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Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Motto: "Forward, Upward, Onward, Together"
The Bahamas on the globe (Americas centered).svg Location in the Western Hemisphere
Bahamas, The-CIA WFB Map.png The Bahamas in its region
Capital
and largest city
 Nassau
25°04′41″N 77°20′19″W / 25.07806°N 77.33861°W / 25.07806; -77.33861
Official languages English
Vernacular language Bahamian Creole
Ethnic groups
(2020)
  • 90.6% Black
  • 4.7% White
  • 2.1% mixed
  • 1.9% other
  • 0.7% unspecified
Religion
(2020)
Demonym(s) Bahamian
Government Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch
 Charles III
Cynthia A. Pratt
Philip Davis
Legislature Parliament
Senate
House of Assembly
Independence 
• Realm
 10 July 1973
Area
• Total
 13,943 km2 (5,383 sq mi) (155th)
• Water (%)
 28%
Population
• 2023 census
 412,628
• Density
 25.21/km2 (65.3/sq mi) (181st)
GDP (PPP) 2024 estimate
• Total
 Increase $18.989 billion (153rd)
• Per capita
 Increase $46,524 (43rd)
GDP (nominal) 2024 estimate
• Total
 Increase $14.390 billion (146th)
• Per capita
 Increase $35,257 (29th)
HDI (2022) Increase 0.820
very high · 57th
Currency Bahamian dollar (BSD)
United States dollar (USD)
Time zone UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)
 UTC−4 (EDT)
Driving side left
Calling code +1 242
ISO 3166 code BS
Internet TLD .bs
  1. Also referred to as Bahamian

The Bahamas ( bə-HAH-məz), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and 88% of its population. The archipelagic country consists of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola (split between the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the U.S. state of Florida, and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes The Bahamas' territory as encompassing 180,000 sq mi (470,000 km2) of ocean space.

History

Lucayanss were the first people to arrive in the Bahamas. They moved into the southern Bahamas from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 11th century AD, having come there from South America. They came to be known as the Lucayan. About 30,000 Lucayan lived the Bahamas when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. Columbus' first landfall in the New World was on an island named San Salvador, which some scholars believe to be present-day San Salvador Island.

The Spanish forced much of the Lucayan population to move to Hispaniola. They were used for forced labour. This and the exposure to foreign diseases led to most of the population of the Bahamas dying. Smallpox alone wiped out half of the population in what is now the Bahamas.

In 1670, King Charles II rented out the islands to the Carolinas, along with rights of trading, tax, and governing the country. During this time, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates, including the infamous Blackbeard. To restore proper government, Britain made the Bahamas a crown colony in 1718. The first governor was Woodes Rogers.

After the American War of Independence, the British resettled some 7,300 Loyalists and their slaves in the Bahamas from New York, Florida, and the Carolinas. The first group of loyalists left St. Augustine in East Florida in September 1783. These Loyalists established plantations on several islands. British Americans were outnumbered by the African-American slaves they brought with them, and ethnic Europeans remained a minority in the territory. The Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy. After the American Revolutionary War, the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists to The Bahamas; they took enslaved people with them and established plantations on land grants.

The country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973, led by Sir Lynden O. Pindling. It shares its monarch with the other Commonwealth realms.

People

See also: List of Bahamian people and White Bahamian
DNA estimates of The Bahamas
Ethnicity % approx.
Black African
  
 70%
Mulatto
  
 13.8%
White
  
 12.4%
Asian
  
 3.8%

Nearly 500,000 people live in the Bahamas. The ethnic groups of the population is:
82% African descent
15% European & Mixed descent
3% Asian and other.

Languages

The official language of the Bahamas is English, but they also speak a local dialect called Bahamianese. The Bahamian dialect is based based on the West Country England accents along with South Hiberno English dialects with strong influences from West African languages.

Geography and climate

See also: List of cities in the Bahamas

In 1864 the Governor of the Bahamas reported that there were 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks in the colony.

The closest island to the United States is Bimini. The southeasternmost island is Inagua. The largest island is Andros Island. Nassau, capital city of The Bahamas, is on the island of New Providence.

All the islands are low and flat. The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia on Cat Island. It is 63 metres (207 ft) high.

