The Bahamas facts for kids

Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Forward, Upward, Onward, Together"
Anthem: "March On, Bahamaland" Royal anthem: "God Save the Queen"
Capital and largest city	Nassau
Official languages	English
Ethnic groups	85% African Bahamians 12% European Bahamians 3% Asians and Hispanic
Demonym(s)	Bahamian
Government	Unitary Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy.
• Monarch	Elizabeth II
• Governor-General	Dame Marguerite Pindling
• Prime Minister	Perry Christie
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Assembly
Independence
• from the United Kingdom	July 10, 1973
Area
• Total	13,878 km2 (5,358 sq mi) (160th)
• Water (%)	28%
Population
• 2010 estimate	353,658 (177th)
• 1990 census	254,685
• Density	23.27/km2 (60.3/sq mi) (181st)
GDP (PPP)	2011 estimate
• Total	$9.136 billion
• Per capita	$26,225
GDP (nominal)	2011 estimate
• Total	$7.787 billion
• Per capita	$22,352
HDI (2011)	0.771 high · 43rd
Currency	Bahamian dollar (BSD)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+1-242
ISO 3166 code	BS
Internet TLD	.bs

The Bahamas (officially called Commonwealth of The Bahamas) is a group of islands in the West Indies. The country's capital, Nassau, is on New Providence Island.

The Taino were the first people living there. In 1492, Christopher Columbus found the Americas by landing on another of the islands, San Salvador. The Eleutheran Adventurers soon came along, making a home in Eleuthera.

The islands' mostly black population speaks English, the country's main language.

The Bahamas are a popular place for people to visit for holidays, the 700 islands and cays attract a large number of visitors from nearby America, as well as Europe and other countries.

History

Taínos 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.

People

See also: List of Bahamian people and White Bahamian

Nearly 500,000 people live in the Bahamas. The ethnic groups of the population is:
82.1% African descent
15.4% European descent
2.5% Asian and other.

DNA estimates of The Bahamas
Ethnicity			% approx.
Black African			70%
Mulatto			13.8%
White			12.4%
Asian			3.8%

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:

Acklins Berry Islands Bimini Black Point, Exuma Cat Island Central Abaco Central Andros Central Eleuthera City of Freeport, Grand Bahama Crooked Island East Grand Bahama Exuma Grand Cay, Abaco Harbour Island, Eleuthera Hope Town, Abaco Inagua Long Island

Mangrove Cay, Andros Mayaguana Moore's Island, Abaco North Abaco North Andros North Eleuthera Ragged Island Rum Cay San Salvador South Abaco South Andros South Eleuthera Spanish Wells, Eleuthera West Grand Bahama Green Turtle Cay (not shown on map)

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

• Bahamas at the Olympics
• Bahamas national football team
• List of rivers of the Bahamas

Images for kids

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  A depiction of Columbus' first landing, claiming possession of the New World for Spain in caravels; the Niña and the Pinta, on Watling Island, an island of The Bahamas that the natives called Guanahani and that he named San Salvador, on 12 October 1492.

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  Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor and Governor of the Bahamas from 1940 to 1945

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  Sign at the entrance of the Sir Roland Symonette Park in North Eleuthera district commemorating Sir Roland Theodore Symonette, the Bahamas' first Premier

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  The Bahamas from space. NASA Aqua satellite image, 2009

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  Damaged homes in the Bahamas in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma in 2005

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  The Bahamian Parliament, located in Nassau.

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  HMBS Nassau (P-61)

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  Districts of the Bahamas.

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  Cruise ships in Nassau Harbour

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  A proportional representation of the Bahamas exports.

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  Afro-Bahamian children at a local school

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  Junkanoo celebration in Nassau