View source for The Bahamas

{{Short description|Country in North America}}
{{Redirect2|Bahama|Bahamas}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Commonwealth of The Bahamas
| native_name            =
| common_name            = The Bahamas
| image_flag             = Flag of the Bahamas.svg
| flag_type              = [[Flag of the Bahamas|Flag]]
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Bahamas.svg
| coa_size               = 75
| symbol_type            = [[Coat of arms of the Bahamas|Coat of arms]]
| national_motto         = "Forward, Upward, Onward, Together"
| national_anthem        = "[[March On, Bahamaland]]"<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|[[File:National anthem of the Bahamas.oga]]}}</div>
| royal_anthem           = "[[God Save the King]]"<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Bahamas, The|section=Government|access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:U.S. Navy Band - God Save the King.oga]]</div>
| image_map              = {{switcher | [[File:The Bahamas on the globe (Americas centered).svg|frameless]] | Location in the Western Hemisphere | [[File:Bahamas, The-CIA WFB Map.png|frameless]] | The Bahamas in its region }}
| image_map2             =
| capital                = [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|25|04|41|N|77|20|19|W|type:city}}
| largest_city           = capital
| official_languages     = [[Bahamian English|English]]
| languages_type         = [[Vernacular language]]
| languages              = [[Bahamian Creole]]
| ethnic_groups          = {{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap;
|90.6% [[Afro-Bahamians|Black]]
|4.7% [[White Bahamian|White]]
|2.1% [[Mixed Race|mixed]]
|1.9% [[Demographics of the Bahamas#Ethnic groups|other]]
|0.7% unspecified<ref name="cia.gov"/><ref name="statistics">[http://statistics.bahamas.gov.bs/download/095261300.pdf Bahamas Department of Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209035543/http://statistics.bahamas.gov.bs/download/095261300.pdf |date=9 December 2015 }}, PDF document retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref>
}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2020
| religion               = {{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap;
|{{Tree list}}
* 93.0% [[Christianity]]
** 75.1% [[Protestantism]]
** 17.9% other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
|4.5% [[Irreligion|no religion]]
|1.9% [[folk religion]]s
|0.6% other
}}
| religion_year          = 2020
| religion_ref           = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=17c|title=National Profiles|access-date=8 June 2023|archive-date=3 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603103217/https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=17c|url-status=live}}</ref>
| demonym                = [[Bahamians|Bahamian]]
| government_type        = Unitary parliamentary [[constitutional monarchy]]<ref name="A12">{{cite web|title=•General situation and trends|work=[[Pan American Health Organization]]|url=http://www.paho.org/english/dd/ais/cp_044.htm|access-date=1 August 2011|archive-date=27 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427030536/http://www1.paho.org/english/dd/ais/cp_044.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="A13">{{cite news|title=Mission to Long Island in the Bahamas|work=Evangelical Association of the Caribbean|url=http://www.caribbeanevangelical.org/newsevents/oldarticles.htm|access-date=1 August 2011|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083539/http://www.caribbeanevangelical.org/newsevents/oldarticles.htm?id=82|url-status=live}}</ref>
| leader_title1          = [[Monarchy of the Bahamas|Monarch]]
| leader_name1           = [[Charles III]]
| leader_title2          = {{nowrap|[[Governor-General of the Bahamas|Governor-General]]}}
| leader_name2           = [[Cynthia A. Pratt]]
| leader_title3          = [[Prime Minister of the Bahamas|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name3           = [[Philip Davis (Bahamian politician)|Philip Davis]]
| legislature            = [[Parliament of the Bahamas|Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[Senate of the Bahamas|Senate]]
| lower_house            = [[House of Assembly of the Bahamas|House of Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[Independence]]
| sovereignty_note       = from the [[United Kingdom]]
| established_event1     = [[Commonwealth realm|Realm]]
| established_date1      = 10 July 1973<ref name="bbc_Bahamas">{{cite news|date=9 July 1973|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/9/newsid_2498000/2498835.stm|title=1973: Bahamas' sun sets on British Empire|publisher=BBC News|access-date=1 May 2009|archive-date=18 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918050850/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/9/newsid_2498000/2498835.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
| area_km2               = 13,943
| area_rank              = 155th <!-- Should match the list it links to-->
| area_sq_mi             = 5358 <!-- Do not remove [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| percent_water          = 28%
| population_estimate    =
| population_census      = 412,628<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/population-with-un-projections?tab=table&time=2023|title=Our World in Data}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2023
| population_estimate_rank = 170th
| population_census_year = 2023
| population_density_km2 = 25.21
| population_density_sq_mi = 63.5 <!-- Do not remove [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| population_density_rank = 181st
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $18.989 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.BS">{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=313,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2023&ey=2025&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024 Edition. (The Bahamas)|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|date=10 April 2024|access-date=15 July 2024}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2024
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 153rd
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $46,524<ref name="IMFWEO.BS" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 46th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $14.390 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.BS" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2024
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 146th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $35,257<ref name="IMFWEO.BS" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 29th
| Gini                   =
| Gini_year              =
| Gini_change            = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=BS|access-date=27 July 2024|title=World Bank Open Data}}</ref>
| Gini_rank              =
| HDI_year               = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI                    = 0.820
| HDI_change             = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_rank               = 57th
| HDI_ref                = <ref>{{Cite report|url=https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2023-24|title=Human Development Report 2023-24|last=Nations|first=United|date=2024-03-13|publisher=United Nations}}</ref>
| currency               = [[Bahamian dollar]] (BSD) <br /> [[United States dollar]] (USD)
| time_zone              = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset             = −5
| utc_offset_DST         = −4
| time_zone_DST          = [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]
| drives_on              = left
| calling_code           = [[Area code 242|+1 242]]
| iso3166code            = BS
| cctld                  = [[.bs]]
| footnote_a             = {{note|bahoffbox}}Also referred to as ''Bahamian''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/BS/languages|title=Bahamas|website=Ethnologue|access-date=7 February 2017|archive-date=1 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601014227/https://www.ethnologue.com/country/BS/languages|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
'''The Bahamas''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Bahamas.ogg|b|ə|ˈ|h|ɑː|m|ə|z}} {{respell|bə|HAH|məz}}), officially the '''Commonwealth of The Bahamas''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.immigration.gov.bs/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TheConstitution_11.pdf|title=The Constitution of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas|access-date=8 June 2023|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217141226/https://www.immigration.gov.bs/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TheConstitution_11.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 state|archipelagic country]] consists of more than 3,000 islands, [[cay]]s, and [[islet]]s 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, Bahamas|Nassau]] on the island of [[New Providence]]. The [[Royal Bahamas Defence Force]] describes the Bahamas' territory as encompassing {{cvt|180000|sqmi|km2|order=flip|sigfig=2}} of ocean space.
