can be blown on conch shells,
the dance rhythm is beaten on the goatskin drum. Occasionally, small
sticks are also used and, more recently, bicycle bells and anything else
that can make noise. The elements of the tribal dances of the Yoruba
from West Africa are unmistakable, however.
Goombay takes place
in the summer months in the form of music and dance events and is also
celebrated in conjunction with beach parties or fashion shows.
The Ministry of Agriculture counted over 1,200 different plants on
the islands. They are similar to those of Florida and Cuba, but 10% of
the plants can only be found on these islands. On Abaco, Andros and
Grand Bahama there are still or have been restored pine and pine
forests. Casuarina also grows on many beaches and provides shade. There
are also hardwoods such as cascarilla, mahogany and lignum vitae. Larger
shallow shore areas are covered in mangroves. In the home gardens you
can find bougainvillea, hibiscus, oleander and various orchid species.
The North American raccoon lives on Grand Bahama and New Providence.
On Abaco you can find wild horses and pigs, on Inagua there are wild
donkeys. On Andros, Crooked Island, Inagua, Long Island and the cays in
between there are 29 different species of iguanas and lizards that grow
up to 150 cm long and are protected. There used to be thousands of them
on the islands. They were hunted for their tender, tasty meat and ended
up in the islanders' cooking pots.
230 species of birds have been
counted on the various islands. Some of them are rare or endangered.
Twelve different species of bats have been identified in the
limestone caves of the various islands.
The Cat Island turtle,
Pseudemys felis, a freshwater inhabitant, is only found on this one
island. A similar species can be found on Inagua.
East Plana Cay
is in the south of the archipelago and is about 400 hectares in size.
The hutias, thought to be extinct, were rediscovered on this desolate,
uninhabited island in 1965. They are rabbit-sized, herbivorous rodents.
Today the population is estimated at 5,000 animals.
On the remote
southern island of Iguana, over 30,000 flamingos live in a sanctuary.
Frigate birds, herons and spoonbills can also be seen here. Flamingos
are the national bird of the Bahamas. On Inagua and Little Abaco, the
rare green-feathered Bahama parrot can be found.
There are 10
species of snakes in the archipelago. The Bahamian species of boa
constrictor is non-venomous. There are six species of frog in the
forests and wetlands.
There are 90 species of butterflies in the
Bahamas.
The archipelago is known as a fishing paradise. Sea
turtles come to the beach to lay their eggs. Sponges are fished on the
shallow water banks.
Poisonous animals in the Bahamas include the
Black Widow Spider, centipedes and the Cuban Tree Frog. In the sea you
can find three species of dangerous rays and the "Portuguese
Man-of-War", a jellyfish-like, blue-glowing tissue on the sea surface,
with poisonous threads up to 25m long.
In New Providence and Grand Bahama the hotel tax is 12%, on the Out Islands 10%, and for members of the hotel association a further 15%. In restaurants the bill generally includes a 15% tip. On various islands and in various hotels an energy tax is also charged for the use of air conditioning. As in the USA, VAT is only added at the checkout and is therefore not included in the listed prices.
Entry requirements
Visitors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland
only need a valid passport for a stay of up to 3 months. You should also
have your hotel booking confirmations ready. The officials are very
precise and ask detailed questions about the itinerary and the time of
departure. In addition, no photos may be taken in the entire hall where
the immigration desks are located (Nassau airport). The officials can
become very angry and demand that the photo be deleted.
Exit
requirements
When leaving the country, a departure tax of $25 must be
paid; children under 3 years of age are free.
Grand Bahama: $28
including a $3 security fee for international flights.
Airplane
The air hub of the Bahamas is the airport on the island of New
Providence. All international airlines land there, regardless of whether
they come from the American or European region. The national airline
Bahamas Air flies to all the major islands from there on scheduled
flights. These large islands usually have not just one airport, but two
or three. In addition, many of the smaller, even the smallest islands
have a runway for charter or private aircraft. Some of these small
islands are so private that the use of their runways is not desired.
Flying at low altitudes in small aircraft is considered by pilots
worldwide to be one of the most beautiful things that can be seen from a
cockpit.
Ship
Another, inexpensive means of transport is the
so-called mail boat. Small ships that also take cars and call at all the
large Bahama islands on scheduled services. However, it can take up to
15 hours to reach your destination.
In recent years, fast
ferries, mostly catamaran-based, have also been put into service.
However, they only call at individual islands and you pay a high price
for the speed.
Since the Americans consider the Caribbean Sea to
be their bathtub, there are also many cruise ships there. Such cruises
generally start in Florida or Puerto Rico and last a maximum of one
week. Several of these cruise companies have bought up entire Bahama
islands or parts of them. The large steamers then take a ten-hour break
there and tourists can expect an extensive entertainment program on
land, sometimes without seeing a single Bahamian.
The Bahamas are a sailor's paradise, but probably less so for
Europeans. So if you're not going out on the ocean, you'll usually need
a rental car on the islands. In some areas, people are so
environmentally conscious that only battery-powered golf carts are used,
even four-seaters.
If you don't book your Bahamas vacation
through a travel agency, but go on a discovery tour, you might be in
luck. Some apartment rental companies include a vehicle in the rental
price.
Attention: Left-hand traffic! The maximum speed in towns
is 25 mph (40 km/h), outside of towns 30 mph (50 km/h) and on the few
highways in Nassau and Freeport 45 mph (70 km/h). Attention: Many cars
have the steering on the left side like in Germany; they were originally
built for the American market. The minimum age for renting a car is
between 21 and 25 years, depending on the provider.
Many streets
in tourist areas have so-called "speed bumps", elevations in the roadway
that are intended to reduce speed. However, these are indicated
beforehand by a warning sign.
There are many taxis in the big
cities that provide mobility there. It should be noted that there are
only fixed prices in Nassau, i.e. there is no taximeter.
The official language in the Bahamas is English. The locals speak with a dialect accent and are sometimes not entirely understandable. Creole is also common among Haitian immigrants.
The currency of the Bahamas is the Bahamian dollar, which is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, i.e. 1 Bahamian dollar is equal to 1 US dollar. It is divided into 100 cents. This pegged currency means that it is easy to pay in US dollars everywhere. Many ATMs allow you to choose between US and Bahamian dollars. As in the USA, card payments (including in restaurants) are easy to make everywhere. However, you should always have cash ready for market stalls. ATMs are available everywhere (in Nassau).
Only on the two densely populated islands of Grand Bahama and New
Providence are there a large number of banks. There you will also find
ATMs, so-called automatic teller machines (ATMs). On all other islands
there are often only one or two banks. Some islands do not have this
luxury at all. Financial transactions are handled through the post
offices. General bank opening times: Mon - Thurs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00
p.m., Fri from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Foreign exchange
regulations: The import and export of foreign currencies is free. The
import of Bahamian dollars is prohibited, and exports must not exceed
$70. The US dollar is a recognized means of payment. The Bahamas is one
of the world's banking centers, with around 390 companies having a
license to operate in the banking business.