Climate

The climate of The Bahamas is subtropical to tropical. The Gulf Stream can be very dangerous in the summer and autumn. This is when hurricanes pass near or through the islands. Hurricane Andrew hit the northern islands during the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Floyd hit most of the islands during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season.

There has never been a freeze reported in The Bahamas. The temperature can fall as low as 2–3 °C (35.6–37.4 °F).

Districts

The Bahamas are divided into 32 districts and the town of New Providence.

The districts are:

Symbols

The Bahamian flag was adopted in 1973. Its colours symbolise the strength of the Bahamian people; its design reflects aspects of the natural environment (sun and sea) and economic and social development. The flag is a black equilateral triangle against the mast, superimposed on a horizontal background made up of three equal stripes of aquamarine, gold and aquamarine.

The coat of arms of The Bahamas contains a shield with the national symbols as its focal point. The shield is supported by a marlin and a flamingo, which are the national animals of The Bahamas. The flamingo is located on the land, and the marlin on the sea, indicating the geography of the islands.

On top of the shield is a conch shell, which represents the marine life of the island chain. The conch shell rests on a helmet. Below this is the actual shield, the main symbol of which is a ship representing the Santa María of Christopher Columbus, shown sailing beneath the sun. Along the bottom, below the shield appears a banner upon which is the national motto:

Forward, Upward, Onward Together.

The national flower of The Bahamas is the yellow elder, as it is endemic to the Bahama islands and it blooms throughout the year.

Selection of the yellow elder over many other flowers was made through the combined popular vote of members of all four of New Providence's garden clubs of the 1970s—the Nassau Garden Club, the Carver Garden Club, the International Garden Club and the YWCA Garden Club. They reasoned that other flowers grown there—such as the bougainvillea, hibiscus and poinciana—had already been chosen as the national flowers of other countries. The yellow elder, on the other hand, was unclaimed by other countries (although it is now also the national flower of the United States Virgin Islands) and also the yellow elder is native to the family islands.

Bahamian cuisine

Main article: Bahamian cuisine

Bahamian cuisine includes seafood such as fish, shellfish, lobster, crab, and conch, as well as tropical fruits, rice, peas, pigeon peas, and pork. Popular seasonings commonly used in dishes include chilies (hot pepper), lime, tomatoes, onions, garlic, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, rum, and coconut. Rum-based beverages are popular on the islands. Since the Bahamas consist of a multitude of islands, notable culinary variations exist.

Bahamian cuisine is somewhat related to that of the American South, with dishes held in common such as "fish 'n' grits".

Bahamians enjoy many soups popular throughout the Caribbean including conch chowder or stewed conch, stewed fish and split pea soup (made with ham). Peas are used in various soups, including a soup made with dumplings and salt beef.

Seafood is a staple in the Bahamas. Conch, a large tropical mollusk (sea snail) with firm, white flesh, is the national dish of the Bahamas. Conch can be prepared in a number of ways: served raw with lime juice, raw vegetables and even fruit called conch salad. It can be steamed, stewed, deep-fried ("cracked conch" or conch fritters), used in soups (especially conch chowder), or served in salads. Other popular shellfish are crab (including the Florida stone crab), which is often served baked, or another dish called crab fat and dough.

Popular meat dishes are made with chicken, pork, and goat (also referred to as mutton). Iguana is still hunted and eaten, especially in the outlying islands, although some species, such as the Northern Bahamian rock iguana, are endangered.

Bahamian cuisine incorporates many tropical fruits. Guavas are used to make duff (dessert). Ice cream is popular, including fruit flavors such as soursop. Puddings are eaten, including a sapodilla pudding. Papaya (called pawpaw or melon tree) is the most famous Bahamian fruit and is used for desserts, chutneys, "Goombay" marmalade (made with papaya, pineapple, and green ginger), or simply eaten fresh at breakfast. Papaya is also used as a meat tenderizer, and in tropical drinks such as the Bahama Mama. Melons, pineapples, passion fruit, and mangoes are also grown in America.

Military

The Bahamas does not have an army or an air force. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) is the navy. The Defence Force has a fleet of 26 coastal and inshore patrol craft along with 2 aircraft and over 850 personnel including 65 officers and 74 women.

Related pages

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Bahamas para niños

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