The Bahama islands were inhabited by the [[Arawak]] and [[Lucayan people|Lucayans]], a branch of the [[Arawakan]]-[[Taino language|speaking]] [[Taíno]], for many centuries.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Bahamas, The|access-date=21 July 2019|year=2019}}</ref> [[Christopher Columbus]] was the first European to see the islands, making his first landfall in the "[[New World]]" in 1492 when he landed on the island of [[San Salvador Island|San Salvador]]. Later, the [[Spain|Spanish]] shipped the native Lucayans to [[Hispaniola]] and enslaved them there, after which the Bahama islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, as nearly all native Bahamians had been forcibly removed for enslavement or had died of diseases which Europeans had brought with them from Europe. In 1649,<ref name="History of The Bahamas">{{cite web|url=https://www.bahamas.com/our-history|title=History of The Bahamas|access-date=4 June 2022|archive-date=11 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611182518/https://www.bahamas.com/our-history|url-status=live}}</ref> English colonists from [[Bermuda]], known as the [[Eleutheran Adventurers]], settled on the island of [[Eleuthera]].
The Bahamas became a [[Kingdom of Great Britain|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 [[plantation]]s on land grants. Enslaved Africans and their descendants constituted the majority of the population from this period on. The slave trade was abolished by the British in 1807. Although [[slavery in the Bahamas]] was not abolished until 1834, the Bahamas became a haven of [[manumission]] for African slaves, from outside the British West Indies, in 1818.<ref name=1818opinion/> Africans liberated from illegal slave ships were resettled on the islands by the [[Royal Navy]], while some [[Slavery in North America|North American slaves]] and [[Seminole]]s escaped to the Bahamas from Florida. Bahamians were even known to recognise the freedom of enslaved people carried by the ships of other nations which reached the Bahamas. Today [[Black Bahamians]] make up 90% of the population of 400,516.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/>
The country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973, led by [[Lynden Pindling|Sir Lynden O. Pindling]]. It shares [[Monarchy of the Bahamas|its monarch]] with the other [[Commonwealth realm]]s. The Bahamas has the fourteenth-largest [[gross domestic product]] per capita in the [[Americas]]. Its economy is based on tourism and offshore finance.<ref name="ReferenceA">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/real-gdp-per-capita/country-comparison/] . ''The World Factbook''.</ref> Though the Bahamas is in the Lucayan Archipelago, and not on the [[Caribbean Sea]], it is often considered part of the wider [[Caribbean]] region.<ref>{{Citation|last=Boswell|first=Thomas D.|title=Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean |chapter=2 The Caribbean: A Geographic Preface|date=2009-07-01|pages=19–50 (19)|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781685856816-004/html|access-date=2024-09-19|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|doi=10.1515/9781685856816-004|isbn=978-1-68585-681-6}}</ref> The Bahamas is a full member of the [[Caribbean Community]] (CARICOM) but is not part of the [[CARICOM Single Market and Economy]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Communique issued at the conclusion of the Fourth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, 4–8 July 1983, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago|url=http://www.caricom.org/jsp/communications/communiques/4hgc_1983_communique.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806141305/http://www.caricom.org/jsp/communications/communiques/4hgc_1983_communique.jsp|archive-date=2015-08-06|access-date=2024-09-19|website=CARICOM}}</ref>
==Naming and etymology==
The name ''Bahamas'' is derived from the [[Lucayan language|Lucayan]] name ''{{lang|tnq|Bahama}}'' ('large upper middle island'), used by the Indigenous [[Taíno]] people for the island of [[Grand Bahama]].<ref name="Ahrens">{{cite book|last1=Ahrens|first1=Wolfgang P.|editor1-last=Hough|editor1-first=Carole|editor2-last=Izdebska|editor2-first=Daria|title='Names and Their Environment': Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences: Glasgow, 25–29 August 2014, Volume 1: Keynote Lectures: Toponomastics I|date=2016|publisher=University of Glasgow|isbn=978-0-85261-947-6|page=47|url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_576595_smxx.pdf|chapter=Naming the Bahamas Islands: History and Folk Etymology|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=1 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401063538/https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_576595_smxx.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Granberry">{{cite book|last1=Granberry|first1=Julian|last2=Vescelius|first2=Gary|title=Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles|publisher=University of Alabama Press|year=2004|isbn=0-8173-1416-4|page=85}}</ref> Tourist guides often state that the name comes from the Spanish ''{{lang|es|baja mar}}'' ('shallow sea'). Wolfgang Ahrens of [[York University]] argues that this is a [[folk etymology]].{{r|Ahrens}} Alternatively, ''Bahama'' may have been derived from ''{{lang|tnq|[[Guanahaní]]}}'', a local name of unclear meaning.<ref>{{OEtymD|bahamas |access-date=31 October 2021}}</ref>
First attested on the {{circa}} 1523 Turin Map, ''Bahama'' originally referred to Grand Bahama alone but was used inclusively in English by 1670.<ref name="Allsopp">{{cite book|editor1-last=Allsopp|editor1-first=Richard|title=Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage|date=2003|publisher=University of the West Indies Press|location=Kingston, Jamaica|isbn=976-640-145-4|page=70}}</ref> Toponymist [[Isaac Taylor (priest)|Isaac Taylor]] argues that the name was derived from ''Bimani'' ([[Bimini]]), which Spaniards in Haiti identified with [[Palombe]], a legendary place where [[John Mandeville]]'s ''Travels'' said there was a [[fountain of youth]].<ref name="Taylor">{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Isaac|url=https://archive.org/details/namesandtheirhi00taylgoog/mode/1up|title=Names and Their Histories; a Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature|page=58|publisher=Rivingtons|location=London|year=1898|url-access=registration}}</ref>