Conch are pink giant clams whose meat is removed and has a firm
consistency (similar to calamari). It is the national dish of the
Bahamas and is used in many different dishes: conch chowder or conch
soup (soup with diced clam meat), conch salad (seasoned with onions,
tomatoes, green salad and vinegar), and fried conch (fried with
plantains or fries).
Fish: grouper (grouper) cut into slices and
fried. Shark cutlet is shark steak, other common fish species are red
snapper, triggerfish and yellow tail. Lobster is the Caribbean type of
lobster, fishing is prohibited from April to July, craw fish is similar
to lobster but has feelers instead of pincers.
French fries are
what the French fries are called here.
Rum Bacardi is distilled
on the island of New Providence. Don Lorenzo rum is produced on Grand
Bahama, there are eight different types. The rum distillery "John
Watling's" is based in Nassau and produces four different types of rum.
This is only sold in the Bahamas.
Foreign beer is mainly imported
in cans, the most common being Heineken, Miller (USA), Becks, Budweiser
(USA) and Löwenbräu. Mineral water, spring water, fruit juices and milk
are imported from the USA. The Commonwealth Brewery in Clifton, New
Providence, has been brewing its own beer called Kalik under European
management since 1988, and Heineken beer has been bottled there under
license since 1985. In addition, "Sands" has been available as a local
beer since 2007, and is based in Freeport.
Bahama Mama is a
high-proof cocktail made from various types of rum, liqueur and fruit
juice.
There is an extensive nightlife only in the tourist centers on the two main islands of New Providence and Grand Bahama. On all other islands it is limited to a few hotels or annual events, such as the Caribbean Sea. B. a week of sailing.
On the islands of New Providence, Paradise Island and Grand Bahama
you will find large, international hotels. But there are also cheaper
guest houses or holiday apartments.
On the Out Islands there are
only a few small hotels or guest houses. However, some major new
construction projects have been completed there in recent years. Other
large projects are being planned or built, but could fail due to the
current global economic situation.
The crime rate in the Bahamas should not be underestimated. An
increase in violent crime can be observed, particularly in the large
cities (Nassau and Freeport). Murders are also not uncommon, with 111
murders being committed in Nassau in 2016 (2015: 149). The rape rate is
the highest of all Caribbean countries, so caution is advised,
especially for women. For this reason, you should take a taxi at night
or not leave the hotel complex. Pickpocketing is also not uncommon in
crowds.
Drugs are also a very big problem, as the Bahamas are the
main transit point for drugs from Colombia. The Bahamian government
therefore has a zero-tolerance policy against any form of drug
possession or consumption. This also applies to soft drugs, such as
marijuana. Drug consumption can therefore result in a prison sentence of
several years (even for foreigners!).
The Bahamian government is
accused of glossing over the crime rate because of the important tourism
sector.
The medical care centers are on the island of New Providence, in Nassau. All of the larger islands have a total of 116 district hospitals and health centers.
Between 1983 and 2003, 4,549 AIDS cases were treated, and a further
5,215 people were reported as HIV-positive. Between 1985 and 2003, 3,320
AIDS deaths were recorded.
HIV / AIDS Center, Royal Victoria Gardens,
Shirley Street / Parliament Street, Nassau, Tel. 328-2260-61, Fax
322-6610.
The months of December, January, February, March and April are the best times to travel. This is also the high season in the Bahamas. Despite the mild daytime temperatures of around 20 °C, you should not underestimate the wind at this time. It can get quite cool in the evenings, or at least it sometimes feels significantly cooler.
The Bahamas Islands are in the area where the annual hurricanes pass
through. Between July and October, hurricanes regularly move over the
islands or past them from the south. In June 1992, "Andrew" left a trail
of destruction through Eleuthera. The last major storm was Hurricane
"Bertha". On July 9, 1996, it passed over Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands with wind speeds of 132 km/h, and on July 10, 1996, it raged
over the Bahamas with wind speeds of 170 km/h. Several people were
killed, streets flooded, houses covered over, and the power supply cut
off. In September 1998, Hurricane "Georges" swept over the islands at a
speed of 175 km/h. Roofs were blown off, trees were uprooted and streets
were flooded, and there were also a few deaths. In September 1999,
Hurricane Floyd swept across the islands with a diameter of over 800km
and wind speeds of 250km/h. There was considerable material damage.
In 2004, a whole series of severe hurricanes swept through the
region. The American peninsula of Florida was devastated by three storms
within four weeks. On September 3, storms Frances and Jeanne swept
across the Bahamas with wind speeds of 160km/h. Heavy rain fell on all
the islands, trees were uprooted, roofs were blown off and power poles
were toppled. Two ships got into distress off Inagua. On the island of
Grand Bahama, the airport was partially flooded, two people died there,
and one in Nassau.
In 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit Abaco, Andros,
Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama and New Providence with
wind speeds of up to 260 mph (420 km/h). Despite storm warnings, many
islanders were unable to adequately protect their property, and severe
devastation occurred. A tidal wave over three metres high swept across
the entire south coast, but particularly hit Deadman's Reef, East End,
Eight Mile Rock, Holmes Rock, Pinders Point, and the residential areas
of Lucaya and Xanadu. The year 2008 brought a long storm season with
Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, Ike and Paloma in the months of August to
November.
Possession and trafficking of drugs are punishable. The entire Bahamas group is a so-called "transshipment" port. Around 50% of South American drugs find their way to North America via the Bahamas. In 1984, informed circles assumed that Colombian drug barons had bribed the island government up to the highest levels. Under pressure from the USA, officials from the American Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) were deployed on the islands to prevent the trade. There is still close cooperation between the two governments today, and American officials are still active on many islands.
International telephone code = 001 242-
The offices of The Bahamas
Telecommunications Corporation (BaTelCo), Tel. 323-4911, are in East
Street, the administration is on J. F. Kennedy Drive, Nassau. There is
an international direct dial system with public telephone booths, most
of which are "cardphones". Phone cards are sold for $5, $10 and $20.
National local calls are free, long distance calls cost 40 cents per
minute, and long distance calls in the Bahamas cost $1.80 for three
minutes.
Long distance calls to the USA cost $1 per minute, to
Canada $1.25 and to Europe $2.75. Long distance calls to Australia cost
$15 for three minutes. Those who make their phone calls from hotels must
pay a government tax and additional hotel fees, making these calls up to
500% more expensive than from a pay phone.
Cell phone: Those who
cannot do without their cell phone must register with the state-owned
telephone company BeTelCo. They will activate the cell phone.
Bahamas On-Line, Tel. 325-1000, Fax 325-0226. * http://bahamas.net.bs
BaTelNet, Tel. 394-7638, Fax 394-7655. * http://batelnet.bs
Coralwave
/ Coralwave Pro, Tel. 356-6780. * http://cablebahamas
The island of New Providence has a natural freshwater reservoir in Lake Killarney, and freshwater is also brought to Nassau in tankers from the large limestone caves on the island of Andros. The tap water in the Bahamas is perfect, but sometimes tastes a bit salty or of chlorine. Spring water is sold in canisters in supermarkets. On the smaller islands, rainwater is collected in cisterns and used sparingly.
