Bahamas

The Bahamas

Pure white sandy beaches and crystal clear seas sum up the Bahamas. The Bahamas is a country consisting of 29 islands and 661 cays, not to mention the additional 2,387 rocks.

Officially the Bahamas are known as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and are situated in the clear waters of the Atlantic, north of Cuba and the Caribbean Sea.

History of the Bahamas

The Bahamas were inhabited by the Taino people during the 7th Century AD. These people were known as the Lucayans and were the occupiers of the Bahamas when Christopher Columbus first landed on the island of San Salvador in 1492.

Subsequently, many of the Lucayan people were captured by the Spaniards and sold into slavery. Eventually the Lucayan people ceased to exist on the islands and the Bahamas remained uninhabited until the mid 17th Century when the Elutherian Adventurers, a group of English religious dissidents from Burmuda, settled there on the island which became known as Eleuthera.

The Bahamas became a haven for pirates, including the infamous Blackbeard, until the Bahamas were made a British crown colony in 1718.

After the British abolished the slave trade in 1807, the Bahamas were settled by many liberated Africans. The Bahamas finally gained full independence in 1973, although they still remain part of the Commonwealth.

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Geography of the Bahamas

The majority of the Bahama Islands are low and flat, with the highest point being that of Mount Alvernia on Cat Island, which stands at 63 metres.

Climate of the Bahamas

The Bahamas has a subtropical climate to tropical climate and overall benefits from excellent weather most of the year although hurricanes can hit the islands during the summer and autumn.

Islands of the Bahamas