The Bahamas is one of only two countries whose official names start with the article "the"—the other being [[The Gambia]]. The usage likely arose because the name also refers to the islands, a geographical feature that would take a definite article.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2012-06-07|title=Ukraine or the Ukraine: Why do some country names have 'the'?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18233844|access-date=2024-02-13|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>
==History==
{{Main|History of the Bahamas}}
===Pre-Hispanic era===
The first inhabitants of the Bahamas were the [[Taíno people|Taíno]] people, who moved into the uninhabited southern islands from [[Hispaniola]] and Cuba around the 800s–1000s AD, having migrated there from mainland [[South America]]; they came to be known as the [[Lucayan people]].<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/the-Bahamas|title=Encyclopædia Britannica – The Bahamas|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426222152/https://www.britannica.com/place/The-Bahamas|url-status=live}}</ref> An estimated 30,000 Lucayans inhabited the Bahamas at the time of [[Christopher Columbus]]' arrival in 1492.<ref>{{cite book|title=The people who discovered Columbus: the prehistory of the Bahamas|last=Keegan|first=William F.|date=1992|publisher=University Press of Florida|others=Jay I. Kislak Reference Collection (Library of Congress)|isbn=0-8130-1137-X|location=Gainesville|pages=25, 54–8, 86, 170–3|oclc=25317702}}</ref>
===Arrival of the Spanish===
[[File:Landing of Columbus (2) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|A depiction of Columbus' first landing, claiming possession of the [[New World]] for the [[Crown of Castile]] in [[caravel]]s; the ''[[Niña (ship)|Niña]]'' and the ''[[Pinta (ship)|Pinta]]'', on Watling Island, an island of the Bahamas that the natives called [[Guanahani]] and that he named ''San Salvador'', on 12 October 1492.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofchristo00colu_0|title=The Journal of Christopher Columbus (during His First Voyage, 1492–93)|page=[https://archive.org/details/journalofchristo00colu_0/page/35 35]|last=Markham|first=Clements R.|year=1893|publisher=London: The Hakluyt Society|access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref>]]
Columbus' first landfall in what was to Europeans a "New World" was on an island he named San Salvador (known to the Lucayans as ''[[Guanahani]]''). While there is a general consensus that this island lay within the Bahamas, precisely which island Columbus landed on is a matter of scholarly debate. Some researchers believe the site to be present-day [[San Salvador Island]] (formerly known as Watling's Island), situated in the southeastern Bahamas, whilst an alternative theory holds that Columbus landed to the southeast on [[Samana Cay]], according to calculations made in 1986 by ''[[National Geographic]]'' writer and editor [[Joseph Judge]], based on Columbus' log. On the landfall 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 isles of the [[Greater Antilles]].<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>
The 1494 [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] theoretically divided the new territories between the [[Kingdom 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. The Spanish did however exploit the native Lucayan peoples, many of whom were enslaved and sent to Hispaniola for use as forced labour.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> The slaves suffered harsh conditions and most died from contracting [[Infectious disease|diseases]] to which they had no [[immunity (medical)|immunity]]; half of the Taíno died from [[smallpox]] alone.<ref>[http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1991/10/09/06columb.h11.html&destination=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1991/10/09/06columb.h11.html&levelId=2100 "Schools Grapple With Columbus' Legacy: Intrepid Explorer or Ruthless Conqueror?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728201853/https://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F1991%2F10%2F09%2F06columb.h11.html&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edweek.org%2Few%2Farticles%2F1991%2F10%2F09%2F06columb.h11.html&levelId=2100 |date=28 July 2020 }}, ''Education Week'', 9 October 1991</ref> As a result of these depredations the population of the Bahamas was severely diminished.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dumene|first1=Joanne E.|year=1990|title=Looking for Columbus|url=http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/art/DUMENE01.ART|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919070618/http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/art/DUMENE01.ART|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 September 2008|journal=Five Hundred Magazine|volume=2|issue=1|pages=11–15}}</ref>
===Arrival of the English===
The English had expressed an interest in the Bahamas as early as 1629. However, it was not until 1648 that the first English settlers arrived on the islands. Known as the [[Eleutherian Adventurers]] and led by [[William Sayle]], they migrated from [[Bermuda]] seeking greater religious freedom. These English [[Puritans]] established the first permanent European settlement on an island which they named [[Eleuthera]], Greek for ''free''. They later settled [[New Providence]], naming it Sayle's Island. Life proved harder than envisaged however, and many – including Sayle – chose to return to Bermuda.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> To survive, the remaining settlers [[Wrecking (shipwreck)#The Bahamas|salvaged goods from wrecks]].