The German embassy in Kingston, Jamaica is responsible for the Bahamas. There is one German and one Austrian honorary consul in Nassau for emergency aid. Swiss citizens must contact their Consulate General in Montreal, Canada.
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 inhabitants of the Bahamas were the Taino, who moved to the uninhabited southern islands from Hispaniola and Cuba around 800-1000 AD, having migrated there from South America; they became known as the Lucayan people. It is believed that some 30,000 Lucayans inhabited the Bahamas when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, but as always this cannot be fully proven.
Columbus's first landfall in what was to Europeans a "New World" was
on an island he called San Salvador (known to the Lucayans as
Guanahani). Although there is general consensus that this island was in
the Bahamas, the question of which island Columbus landed on is a matter
of debate among scholars. Some researchers believe the site is
present-day San Salvador Island (formerly known as Watling Island),
located in the southeastern Bahamas, while an alternative theory holds
that Columbus landed to the southeast, at Samana Cay, according to
calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic writer and editor
Joseph Judge, based on Columbus's logbook. On the landing island,
Columbus made first contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with
them, claiming the islands for the Crown of Castile, before proceeding
to explore the larger islands of the Greater Antilles.
The 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas theoretically divided the new territories between
the Crown of Castile and the kingdom of Portugal, placing the Bahamas in
the Spanish sphere; however, they did little to press their claim on the
ground. Nevertheless, the Spanish exploited the native Lucayans, many of
whom were enslaved and sent to Hispaniola for forced labor. Slaves
suffered harsh conditions and most died from diseases to which they had
no immunity; half of the Taino died from smallpox alone. As a result of
these depredations, the population of the Bahamas was severely depleted.
The English had already expressed interest in the Bahamas as early as
1629. However, the first English settlers did not arrive on the islands
until 1648. Known as the Eleutherine Adventurers and led by William
Sayle, they migrated from Bermuda in search of greater religious
freedom. These English Puritans established the first permanent European
settlement on an island they named Eleuthera, Greek for free. They later
settled on New Providence, naming it Sayle's Island. However, life
proved harder than anticipated, and many—including Sayle—chose to return
to Bermuda. To survive, the remaining settlers salvaged goods from
shipwrecks.
In 1670, King Charles II granted the islands to the
lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina in North America. They
leased the islands to the king with rights to trade, tax, appoint
governors, and administer the country from their base at New Providence.
Piracy and attacks by hostile foreign powers were a constant threat. In
1684, the Spanish privateer Juan de Alarcón raided the capital, Charles
Town (later called Nassau), and in 1703, a joint Franco-Spanish
expedition briefly occupied Nassau during the War of the Spanish
Succession.
During landed rule, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates, including
Blackbeard (c. 1680–1718). To end the "pirate republic" and restore
orderly government, Britain made the Bahamas a crown colony in 1718,
renaming it The Bahama Islands under the governorship of Woodes Rogers.
After a difficult struggle, it succeeded in suppressing piracy. In 1720,
the Spanish attacked Nassau during the War of the Quadruple Alliance. In
1729, a local assembly was established, granting a degree of
self-government to the British colonists. The reforms had been planned
by the previous governor George Phenney and authorized in July 1728.
During the American War of Independence in the late 18th century,
the islands became a target for American naval forces. Under the command
of Commodore Esek Hopkins of the U.S. Marine Corps, the fledgling U.S.
Navy occupied Nassau in 1776, before being evacuated a few days later.
In 1782, a Spanish fleet appeared off the coast of Nassau, and the city
surrendered without a fight. Later, in April 1783, on a visit by Prince
William of the United Kingdom (later to become King William IV) to Luis
de Unzaga at his residence in the Captaincy General of Havana, they made
agreements to exchange prisoners and also discussed the preliminaries of
the Treaty of Paris (1783), in which the newly conquered Bahamas would
be exchanged for East Florida, which would still have to conquer the
city of St. Augustine, Florida, in 1784 on Luis de Unzaga's orders;
After that, also in 1784, the Bahamas would be declared a British
colony.
Following American independence, the British resettled
about 7,300 Loyalists and their African slaves in the Bahamas, including
2,000 from New York and at least 1,033 Europeans, 2,214 of African
descent, and a few Creek Native Americans from East Florida. Most of the
refugees resettled from New York had fled from other colonies, including
West Florida, which the Spanish captured during the war. The government
granted land to planters to help offset losses on the mainland. These
Loyalists, who included Deveaux and also Lord Dunmore, established
plantations on several islands and became a political force in the
capital. European Americans were outnumbered by the African-American
slaves they brought with them, and ethnic Europeans remained a minority
in the territory.
The Slave Trade Act of 1807 abolished the slave trade with British
possessions, including the Bahamas. The United Kingdom pressured other
countries that enslaved Africans to also abolish the slave trade and
gave the Royal Navy the right to intercept ships carrying slaves on the
high seas. Thousands of Africans freed from ships by the Royal Navy were
resettled in the Bahamas.
In the 1820s, during the period of the
Seminole Wars in Florida, hundreds of American and African Seminole
slaves escaped from Cape Florida to the Bahamas. They settled mainly in
the northwest of Andros Island, where they created the village of Red
Bays. According to eyewitnesses, 300 escaped in a mass escape in 1823,
aided by Bahamians in 27 sloops, and others used canoes for the journey.
This was commemorated in 2004 by a large sign at Bill Baggs State Park
in Cape Florida. Some of their descendants in Red Bays continue the
African Seminole traditions of basket making and grave marking.
By 1818, the Home Office in London had ruled that "any slave brought to
the Bahamas from outside the British West Indies would be freed." This
led to a total of nearly 300 slaves owned by American citizens being
freed between 1830 and 1835. The American slave ships Comet and
Encomium, used in the slave trade along the coast of the United States,
were wrecked off Abaco Island in December 1830 and February 1834,
respectively. When the castaways brought the captains, passengers, and
slaves to Nassau, customs officials seized the slaves and British
colonial officials freed them, over American protests. There were 165
slaves on the Comet and 48 on the Encomium. The United Kingdom
eventually paid compensation to the United States for those two cases in
1855 under the Claims Treaty of 1853, which settled several compensation
cases between the two countries.
Slavery was abolished in the
British Empire on August 1, 1834. British colonial officials later freed
78 American slaves from the Enterprise, which sank in Bermuda in 1835,
and 38 from the Hermosa, which sank off Abaco Island in 1840. The most
notable case was that of the Creole in 1841: following a slave revolt on
board, the leaders ordered the American brig to Nassau. It was carrying
135 slaves from Virginia destined for sale in New Orleans. Bahamian
officials freed the 128 slaves who decided to stay on the islands. The
Creole case has been described as the "most successful slave revolt in
American history."
