The History of The Bahamas
The Islands of the Bahamas are comprised of 2,000 cays and 700 islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the U.S. State of Florida and north of Cuba. A majority of the islands in the archipelago are uninhabited, but there are 14 main islands that serve as hubs to the remaining 686; New Providence Island, Grand Bahama Island, and the “Out Islands” of Abacos, Acklins/Crooked Island, Andros, Berry Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Eleuthera/Harbour Island, Exumas, Inagua, Long Island, Mayaguana, and San Salvador. New Providence is the most populous island, and is home to the Bahamian capital of Nassau.
The Bahamas have a rich history that is deeply rooted in the exploration and pirate years of the 16th and 17th centuries. Christopher Columbus was the first European to stumble upon the islands; during his first voyage to the “New World” in 1492, the famed explorer set foot on San Salvador, and legend has it that Columbus, observing the shallow waters surrounding the islands, said “baja mar” (shallow sea), thus bringing about the name Bahamas. Throughout the next three centuries following Columbus’ discovery, the Bahamas would become a popular hide-out for pirates such as Sir Francis Drake and Blackbeard, as well as a refuge for religious and political dissenters, including the English Puritan group named the “Eleutheran Adventurers,” and British loyalists during the American Revolution. Events in the U.S. greatly affected the economy of the Islands of the Bahamas; the U.S. Civil War from 1861 to 1865 and the Prohibition of 1919 provided cash flow in the smuggling of British exports such as cotton and whisky. When the Prohibition ended in 1934, the economy of the Islands subsequently crashed with the loss of alcohol related revenue. In 1961, Cuba closed its doors to American tourists, and the Islands of the Bahamas saw a great opportunity for economic growth. The Islands became widely advertised as the perfect resort destination for their natural tropical beauty and close proximity to the U.S. The Bahamian government undertook several major projects to increase tourist attraction, including dredging Nassau’s harbor so that it could hold six cruise ships at a time, and building a bridge between Nassau and Paradise Island. These improvements increased revenue and stabilized the Islands’ economy. On July 10, 1973, the Bahamas became the independent Commonwealth of The Bahamas, ending 325 years of British rule. Since then, residents of the Bahamas celebrate July 10th as Bahamian Independence Day.
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