In 1670, [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] granted the islands to the [[Lords Proprietors]] of the [[Province of Carolina|Carolinas]] in North America. They rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing [[Governor#British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations|governors]], and administering the country from their base on New Providence.<ref name="Anglican">{{cite web|year=2009|url=http://bahamas.anglican.org/history.php|title=Diocesan History|publisher=Anglican Communications Department|access-date=7 May 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505100933/http://bahamas.anglican.org/history.php|archive-date=5 May 2009}}</ref><ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> Piracy and attacks from hostile foreign powers were a constant threat. In 1684, Spanish [[privateer|corsair]] Juan de Alcon [[Raid on Charles Town|raided the capital]] Charles Town (later renamed [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]]),<ref name="ManckeShammas">Mancke/[[Carole Shammas|Shammas]] p. 255</ref> and in 1703, a joint Franco-Spanish expedition [[Raid on Nassau|briefly occupied Nassau]] during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]].<ref name="Marley_a">Marley (2005), p. 7.</ref><ref name="Marley">Marley (1998), p. 226.</ref>
===18th century===
[[File:Battle of Nassau.jpg|thumb|[[Continental Marines]] land at [[New Providence]] during the [[Battle of Nassau]] in 1776]]
During proprietary rule, the Bahamas became a haven for [[Piracy|pirates]], including [[Blackbeard]] (''circa'' 1680–1718).<ref name="CSP-VOL29">{{cite book|last1=Headlam|first1=Cecil|title=America and West Indies: July 1716 {{!}} British History Online|date=1930|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|location=London|pages=139–159|edition=Vol 29|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol29/pp139-159|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-date=31 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831003904/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol29/pp139-159|url-status=live}}</ref> To put an end to the "[[Pirates' republic]]" and restore orderly government, Britain made the Bahamas a [[crown colony]] in 1718, which they dubbed "the Bahama islands" under the governorship of [[Woodes Rogers]].<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> After a difficult struggle, he succeeded in suppressing piracy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Woodard|first=Colin|title=The Republic of Pirates|publisher=Harcourt, Inc|year=2010|pages=166–168, 262–314|isbn=978-0-15-603462-3}}</ref> In 1720, the [[Raid on Nassau (1720)|Spanish attacked Nassau]] during the [[War of the Quadruple Alliance]]. In 1729, a local assembly was established giving a degree of self-governance for British settlers.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/><ref name=DCH>Dwight C. Hart (2004) ''The Bahamian parliament, 1729–2004: Commemorating the 275th anniversary'' Jones Publications, p4</ref> The reforms had been planned by the previous Governor George Phenney and authorised in July 1728.<ref>Hart, p8</ref>
During the [[American War of Independence]] in the late 18th century, the islands became a target for US naval forces. Under the command of Commodore [[Esek Hopkins]], [[United States Marine Corps|US Marines]], the US 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 [[Capture of the Bahamas (1782)|surrendered without a fight]]. Later, in April 1783, on a visit made 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 prisoner exchange agreements and also dealt with the preliminaries of the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)]], in which the recently conquered Bahamas would be exchanged for [[Spanish Florida|East Florida]], which would still have to conquer the city of [[St. Augustine, Florida]] in 1784 by order of Luis de Unzaga; after that, also in 1784, the Bahamas would be declared a British colony.<ref>Cazorla, Frank, Baena, Rose, Polo, David, Reder Gadow, Marion (2019) The Governor Louis de Unzaga (1717–1793) Pioneer in the birth of the United States and liberalism, Foundation Malaga, pages 21, 154–155, 163–165, 172, 188–191</ref>
After US independence, the British resettled some 7,300 [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] with their African slaves in the Bahamas, including 2,000 from New York<ref>{{cite book|last=Wertenbaker|first=Thomas Jefferson|date=1948|title=Father Knickerbocker Rebels: New York City during the Revolution|url=https://archive.org/details/fatherknickerboc0000wert|url-access=registration|location=New York|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|page=[https://archive.org/details/fatherknickerboc0000wert/page/260 260]|author-link=Thomas J. Wertenbaker}}</ref> and at least 1,033 Europeans, 2,214 African descendants, and a few Native American [[Creek people|Creeks]] 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Peters|first=Thelma|date=October 1961|title=The Loyalist Migration from East Florida to the Bahama Islands|journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly|volume=40|issue=2|pages=123–141|jstor=30145777}} p. 132, 136, 137</ref> The government granted land to the planters to help compensate for losses on the continent. These Loyalists, who included Deveaux and also [[Lord Dunmore]], established plantations on several islands and became a political force in the capital.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> European Americans were outnumbered by the African-American slaves they brought with them, and ethnic Europeans remained a minority in the territory.
===19th century===
[[File:Escaping To Freedom In The Bahamas sign 01.jpg|thumb|Sign at [[Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park]] commemorating hundreds of [[African-American]] slaves who escaped to freedom in the early 1820s in the Bahamas]]
The [[Slave Trade Act 1807]] abolished slave trading to British possessions, including the Bahamas. The United Kingdom pressured other slave-trading countries to also abolish slave-trading, and gave the [[Royal Navy]] the right to intercept ships carrying slaves on the high seas.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Falola|first1=Toyin|last2=Warnock|first2=Amanda|title=Encyclopedia of the Middle Passage|date=2007|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=9780313334801|pages=xxi, xxxiii-xxxiv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UjRYKePKrB8C&pg=PR21|access-date=22 February 2021|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813212758/https://books.google.com/books?id=UjRYKePKrB8C&pg=PR21|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Lovejoy">{{cite book|last=Lovejoy|first=Paul E.|title=Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa|page=[https://archive.org/details/transformationsi0000love/page/290 290]|location=New York|edition=2nd|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2000|isbn=0521780128|url=https://archive.org/details/transformationsi0000love/page/290}}</ref> Thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy were resettled in the Bahamas.