These incidents, in which a total of 447
enslaved people belonging to American citizens were freed between 1830
and 1842, increased tension between the United States and the United
Kingdom. Both countries had been cooperating on patrols to suppress the
international slave trade. However, concerned about the stability of its
large domestic slave trade and its value, the United States argued that
the United Kingdom should not treat its national ships arriving at its
colonial ports under duress as part of international trade. The United
States was concerned that the success of Creole slaves in achieving
freedom would encourage further slave revolts on merchant ships.
During the American Civil War of the 1860s, the islands briefly
prospered by taking advantage of their status as a focus for blockade
runners aiding the Confederate States of America.
The first decades of the 20th century were ones of hardship for many
Bahamians, characterised by economic stagnation and widespread poverty.
Many made their living through subsistence farming or fishing.
In
August 1940, the Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII) was
appointed Governor of the Bahamas. He arrived in the colony with his
wife. Although disheartened by the state of Government House, they
"tried to make the best of a bad situation". He did not enjoy the post,
referring to the islands as "a third-class British colony". He opened
the small local parliament on 29 October 1940. The couple visited the
"Outer Islands" in November, on Axel Wenner-Gren's yacht, causing
controversy; the British Foreign Office strongly objected because
American intelligence had informed them that Wenner-Gren was a close
friend of the Nazi Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring.
The Duke
was praised at the time for his efforts to combat poverty on the
islands. However, a 1991 biography by Philip Ziegler described him as
contemptuous of Bahamians and other non-European peoples of the Empire.
He was praised for his resolution of civil unrest over low wages in
Nassau in June 1940. 1942, when a "large-scale mutiny" occurred. Ziegler
claimed that the Duke blamed the troubles on "miscreants: communists"
and "men of Central European Jewish descent, who had obtained work as a
pretext for obtaining a deferral of conscription." The Duke resigned
from office on 16 March 1945.
Modern political development began after World War II. In the 1950s,
the first political parties were formed, divided along ethnic lines: the
United Bahamas Party (UBP) represented Bahamians of English descent
(informally known as the "Bay Street Boys") and the Progressive Liberal
Party (PLP) represented the black Bahamian majority:
A new
constitution granting internal autonomy to the Bahamas came into effect
on 7 January 1964, and the new prime minister was Sir Roland Symonette
of the UBP. In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the PLP became the first black
ruler of the Bahamian colony; in 1968, the title of the office was
changed to Prime Minister. In 1968, Pindling announced that the Bahamas
would seek full independence. A new constitution was adopted in 1968,
giving the Bahamas greater control over its own affairs. In 1971, the
UBP merged with a disaffected faction of the PLP to form a new party,
the Free National Movement (FNM), a centre-right party that sought to
counter the growing power of Pindling's PLP.
The Government of
the United Kingdom granted independence to the Bahamas by an Order in
Council dated 20 June 1973. The Order came into effect on 10 July 1973,
when Prince Charles handed over official documents to Prime Minister
Lynden Pindling. This date is now celebrated as Independence Day. On the
same day, the Bahamas joined the Commonwealth of Nations. Sir Milo
Butler was appointed the first Governor-General of the Bahamas (the
official representative of the then Queen Elizabeth II) shortly after
independence.
Shortly after independence, the Bahamas joined the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank on 22 August 1973, and later the United
Nations on 18 September 1973.
Politically, the first two decades
were dominated by Pindling's PLP, which won a series of electoral
victories. Accusations of corruption, links to drug cartels and
financial malfeasance within the Bahamian government failed to dampen
Pindling's popularity. Meanwhile, the economy experienced a spectacular
period of growth driven by the twin pillars of tourism and offshore
finance, which significantly raised the standard of living on the
islands. The Bahamas' booming economy made it a beacon for immigrants,
particularly from Haiti.
In 1992, Pindling was unseated by Hubert
Ingraham of the FNM. Ingraham went on to win the 1997 Bahamian general
election, before being defeated in 2002, when the PLP returned to power
under Perry Christie. Ingraham returned to power from 2007 to 2012,
followed again by Christie from 2012 to 2017. With economic growth
faltering, Bahamians re-elected the FNM in 2017, with Hubert Minnis
becoming the fourth prime minister.
In September 2019, Hurricane
Dorian struck the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama at Category 5 strength,
devastating the northwestern Bahamas. The storm inflicted at least $7
billion in damage and killed more than 50 people, with 1,300 people
still missing.
In September 2021, the ruling Free National
Movement lost to the opposition Progressive Liberal Party in a snap
election as the economy struggled to recover from its biggest slump
since at least 1971. The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won 32 of the
39 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Free National Movement (FNM),
led by Minnis, captured the remaining seats. On 17 September 2021,
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) President Phillip "Brave" Davis was
sworn in as the new Prime Minister of the Bahamas to succeed Hubert
Minnis.
In the less developed outlying islands, crafts include basketry made
from palm leaves. This material, commonly called "thatch", is folded
into hats and bags which are popular tourist items. Another use is for
so-called "voodoo dolls", although the dolls are the result of American
imagination and not based on historical fact.
Although not
practiced by native Bahamians, a form of obeah folk magic derived from
West Africa is practiced on some islands in the Bahamian family (outside
the islands) due to Haitian migration. However, the practice of obeah in
the Bahamas is illegal and therefore persecuted and punishable by law.
Junkanoo is a traditional African street parade of music, dance and
art, held in Nassau (and some other settlements) every Christmas and New
Year's Day. Junkanoo is also used to celebrate other holidays and events
such as Emancipation Day.
Regattas are important social events in
many island family settlements. They usually feature one or more days of
sailing by old-fashioned workboats, as well as a festival on land.
Some settlements have festivals related to traditional farming or
food crops, such as the "Pineapple" Festival in Gregory Town, Eleuthera,
or the "Crab" Festival in Andros. Other important traditions include
storytelling.
Bahamian music is most associated with Junkanoo, a celebration that
takes place on Boxing Day and again on New Year's Day. Parades and other
celebrations mark the ceremony. Groups such as The Baha Men, Ronnie
Butler, and Kirkland Bodie have achieved great popularity in Japan, the
United States, and elsewhere. Other popular Bahamian artists include
Stileet and Stevie S.
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music
originating in Trinidad and Tobago. This form of music has spread to
many parts of the Caribbean, including the Bahamas.
Soca is a
form of dance music that has its origins in the calypso music of
Trinidad and Tobago. It originally combined the melodic, lilting sound
of calypso with insistent percussion (often electronic in recent music)
and local chutney music. Soca music has evolved over the past 20 years,
mainly thanks to musicians from several English-speaking Caribbean
countries, including Trinidad, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Barbados, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the US Virgin
Islands, the Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and
Belize.
Rake and scrape music is traditionally played with
concertinas, goombay drums and a saw. It is believed to have originated
on Cat Island, but there are indications that it arose in many places at
the same time. The first reference to the use of the accordion by
Bahamians dates back to 1886, in an article in the Nassau Guardian. The
term "rake and scrape" was used in 1969 by Charles Carter, although he
claims that the inhabitants of Cat Island were already calling it that
when he visited the island.
The Bahamas is a hereditary constitutional monarchy that belongs to
the Commonwealth of Nations as an independent kingdom. The British
monarch, as head of state, appoints his representative there, the
Governor General. Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet, headed by
the Prime Minister, an institution that emerged in 1955 with the first
parliamentary elections in the archipelago.
Legislative power is
vested in a bicameral parliamentary system. It is composed of sixteen
members of the Senate (appointed by the Governor General) and forty
members of the House of Representatives, directly elected by the
population.
The Privy Council of Her Majesty's Judicial Committee
is the highest court in the Bahamas, followed by the Court of Appeal,
the Supreme Court, with twelve judges, and the Magistrates' Courts.
The main political parties are the Free National Movement (FNM) and
the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).
The Bahamian military consists of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force
(RBDF), the Bahamian Navy, which includes a ground unit called the
Commando Squadron (Regiment) and an Air Wing (Air Force). Under the
Defence Act, the RBDF is mandated, on behalf of the King, to defend The
Bahamas, protect its territorial integrity, patrol its waters, provide
disaster relief and assistance, maintain order in collaboration with
Bahamian law enforcement agencies, and carry out such tasks as may be
determined by the National Security Council. The Defence Force is also a
member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Regional Security Force.
The RBDF was established on 31 March 1980. Its functions include the
defence of The Bahamas, combating drug smuggling, illegal immigration
and poaching, and assisting mariners. The Defence Force has a fleet of
26 coastal patrol vessels, 3 aircraft and over 1,100 personnel,
including 65 officers and 74 women.
By Act of Parliament, the
RBDF became a statutory entity on 31 March 1980, reporting to the
Ministry of National Security. The King of the Bahamas, Charles III, is
the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, with the Governor General
of the Bahamas serving in the ceremonial role. The Defence Forces have
also adopted their own system of medals and decorations.
The only
combat action in which the RBDF has participated has been against Cuba.
On 10 May 1980, the HMBS Flamingo attempted to stop two Cuban fishing
vessels, the Ferrocem 165 and the Ferrocem 54, for alleged poaching in
Bahamian waters. In retaliation, two Cuban MiG-21s invaded Bahamian
airspace and fired on the patrol boat. The Cubans sank the boat with
their 23 mm cannons and fired on the marines who were in danger in the
water. Fenrick Sturrup, Austin Smith, David Tucker and Edward Williams,
all of them marines of the Bahamas Defence Force, were killed in the
military action. Fifteen crew members and the commander managed to reach
Duncan Town, on Ragged Island, safely after being picked up by the
fishing boats they had boarded. The poachers were convicted in July
1980, and Cuba eventually admitted responsibility, paying the Bahamas
$10 million in compensation for the incident.
The Bahamas maintains close bilateral relations with the United
States, its powerful northern neighbor, and the United Kingdom, the
former colonial power that ruled the archipelago. The country is
represented by an ambassador in Washington and a High Commissioner in
London. The Bahamas also maintains close relations with other nations in
the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The US Embassy in Nassau
donated $3.6 million to the Minister of Disaster Preparedness,
Management and Reconstruction for modular shelters, medical evacuation
boats and construction materials. The donation was made two weeks after
the first anniversary of Hurricane Dorian.
Historically, the
Bahamas and the United States have maintained close economic and
commercial relations. Both countries share ethnic and cultural ties,
especially in the field of education; about 30,000 Americans reside in
the Bahamas. In addition, there are about 110 companies related to the
United States in the Bahamas and, in 2005, 87% of the 5 million tourists
who visited the Bahamas were Americans.
As a neighbor, the
Bahamas and its political stability are especially important to the
United States. The U.S. and Bahamian governments have collaborated on
reducing crime and resolving immigration issues. With the nearest island
just 45 miles off the coast of Florida, the Bahamas are often used as a
gateway for drugs and illegal aliens bound for the United States. The
United States and the Bahamas cooperate closely to address these
threats.
American assistance and resources have been essential to
Bahamian efforts to mitigate the persistent flow of narcotics and
illegal immigrants through the archipelago. The United States and the
Bahamas also actively cooperate in law enforcement, civil aviation,
marine research, meteorology, and agriculture. The U.S. Navy has an
underwater research center on Andros Island.
The Department of
Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection maintains
"preclearance" facilities at the airports in Nassau and Freeport.
Travelers are interviewed and inspected prior to departure, allowing for
a quicker connection to the United States.
Cuba and the Bahamas
share a considerable common maritime border and each has embassies in
Havana and Nassau. Although relations are now normal, there was tension
between the two states in the 1970s and 1980s.
Cuba's bombing and
sinking of a Bahamian patrol boat while it was towing two seized Cuban
fishing boats is one incident that had repercussions and was seen as a
direct consequence of the long-standing Bahamian protest over Cuban
fishing in Bahamian territorial waters.
Periodically in the last
two decades between 1960 and 1980, incidents - usually involving ships
deviating from their route or fishing in Bahamian territorial waters -
led to angry words between the two island nations.
In December
1971, the Leyla Express and Johnny Express incidents occurred when the
two freighters were seized by Cuban gunboats. The Leyla Express was
detained in international waters off the Cuban coast on 5 December; the
Johnny Express was intercepted by gunboats near Little Inagua Island in
the Bahamas ten days later. Some of the Johnny Express's crew, including
the captain, were injured when gunboats fired on their ship. Both
freighters flew Panamanian flags of convenience but were owned by the
Miami-based Bahama Lines corporation. The company was run by four
brothers, Cuban exiles who had previously been involved in activities
directed against the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. Cuba stated that
both vessels were being used by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
to transport arms, explosives and personnel to Cuba, and described the
vessels as engaged in piracy. Cuba had suspected the involvement of one
of Bahama Lines' ships in the bombing of the Cuban town of Samá, on the
north coast of Oriente province, a few months earlier; several civilians
had been killed in the attack. The US administration of Richard Nixon
and Bahama Lines denied the allegations.
Bilateral relations
exist between the People's Republic of China and the Bahamas. Diplomatic
relations were established on 23 May 1997. Less than two months later,
the Chinese government opened an embassy in Nassau, on the island of New
Providence. The Bahamian government has not established an embassy in
Beijing, although in 1999 Dr. Arthur Foulkes was appointed the first
non-resident ambassador. Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was the first
Bahamian head of government to visit China in 1997.
In 2002,
trade volume between the two countries amounted to about $62.93 million,
of which China exported all but $60,000.
Venezuela and the
Bahamas have historically maintained trade relations. The Bahamas joined
the Petrocaribe agreement in 2005 because it could benefit from oil
financed with special conditions granted by the Venezuelan government.
The Venezuelan government established various businesses on the islands
taking advantage of their favorable tax conditions. In 2019, relations
between the Bahamas and Venezuela deteriorated due to the Bahamas'
recognition of the provisional government of opposition leader Juan
Guaidó.