In the 1820s during the period of the [[Seminole Wars]] in Florida, hundreds of North American slaves and African Seminoles escaped from [[Cape Florida]] to the Bahamas. They settled mostly on northwest [[Andros Island]], where they developed the village of Red Bays. From eyewitness accounts, 300 escaped in a mass flight in 1823, aided by Bahamians in 27 [[sloop]]s, with others using canoes for the journey. This was commemorated in 2004 by a large sign at [[Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park]].<ref name="nps">[https://archive.today/20130615230600/http://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/ntf_member/ntf_member_details.htm?SPFID=9173&SPFTerritory=Florida&SPFType=Site&SPFKeywords=Bill%20Baggs%20Cape%20Florida%20State%20Park "Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park"], ''Network to Freedom'', National Park Service, 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2013</ref><ref>Vignoles, Charles Blacker (1823) ''Observations on the Floridas'', New York: E. Bliss & E. White, pp. 135–136</ref> Some of their descendants in Red Bays continue African Seminole traditions in basket making and grave marking.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1177/0021934705280085|title=The 'Wild Indians' of Andros Island: Black Seminole Legacy in The Bahamas|journal=Journal of Black Studies|volume=37|issue=2|page=275|year=2006|last1=Howard|first1=R.|s2cid=144613112|issn=0021-9347}}</ref>
In 1818,<ref name=1818opinion>[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Z70-AAAAYAAJ/page/n556 <!-- pg=259 --> Appendix: "Brigs Encomium and Enterprise"], ''Register of Debates in Congress'', Gales & Seaton, 1837, pp. 251–253. Note: In trying to retrieve North American slaves off the ''Encomium'' from colonial officials (who freed them), the US consul in February 1834 was told by the Lieutenant Governor that "he was acting in regard to the slaves under an opinion of 1818 by Sir Christopher Robinson and Lord Gifford to the British Secretary of State".</ref> the Home Office in London had ruled that "any slave brought to the Bahamas from outside the [[British West Indies]] would be manumitted." This led to a total of nearly 300 enslaved people owned by US nationals being freed from 1830 to 1835.<ref name="horne103">[[#Horne|Horne]], p. 103</ref> The American slave ships ''Comet'' and ''Encomium'' used in the United States domestic [[coastwise slave trade]], were wrecked off Abaco Island in December 1830 and February 1834, respectively. When wreckers took the masters, passengers and slaves into Nassau, customs officers seized the slaves and British colonial officials freed them, over the protests of the Americans. There were 165 slaves on the ''Comet'' and 48 on the ''Encomium''. The United Kingdom finally paid an indemnity to the United States in those two cases in 1855, under the Treaty of Claims of 1853, which settled several compensation cases between the two countries.<ref>[[#Horne|Horne]], p. 137</ref><ref name="debates">[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Z70-AAAAYAAJ/page/n556 <!-- pg=259 quote=brig Comet 1830. --> Register of Debates in Congress, Gales & Seaton], 1837, The section, "Brigs Encomium and Enterprise", has a collection of lengthy correspondence between US (including M. Van Buren), Vail, the US chargé d'affaires in London, and British agents, including [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]], sent to the Senate on 13 February 1837, by President [[Andrew Jackson]], as part of the continuing process of seeking compensation.</ref>
[[File:Great Isaac Cay, Bahamas.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Isaac Lighthouse|lighthouse]] in Great Isaac Cay.]]
Slavery was [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|abolished in the British Empire]] on 1 August 1834.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> After that British colonial officials freed 78 North American slaves from the ''[[Enterprise (slave ship)|Enterprise]]'', which went into Bermuda in 1835; and 38 from the ''Hermosa'', which wrecked off Abaco Island in 1840.<ref>[[#Horne|Horne]], pp. 107–108</ref> The most notable case was that of the ''[[Creole case|Creole]]'' in 1841: as a result of a [[slave revolt]] on board, the leaders ordered the US brig to Nassau. It was carrying 135 slaves from Virginia destined for sale in [[New Orleans]]. The Bahamian officials freed the 128 slaves who chose to stay in the islands. The ''Creole'' case has been described as the "most successful slave revolt in U.S. history".<ref name="williams">{{cite news|title=Brig Creole slaves|first=Michael Paul|last=Williams|url=http://www.timesdispatch.com/special-section/black-history/brig-creole-slaves/article_11391522-9222-5006-95eb-c1db7f61f9b4.html|newspaper=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]|location=Richmond, Virginia|date=11 February 2002|access-date=25 October 2018|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710182602/https://richmond.com/special-section/black-history/brig-creole-slaves/article_11391522-9222-5006-95eb-c1db7f61f9b4.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
These incidents, in which a total of 447 enslaved people belonging to US nationals were freed from 1830 to 1842, increased tension between the United States and the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]. They had been co-operating in patrols to suppress the international slave trade. However, worried about the stability of its large domestic slave trade and its value, the United States argued that the United Kingdom should not treat its domestic ships that came to its colonial ports under duress as part of the international trade. The United States worried that the success of the ''Creole'' slaves in gaining freedom would encourage more slave revolts on merchant ships.
During the [[American Civil War]] of the 1860s, the islands briefly prospered as a focus for [[blockade runners]] aiding the [[Confederate States]].<ref>''[http://www.bahamas.com/bahamas/island/templrgstandard.aspx?sectionid=4212&level=2 Grand Bahama Island – American Civil War] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025222208/http://www.bahamas.com/bahamas/island/templrgstandard.aspx?sectionid=4212&level=2 |date=25 October 2007 }}'' The Islands of The Bahamas Official Tourism Site</ref><ref>Stark, James. ''Stark's History and Guide to the Bahama Islands'' (James H. Stark, 1891). pg.93</ref>
===Early 20th century===
The early decades of the 20th century were ones of hardship for many Bahamians, characterised by a stagnant economy and widespread poverty. Many eked out a living via subsistence agriculture or fishing.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>
[[File:The Duke of Windsor (1945).jpg|thumb|upright|left|The [[Edward VIII|Duke of Windsor]] and [[Governor of the Bahamas]] from 1940 to 1945]]
In August 1940, the [[Edward VIII|Duke of Windsor]] (formerly King Edward VIII) was appointed [[Governor of the Bahamas]]. He arrived in the colony with his [[Wallis Simpson|wife]]. Although disheartened at the condition of Government House, they "tried to make the best of a bad situation".<ref name="Windsor installed">[[#Higham|Higham]], pp. 300–302</ref> He did not enjoy the position, and referred to the islands as "a third-class British colony".<ref>Bloch, Michael (1982). ''The Duke of Windsor's War'', London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. {{ISBN|0-297-77947-8}}, p. 364.</ref> He opened the small local parliament on 29 October 1940. The couple visited the "Out Islands" that November, on [[Axel Wenner-Gren]]'s yacht, which caused controversy;<ref name="Windsor opened">[[#Higham|Higham]], pp. 307–309</ref> the [[British Foreign Office]] strenuously objected because they had been advised by United States intelligence that Wenner-Gren was a close friend of the [[Luftwaffe]] commander [[Hermann Göring]] of Nazi Germany.<ref name="Windsor opened" /><ref>Bloch, Michael (1982). ''The Duke of Windsor's War''. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. {{ISBN|0-297-77947-8}}, pp. 154–159, 230–233</ref>