The Bahamas are a group of about seven hundred islands and cays in
the western Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the United States. North
Andros is the largest island at 3,439 km², about 230 km southeast of
Florida in the United States. The Bimini Islands are to the northwest.
To the north lies Grand Bahama Island, where the country's second
largest city, Freeport, is located. Great Abaco Island is adjacent to
the east. The second largest island, Great Inagua, is in the southern
part. Other major islands include Eleuthera, Cat, San Salvador, Acklins,
Crooked, and Mayaguana. Nassau is the capital and largest city, located
on New Providence. Most of the country is flat, although the islands
have a very irregular coastline. The highest point in the country is
Mount Alvernia, 63 meters above sea level, located on Alvernia Island.
With a land area of 13,880 km², the Bahamas is about the size of
Montenegro in Europe or slightly more than the size of Qatar in Asia. It
has an exclusive economic zone in the Atlantic Ocean of about 654,715
km².
According to the Köppen climate classification, the climate of the
Bahamas is mostly tropical savanna or Aw, with a warm, humid season and
a hot, dry season. The low latitude, warm tropical Gulf Stream, and low
altitude give the Bahamas a warm, winterless climate.
As in most
tropical climates, seasonal rainfall follows the sun, with summer being
the rainiest season. There is only a 7 °C (13 °F) difference between the
warmest and coldest month on most of the Bahamian islands. Every few
decades, low temperatures can drop below 10 °C (50 °F) for a few hours
when a strong cold wave descends from the North American subcontinent;
however, a frost or freeze has never been recorded in the Bahamas. Only
once in history has snow been seen in the air anywhere in the Bahamas,
this occurred in Freeport on January 19, 1977, when snow mixed with rain
was seen in the air for a short time.
The Bahamas are often sunny
and dry for long periods of time, and average more than 3,000 hours or
340 days of sunlight per year. Much of the natural vegetation is
tropical scrub, and cacti and succulents are common in the landscapes.
The Bahamas are occasionally affected by tropical storms and
hurricanes. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew passed just north of the islands,
and Hurricane Floyd passed close to the east in 1999. Hurricane Dorian
in 2019 passed over the archipelago with destructive Category 5 force,
with sustained winds of 298 km/h and gusts of up to 350 km/h, becoming
the most powerful tropical cyclone on record to hit the northwestern
islands of Grand Bahama and Great Abaco.
The Bahamas are thought to have formed about 200 million years ago,
when Pangaea began to break apart. Today, it survives as an archipelago
containing more than 700 islands and cays, fringed by various coral
reefs. The limestone that makes up the banks has been accumulating since
at least the Cretaceous, and perhaps as early as the Jurassic; today,
the total thickness beneath the Great Bahama Bank exceeds 4.5 kilometers
(2.8 miles). Since the limestone was deposited in shallow water, the
only way to explain this enormous column is to estimate that the entire
shelf has sunk under its own weight at a rate of about 3.
The
Bahamas are part of the Lucayan Archipelago, which extends into the
Turks and Caicos Islands, Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank, and Christmas
Bank. The Bahamas Shelf, which includes the Bahamas, southern Florida,
northern Cuba, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Blake Plateau, was
formed about 150 Ma ago, shortly after the formation of the North
Atlantic. The 6.4 km thick limestones that predominate in the Bahamas
date from the Cretaceous. These limestones would have been deposited in
shallow seas, presumably a stretched and thinned portion of the North
American continental crust. The sediments were formed at about the same
rate as the lower crust sank due to the added weight. Thus, the entire
area consisted of a large marine plain with some islands. Then, by 80
Ma, the area was inundated by the Gulf Stream. This led to the drowning
of the Blake Plateau, the separation of the Bahamas from Cuba and
Florida, the separation of the southeastern Bahamas into separate banks,
the creation of the Cay Sal Bank and the Little and Great Bahamas Banks.
Sedimentation of the "carbonate factory" of each bank, or atoll,
continues today at a rate of about 20 mm (0.79 in) per kyr. Coral reefs
form the "retaining walls" of these atolls, within which oolites and
pellets are formed.
Coral growth was greatest throughout the
Tertiary, until the beginning of the glaciations, and hence such
deposits are most abundant below 36 m depth. In fact, there is an
ancient extinct reef half a kilometer from the present one, at 30 m
below sea level. Oolites form when ocean water penetrates shallow banks,
increasing the temperature by about 3 °C (5.4 °F) and salinity by 0.5%.
Cemented ooids are called grapestones. Giant stromatolites are also
found in the Exuma Cays.
Changes in sea level caused sea level to
fall, causing wind-blown oolite to form cross-bedded sand dunes. The
overlapping dunes form oolitic ridges, which are rapidly lithified by
rainwater, called aeolianite. Most islands have ridges ranging from 30
to 45 m, although Cat Island has a 60 m high ridge. The terrain between
the ridges favors the formation of lakes and swamps.
Dissolution
weathering of limestone results in the "Bahamas Karst" topography. This
includes chasms, blue holes such as Dean's Blue Hole, sinkholes, beach
rock such as the Bimini Road ("pavements of Atlantis"), limestone crust,
caves due to the lack of rivers, and sea caves. Several blue holes are
aligned along the South Andros fault line. Tidal flats and tidal creeks
are common, but the most impressive drainage patterns are formed by
troughs and canyons such as the Grand Canyon of the Bahamas, with
evidence of turbidity currents and turbidite deposition.
The
islands' stratigraphy is formed by the middle Pleistocene Owl's Hole
Formation, overlain by the late Pleistocene Grotto Beach Formation, and
then by the Holocene Rice Bay Formation. However, these units are not
necessarily stacked on top of each other, but may lie laterally. The
oldest formation, Owl's Hole, is overlain by a terra rosa paleosol, as
is Grotto Beach, unless eroded. The Grotto Beach Formation is the most
widespread.
Currently, the state is divided into 31 districts (English districts). This system was created in 1996, and until 1999 there were 23 districts.
In 2005, the country had a population of 301,790 inhabitants, of whom the majority are black (82%), with whites being the largest minority (15%). The official language is English, spoken by almost the entire population, although "patois" (pronounced "patuá") is popular. A small number of Haitian immigrants speak Creole. Spanish is spoken by Cuban and Dominican immigrants.
Education in the Bahamas is compulsory for ages 5 to 16. In 2003, the
school enrolment rate was 92% and the literacy rate was 95.5%. The
government operates 158 of the Bahamas' 210 primary and secondary
schools. 101 The other 55 schools are private. Enrolment in public
primary and secondary schools is 50,332, with over 16,000 attending
private schools. Some public schools lack basic educational materials
and are overcrowded. The Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) has been
instrumental in creating some reform for its ailing education systems.
The archipelago has an Education Act that was revised in 1996 and is
under the control of the Prime Minister. Since 1996, the Education Act
provides that education is free for children between the ages of 5 and
16. The University of the Bahamas, established in Nassau in 1974,
offers programs leading to bachelor's and associate degrees. Several
non-Bahamian universities also offer higher education programs in the
country. Generally, the academic year runs from late August or early
September to late May or early June for primary and secondary schools
and late April/early May for university.
Education in the Bahamas
includes primary, secondary and tertiary education, to which pre-schools
have recently been added. All education provided to students along with
its policies are carried out by the Ministry of Education, Sports and
Culture.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is
headed by the Minister of Education, the Honourable Mr. Jeff Lloyd. His
job is to oversee the 158 of the 210 primary and secondary schools in
the Bahamas. The other 55 schools are private. Enrolment for state
primary and secondary schools is 50,332, with over 16,000 students
attending private schools as of January 2019. The Minister of Education
strictly manages policies and guidelines that pertain to private and
public schools. He is assisted by the Permanent Secretary, Ms. Donella
Bodie, and the Director of Education, Mr. Marcellus Taylor, who heads
the Department of Education, which is basically in charge of the
day-to-day operations of all schools, ensuring that all protocols,
procedures and guidelines are followed.
The Bahamas is a predominantly Christian country, with a variety of
Christian denominations. Since English colonization, the majority of
Bahamians adhere to various Protestant denominations, with
Baptist/Evangelical churches, Pentecostalism, Adventism and Methodism at
the top. But with the presence of the Catholic Church and other
minorities as well. There is no state religion in the Bahamas, and in
general there is free practice of religious beliefs.
Statistically, the main Protestant denominations are Baptist/Evangelical
(35%), Anglican (15%), Pentecostal (13%), Seventh-day Adventist (5%) and
Methodist (4%). Although many unaffiliated Protestant congregations are
almost exclusively black, most mainstream churches are racially
integrated.
There is a significant Catholic Christian population
(14%) and a small population of Greek Orthodox Christians. There are
also smaller communities of Jews, Bahá'ís, Jehovah's Witnesses, and
Muslims. A small number of Bahamians and Haitians, particularly those
living in the Family Islands, practice Obeah, a form of African
shamanism. A small number of citizens identify as Rastafarians. Some
members of the small resident Guyanese and Indian populations practice
Hinduism and other South Asian religions.
Over 91% of the
Bahamian population profess a religion, and anecdotal evidence suggests
that most attend religious services regularly.
The Bahamian
Constitution provides for religious freedom and prohibits discrimination
on the basis of belief. The country has no state religion, although the
preamble to its constitution mentions "Christian values."
Obeah
or Obayi, a range of African beliefs, is illegal in the Bahamas and is
punishable by jail time. However, this law is traditionally not
enforced. Similarly, laws prohibiting the publication of blasphemy (with
exceptions for opinions "expressed in good faith and in decent
language") are also not enforced.
According to the US State
Department, there had been no significant infringements or abuses of
religious freedom in the Bahamas as of 2017.
The official language of the Bahamas is English. Many people speak an
English-based creole language called Bahamian dialect (known simply as
"dialect") or "Bahamian". Laurent Gibbs, a Bahamian writer and actor,
was the first to coin the latter name in a poem and has since promoted
its use. Both are used as autoglossonyms. Haitian Creole, a French-based
creole language, is spoken by Haitians and their descendants, who make
up about 25% of the total population. It is known simply as Creole to
differentiate it from Bahamian English.
Bahamian Creole, also
known as Bahamian dialect, is spoken by both white and black Bahamians,
although in slightly different forms. The so-called Bahamian dialect
also tends to be more prevalent in certain areas of the Bahamas. Islands
that were settled earlier or have a historically large Afro-Bahamian
population have a higher concentration of individuals exhibiting
creolized speech; the dialect is more prevalent in urban areas.
Individual speakers are fluent in both minor and major dialect forms.
The Bahamian dialect shares similar traits with other English-based
Caribbean creoles, such as those of Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and
Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Guyana, and the Virgin Islands. There is also a very
significant link between Bahamian and the Gullah language of South
Carolina in the United States, as many Bahamians are descended from
enslaved blacks brought to the islands from the Gullah region following
the American Revolution.
Compared to many of the anglophone or
English-derived languages of the Caribbean region, research on
Bahamian English is limited. This lack of research on Bahamian English
is perhaps due to the fact that for many years Bahamians have assumed
that this language is simply a variety of English. However, academic
research shows that this is not the case. In fact, there is much
socio-historical and linguistic evidence to support the proposition that
it is a distinct creole language.
Spanish is spoken by a minority
of immigrants of Hispanic American origin such as Cubans and is
compulsory in the Bahamian educational system at the primary and
secondary school level. Although the educational offer of foreign
languages is basically limited to Spanish and French, other languages
such as German, Italian and Haitian Creole are taught in some private
schools.
The Bahamas is a stable developing country, dependent on a
tourism-based economy and banking activities. Tourism alone accounts for
more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the
archipelago's workforce. Steady growth in tourism and a boom in hotel,
resort and new residential construction had led to solid GDP growth in
recent years, but the downturn in the United States economy and the
attacks of September 11, 2001 also caused a setback in the local economy
between 2001 and 2003.
Financial services are the second largest
sector of the economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since
December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the
financial sector, many international businesses have left the country.
Industry and agriculture contribute about one-tenth of GDP and show
little growth despite government incentives for these sectors. In short,
growth depends on the functioning of the tourism sector, which depends
on growth in the United States, the origin of more than 80% of visitors.
In addition to tourism and banking activities, the government supports
the development of a "third pillar", trade.
The Bahamas is a net food importer, importing nearly 90% of its food
supply. Of the food imports, 80% comes from the United States.
Only 0.8% of the Bahamas' land area is arable, about 140 km2. Most of
the arable land is on the islands of New Providence, Abaco, Andros and
Grand Bahama; challenges facing Bahamian agriculture include limited
freshwater resources for irrigation, difficulties in transporting goods
between the islands of the archipelago, lack of human capital, the small
size of the country (which makes it vulnerable to economic crises) and
risks of contamination by agrochemicals. Climate change is another major
problem for agriculture and fisheries, due to the negative effects of
the intensification of severe weather events and rising ocean
temperatures; as a flat country and a small developing island state, the
Bahamas is particularly vulnerable.
Economist Virgil Henry Storr
writes that "because of the country's poor soil, agriculture has never
really been a viable enterprise in the Bahamas" and that "Bahamian
settlers and citizens often found that, despite their early successes
with this or that crop, they were eventually unable to compete in
foreign markets or with foreign producers in domestic markets on either
quality or cost." For example, the soil of the Bahamas is not suitable
for growing sugar.” Storr argues that much of the Bahamas’ economic
history since 1492 has been influenced by illegal or extralegal
activities, such as piracy and privateering, shipwrecking, blockade
running during the American Civil War, rum running to the United States
during Prohibition, and the current drug trade.