The Duke was praised at the time for his efforts to combat poverty on the islands. A 1991 biography by Philip Ziegler, however, described him as contemptuous of the Bahamians and other non-European peoples of the Empire. He was praised for his resolution of civil unrest over low wages in [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]] in June 1942, when there was a "full-scale riot".<ref name="Windsor unrest">[[#Higham|Higham]], pp. 331–332</ref> Ziegler said that the Duke blamed the trouble on "mischief makers – [[communists]]" and "men of Central European [[Jewish]] descent, who had secured jobs as a pretext for obtaining a deferment of draft".<ref name="ziegler">[[Philip Ziegler|Ziegler, Philip]] (1991). ''King Edward VIII: The Official Biography''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. {{ISBN|0-394-57730-2}}. pp. 471–472</ref> The Duke resigned from the post on 16 March 1945.<ref name="matthew">[[Colin Matthew|Matthew, H. C. G.]] (September 2004; online edition January 2008) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31061 "Edward VIII, later Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (1894–1972)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605164606/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31061 |date=5 June 2015 }}, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/31061}}. Retrieved 1 May 2010 (Subscription required)</ref><ref name="Windsor resigned">[[#Higham|Higham]], p. 359 places the date of his resignation as 15 March, and that he left on 5 April.</ref>
===Post-Second World War===
[[File:Flag of the Bahamas (1964–1973).svg|thumb|The Bahamas was a [[Crown colony of the bahamas|Crown colony]] until it gained independence in 1973.]]{{see also|Monarchy of the Bahamas}}Modern political development began after the [[Second World War]]. The first political parties were formed in the 1950s, split broadly along ethnic lines, with the [[United Bahamian Party]] (UBP) representing the English-descended Bahamians (known informally as the "Bay Street Boys")<ref name="badnews">{{Cite magazine|date=20 January 1967|title=Bad News for the Boys|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,843308,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204101554/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,843308,00.html|archive-date=4 February 2013|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> and the [[Progressive Liberal Party]] (PLP) representing the Black-Bahamian majority.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas" />
In 1958, the first marine protected area in the Bahamas, the [[Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park]] was established.
A new constitution granting the Bahamas internal autonomy went into effect on 7 January 1964, with Chief Minister [[Sir Roland Symonette]] of the UBP becoming the first Premier.<ref name="DN">Nohlen, D. (2005), ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'' {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}</ref>{{rp|p.73}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Bahamian Proposes Independence Move|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=19 August 1966|page=A20|agency=United Press International|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/142811526/|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629031554/https://www.proquest.com/docview/142811526/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1967, [[Lynden Pindling]] of the PLP became the first black Premier of the Bahamian colony; in 1968, the title of the position was changed to [[Prime Minister of The Bahamas|Prime Minister]]. In 1968, Pindling announced that the Bahamas would seek full independence.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bahamas Will Ask Britain For More Independence|first=Homer|last=Bigart|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=7 January 1968|page=1|url=https://nyti.ms/2VQlvpN|access-date=22 April 2020|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710182606/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/01/07/110088035.html?zoom=15.200000000000001|url-status=live}}</ref> A new constitution giving the Bahamas increased control over its own affairs was adopted in 1968.<ref>{{cite news|title=Britain and Bahamas Agree on Constitution|first=Stephen V.|last=Armstrong|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=28 September 1968|page=A13|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/143455003/|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628131900/https://www.proquest.com/docview/143455003/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 which aimed to counter the growing power of Pindling's PLP.<ref>Hughes, C (1981) Race and Politics in the Bahamas {{ISBN|978-0-312-66136-6}}
</ref>
The [[United Kingdom]] Government gave the Bahamas its independence by an [[Order in Council]] dated 20 June 1973.<ref>The Bahamas Independence Order 1973 (Statutory Instrument 1973 No. 1080)</ref> The Order came into force on 10 July 1973, on which date [[Charles III|Prince Charles]] delivered the official documents to [[Prime Minister of The Bahamas|Prime Minister]] [[Lynden Pindling]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Bahamas gets deed|work=Chicago Defender|agency=United Press International|date=11 July 1973|page=3|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/494008920/|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=26 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126180044/https://www.proquest.com/docview/494008920/|url-status=live}}</ref> This date is now celebrated as the country's [[List of national independence days|Independence Day]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bahamas Independence Day Holiday|url=https://www.bahamas.com/event/bahamas-independence-day-holiday|access-date=7 July 2020|website=The Official Site of The Bahamas|publisher=The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism|archive-date=8 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708071119/https://www.bahamas.com/event/bahamas-independence-day-holiday|url-status=live}}</ref> It joined the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] on the same day.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bahama Independence|work=Tri-State Defender|location=Memphis, Tennessee|date=14 July 1973|page=16|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/370624842/|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=13 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313071052/https://www.proquest.com/docview/370624842|url-status=live}}</ref> Sir [[Milo Butler]] was appointed the first [[Governor-General of the Bahamas|governor-general of the Bahamas]] (the official representative of Queen [[Elizabeth II]]) shortly after independence.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ciferri|first=Alberto|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1113890667|title=An Overview of Historical and Socio-Economic Evolution in the Americas|date=2019|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publisher|isbn=978-1-5275-3821-4|location=Newcastle-upon-Tyne|pages=313|oclc=1113890667|access-date=21 July 2020|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710182604/https://www.worldcat.org/title/overview-of-historical-and-socio-economic-evolution-in-the-americas/oclc/1113890667|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Post-independence===