In the 19th
century, the pineapple industry was by far the most important crop in
the Bahamas, beginning soon after the abolition of slavery and peaking
between 1885 and 1895; thereafter, it declined precipitously. As the
pineapple industry intensified, the most productive lands were
consolidated into the hands of an “absentee merchant-owner class”
dominated by partnerships and limited companies, and the Bahamas became
a monoculture in which pineapples were grown to the exclusion of other
crops. This economic structure, coupled with the 18-month delay between
the Planting and harvesting pineapples, and the risks of transportation
and spoilage, put pressure on sharecroppers. The Bahamian pineapple
industry declined for several reasons, including the U.S. invasion of
Hawaii and the McKinley Tariff of 1897, soil depletion and plant
diseases in Abaco and northern Eleuthera, and overproduction. Pineapple
canneries operated in Nassau from 1876, and later expanded to Eleuthera;
together, by 1900, they processed up to 75,000 cases of canned
pineapples each season.
According to a 2016 study, it is
plausible that the Bahamas "experiences transient food insecurity,"
partly due to the high percentage of imported food and partly because
the country's agricultural sector has declined. Food supplies vary
significantly from island to island; In rural East Grand Bahama, about
60% of households with children and 69% of households without children
were food secure. The availability of farmers' markets,
community-supported agriculture and community gardens have been
suggested as a measure that could positively impact rural development
and food security in The Bahamas. In the 2020-21 budget, the government
allocated $9 million to food security, although the president of the
Bahamas Agribusiness Group called for this amount to be increased
tenfold, and for the government to take steps to reduce food import
costs by 40%.
Monetary policy remained neutral in 2019, with the Central Bank of
the Bahamas holding its policy discount rate steady at 4.0%. The
highlight of monetary developments in 2020 was a marked build-up of
banking sector liquidity and external resources, which were reinforced
by the Government's external borrowing. Excess liquid assets of the
banking sector increased by 18.5% compared to 2019.
Broad money
supply increased by 2.7% to B$597.8 million. Savings deposits grew by
9.2%, slower than the 14.7% of the previous year. There was a further
extension of the decline in term deposits, from 5.2% in 2019 to 7.4% in
2020. Domestic credit reversed from a small increase of 0.4% in 2019 to
a decrease of 4.0% in 2020. Government borrowing from the domestic
banking sector contracted as it used external borrowing to reduce local
debt. Credit to the private sector declined by 2.3%, as banks took a
conservative approach to lending amid the pandemic-induced slowdown.
Credit to the personal sector, which accounts for more than 72% of the
total, fell by 1.4%, while credit to the construction sector registered
a modest increase.
The weighted average interest rate spread
narrowed by 5 basis points to 9.89%. The interest rate on loans fell by
7 basis points to 10.39%, while the rate on deposits fell by 12 basis
points to 0.45%.
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.
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.
The flag features a black equilateral triangle on the mast side,
superimposed on a background composed of three equal horizontal stripes
in two colors, gold and aquamarine. The colors of the Bahamian flag
symbolize the image and aspirations of the Bahamian people. The design
reflects the aspects of the natural environment (sun, sand and sea) and
economic and social development.
The symbolism of the flag is as
follows: Black, a strong color, represents the vigor and strength of a
united people. The triangle pointing towards the body of the flag
represents the determination of the Bahamian people to develop and
possess the rich resources of sun and sea, symbolized by gold and
aquamarine, respectively.
Coat of Arms
The coat of arms of the
Bahamas contains the national symbols as its focal point. The shield is
flanked on the sides by an Atlantic marlin or sailfish and a Caribbean
flamingo, the national animals of the Bahamas. The former is found in
the sea and the latter, on land, indicating the geography of the
islands.
At the top of the shield is a shell, representing the
varied marine life of the island chain, superimposed on a helmet. Below
this is the royal shield, and its main symbol is a depiction of
Christopher Columbus' ship Santa Maria, shown sailing under the sun.
Along the bottom, beneath the shield, is a legend with the national
motto:
"Onward, Upward, Onward, Together."
The national sport is cricket, which has been played in the Bahamas
since 1846 and is the oldest sport currently played in the country. The
Bahamas Cricket Association was formed in 1936, and from the 1940s to
the 1970s, cricket was played by many Bahamians. The Bahamas is not part
of the West Indies Cricket Board, so players cannot be part of the West
Indies cricket team. In the late 1970s, the game began to decline in the
country, as teachers, who had previously come from the United Kingdom
with a passion for cricket, were replaced by those trained in the United
States.
Bahamian physical education teachers were unfamiliar with
the game and instead taught athletics, basketball, baseball, softball,
volleyball and soccer, where primary and secondary schools compete
against each other. Today, cricket is still a sport played by some of
the country's inhabitants and immigrants, usually from Jamaica, Guyana,
Trinidad and Barbados. Cricket is played on Saturdays and Sundays at
Windsor Park and Haynes Oval in Nassau, Bahamas, while the main and only
cricket ground on Grand Bahama is the Lucaya Cricket Oval.
In July, the islands' most important fishing tournament takes place,
where the most skilled inhabitants amaze tourists with their speed and
precision. Also in September, music and dance tournaments are held,
where the magnificent strokes of Afro music and their mythical dances
are put to the test.
Of course, with the beauty of the landscape
and its wonderful corals, diving and snorkelling are the most popular
sports. In addition, all kinds of water sports are practiced. To feel
more protected and safe, the natives offer themselves as guides both in
the depths and on the islands. Beach soccer is a sport in the islands,
with the team being one of the best in the Americas. They will host the
next Beach Soccer World Cup.
The only other sporting event that began before cricket was horse
racing, which began in 1796. The most popular spectator sports are those
imported from the United States, such as basketball, American football,
and baseball, and not those from the British Isles, due to the country's
proximity to the United States, unlike its Caribbean counterparts, where
cricket, soccer, and netball have proven more popular.
Over the
years, American football has become much more popular than soccer. The
Bahamas American Football Federation has created leagues for teenagers
and adults. However, soccer, as it is commonly known in the country,
remains a very popular sport among high school students. The leagues are
governed by the Bahamas Football Association. In 2013, the Bahamas
government worked closely with London-based Tottenham Hotspur to promote
the sport in the country, as well as to promote the Bahamas in the
European market. In 2013, the Spurs became the first Premier League club
to play an exhibition match in the Bahamas, facing the Jamaican men's
national team. Joe Lewis, the club's owner, resides in the Bahamas.
Also of note is Tonique Williams-Darling, Olympic champion in Athens
2004.
Two Bahamian players have been selected number one in the
NBA draft: Mychal Thompson and Deandre Ayton, making Thompson the first
non-American player to do so. Another notable Bahamian basketball player
is Buddy Hield, who was selected sixth in the 2016 NBA draft.
However, in football, the national team has not had the same success, as
it is considered one of the weakest in Concacaf and in the world. Within
the country, there is the BFA League, the first division of Bahamian
football. It was founded in 1992 and the most successful team is the IM
Bears with 7 titles, followed by Cavalier FC with 4.