Shortly after independence, the Bahamas joined the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the [[World Bank]] on 22 August 1973,<ref>{{cite news|title=Bahamas Joins IMF, World Bank|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=23 August 1973|page=C2|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/148399257/|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710174032/https://www.proquest.com/docview/148399257|url-status=live}}</ref> and later the [[United Nations]] on 18 September 1973.<ref>{{cite news|title=2 Germanys Join U.N. as Assembly Opens 28th Year|first=Robert|last=Alden|work=The New York Times|date=19 September 1973|page=1|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/119811597/|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094138/https://www.proquest.com/docview/119811597/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Politically, the first two decades were dominated by Pindling's PLP, who went on to win a string of electoral victories. Allegations of corruption, links with drug cartels and financial malfeasance within the Bahamian government failed to dent Pindling's popularity. Meanwhile, the economy underwent a dramatic growth period fuelled by the twin pillars of tourism and [[offshore finance]], significantly raising the [[standard of living]] on the islands. The Bahamas' booming economy led to it becoming a beacon for immigrants, most notably from [[Haiti]].<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>
[[File:Hurricane Dorian destruction -Bahamas.jpg|thumb|Hurricane Dorian's destruction in The Bahamas]]
[[1992 Bahamian general election|In 1992]], Pindling was unseated by [[Hubert Ingraham]] of the FNM.<ref name=DN />{{rp|p.78}} Ingraham went on to win the [[1997 Bahamian general election]], before being defeated [[2002 Bahamian general election|in 2002]], when the PLP returned to power under [[Perry Christie]].<ref name=DN />{{rp|p.82}} Ingraham returned to power from 2007 to 2012, followed by Christie again from 2012 to 2017. With economic growth faltering, Bahamians re-elected the FNM in 2017, with [[Hubert Minnis]] becoming the fourth prime minister.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>
In September 2019, [[Hurricane Dorian]] struck the [[Abaco Islands]] and [[Grand Bahama]] at [[Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5|Category 5]] intensity, devastating the northwestern Bahamas. The storm inflicted at least [[United States dollar|US$]]7 billion in damages and killed more than 50 people,<ref name="Bahamas damage">{{Cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2019/09/05/hurricane-dorian-causes-7b-in-property-damage-to-bahamas/|title=Hurricane Dorian causes $7B in property damage to Bahamas|last=Fitz-Gibbon|first=Jorge|date=5 September 2019|access-date=5 September 2019|work=New York Post|archive-date=7 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907042530/https://nypost.com/2019/09/05/hurricane-dorian-causes-7b-in-property-damage-to-bahamas/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bahamas50deaths">{{cite news|last1=Stelloh|first1=Tim|title=Hurricane Dorian grows deadlier as more fatalities confirmed in Bahamas|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hurricane-dorian-grows-deadlier-more-fatalities-confirmed-bahamas-n1051766|access-date=10 September 2019|publisher=NBC News|date=9 September 2019|archive-date=15 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915144358/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hurricane-dorian-grows-deadlier-more-fatalities-confirmed-bahamas-n1051766|url-status=live}}</ref> with 1,300 people missing after two weeks.<ref name="missing in Bahamas">{{cite web|last1=Karimi|first1=Faith|last2=Thornton|first2=Chandler|title=1,300 people are listed as missing nearly 2 weeks after Hurricane Dorian hit The Bahamas|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/12/americas/bahamas-dorian-thousands-missing-thursday/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=12 September 2019|access-date=13 September 2019|archive-date=12 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912205817/https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/12/americas/bahamas-dorian-thousands-missing-thursday/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The [[COVID-19 pandemic]] reached the Bahamas on 15 March 2020.<ref>{{cite web|title=COVID-19 Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands Situation Reports|url=https://www.paho.org/en/tag/covid-19-bahamas-and-turks-and-caicos-islands-situation-reports|website=PAHO}}</ref>
In September 2021, the ruling [[Free National Movement]] lost to the opposition [[Progressive Liberal Party]] in a snap [[2021 Bahamian general election|election]], as the economy struggled to recover from its deepest crash since at least 1971.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Bahamas Election Results|url=http://www.caribbeanelections.com/bs/elections/default.asp|access-date=17 September 2021|website=caribbeanelections.com|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217195740/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/bs/elections/default.asp|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bahamas Voters Oust Government After 16% Drop in Economic Output|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-16/bahamas-votes-in-knife-edge-election-after-16-economic-crash|publisher=Bloomberg News|date=17 September 2021|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331144107/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-16/bahamas-votes-in-knife-edge-election-after-16-economic-crash|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bahamas Election 2021: PLP election victory confirmed|url=https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/bahamas-election-2021-plp-election-victory-confirmed|work=Loop News|date=20 September 2021|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=26 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526210239/https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/bahamas-election-2021-plp-election-victory-confirmed|url-status=live}}</ref> On 17 September 2021, the chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) [[Philip Davis (Bahamian politician)|Phillip "Brave" Davis]] was sworn in as the new [[Prime Minister of Bahamas]] to succeed Hubert Minnis.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McLeod|first1=Sheri-Kae|title=Phillip Davis Sworn in as Prime Minister of Bahamas .|url=https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/phillip-davis-sworn-in-as-prime-minister-of-bahamas/|work=Caribbean News|date=17 September 2021|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=30 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630001433/https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/phillip-davis-sworn-in-as-prime-minister-of-bahamas/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of the Bahamas}}
[[File:Bahamas, The-CIA WFB Map (2004).png|thumb|left|Map of the Bahamas]]
[[File:Bahamabank.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Most of the Bahamas are the above-water part of the [[Bahama Banks]] (light blue). <br/>During the ice ages these would have been two large islands.]]
The landmass that makes up what is the modern-day Bahamas, lies at the northern part of the [[Greater Antilles]] region and was believed to have been formed 200 million years ago when they began to separate from the supercontinent [[Pangaea]]. The [[Pleistocene Ice Age]] around 3 million years ago, had a profound impact on the archipelago's formation.
The Bahamas consists of a [[List of islands of the Bahamas|chain of islands]] spread out over some {{cvt|500|mi|km|order=flip}} in the Atlantic Ocean, located to the east of [[Florida]] in the United States, north of Cuba and [[Hispaniola]] and west of the British Overseas Territory of the [[Turks and Caicos Islands]] (with which it forms the [[Lucayan archipelago]]). It lies between latitudes [[20th parallel north|20°]] and [[28th parallel north|28°N]], and longitudes [[72nd meridian west|72°]] and [[80th meridian west|80°W]] and straddles the [[Tropic of Cancer]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/> There are some 700 islands and 2,400 cays in total (of which 30 are inhabited) with a total land area of {{cvt|10010|km2}}.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/><ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>
[[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], capital city of the Bahamas, lies on the island of [[New Providence]]; the other main inhabited islands are [[Grand Bahama]], [[Eleuthera]], [[Cat Island, Bahamas|Cat Island]], [[Rum Cay]], [[Long Island, Bahamas|Long Island]], [[San Salvador Island]], [[Ragged Island, Bahamas|Ragged Island]], [[Acklins]], [[Crooked Island (Bahamas)|Crooked Island]], [[Exuma]], [[Berry Islands]], [[Mayaguana]], the [[Bimini]] islands, [[Great Abaco]] and [[Great Inagua]]. The largest island is [[Andros, Bahamas|Andros]].<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>
All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than {{cvt|15|to|20|m|ft|0}}. The highest point in the country is [[Mount Alvernia]] (formerly Como Hill) on Cat Island at {{cvt|64|m}}.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/>
The country contains three terrestrial ecoregions: [[Bahamian dry forests]], [[Bahamian pine mosaic]], and [[Bahamian mangroves]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref> It had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 7.35/10, ranking it 44th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the Bahamas [[forest cover]] is around 51% of the total land area, equivalent to 509,860 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 509,860 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 0 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be [[primary forest]] (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 0% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 80% of the forest area was reported to be under [[State ownership|public ownership]], 20% [[Private property|private ownership]] and 0% with ownership listed as other or unknown.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content|title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|year=2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Bahamas|url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/BHS/home/overview|website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref>
===Climate===
{{See also|Geography of the Bahamas#Climate}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_BHS_present.svg|thumb|upright=1.45|The Bahamas map of Köppen climate classification.]] According to the [[Köppen climate classification]], the climate of the Bahamas is mostly [[tropical savannah climate]] or ''Aw'', with a hot and wet season and a warm and dry season. The low latitude, warm tropical [[Gulf Stream]], and low [[elevation]] give the Bahamas a warm and winterless climate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rabb|first1=George B.|last2=Hayden|first2=Ellis B.|last3=Van Voast|year=1957|title=The Van Voast-American Museum of Natural History Bahama Islands Expedition (1952–1953): record of the expedition and general features of the islands|journal=[[American Museum Novitates]]|issue=1836|hdl=2246/4700|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2246/4700|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710182605/https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/4700|url-status=live}}</ref>
As with most tropical climates, seasonal rainfall follows the sun, and summer is the wettest season. There is only a {{cvt|7|C-change}} difference between the warmest month and coolest month in most of the Bahama islands. Every few decades low temperatures can fall below {{cvt|10|°C}} for a few hours when a severe cold outbreak comes down from the North American mainland, however there has never been a frost or freeze recorded in the Bahamian Islands. Only once in recorded history has snow been seen in the air anywhere in the Bahamas. This occurred in Freeport on 19 January 1977, when snow mixed with rain was seen in the air for a short time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=40th Anniversary of Snow in South Florida|url=https://www.weather.gov/media/mfl/news/SnowArticleSouthFlorida40th.pdf|website=weather.gov|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=29 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129224612/https://www.weather.gov/media/mfl/news/SnowArticleSouthFlorida40th.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bahamas are often sunny and dry for long periods, and average more than 3,000&nbsp;hours or 340&nbsp;days of sunlight annually. Much of the natural vegetation is tropical scrub and cactus and succulents are common in landscapes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahamas|website=Caribbean Islands|url=http://www.caribbeanislands.org/the-bahamas/|access-date=4 December 2015|date=4 December 2015|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208064633/http://www.caribbeanislands.org/the-bahamas/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Tropical storms and hurricanes occasionally impact the Bahamas. In 1992, [[Hurricane Andrew]] passed over the northern portions of the islands, and [[Hurricane Floyd]] passed near the eastern portions of the islands in 1999. [[Hurricane Dorian]] of 2019 passed over the archipelago at destructive [[Saffir–Simpson scale|Category&nbsp;5 strength]] with sustained winds of {{cvt|185|mph|order=flip}} and wind gusts up to {{cvt|220|mph|order=flip}}, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone on record to impact the northwestern islands of Grand Bahama and Great Abaco.<ref name=DorianBahamas>{{cite report|url=https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2019/al05/al052019.public.033.shtml?|title=Hurricane Dorian Advisory Number 33|publisher=NHC|access-date=1 September 2019|archive-date=1 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901214656/https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2019/al05/al052019.public.033.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Geology===
{{main|Bahama Banks}}
[[File:Dean Blue Hole Long Island Bahamas 20110210.JPG|thumb|[[Dean's Blue Hole]] in [[Clarence Town]] on [[Long Island, Bahamas]]]]
[[File:Blue Lagoon.JPG|thumb|The [[Blue Lagoon Island]], Bahamas]]
It was generally believed that the Bahamas were formed approximately 200 million years ago, when Pangaea started to break apart. In current times, it endures as an archipelago containing over 700 islands and cays, fringed around different [[coral reef]]s. The [[limestone]] that comprises the Banks has been accumulating since at least the [[Cretaceous]] period, and perhaps as early as the [[Jurassic]]; today the total thickness under the Great Bahama Bank is over 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles).<ref name=NASA>{{cite web|url=http://geoinfo.amu.edu.pl/wpk/geos/GEO_6/GEO_PLATE_C-16.HTML|title=Geomorphology from Space, Chapter 6: Coastal Landforms. Plate C-16, 'Great Bahama Bank'|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=geoinfo.amu.edu.pl|access-date=9 March 2006|archive-date=25 March 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050325012629/http://geoinfo.amu.edu.pl/wpk/geos/GEO_6/GEO_PLATE_C-16.HTML|url-status=live}}</ref> As the limestone was deposited in shallow water, the only way to explain this massive column is to estimate that the entire platform has [[subsidence|subsided]] under its own weight at a rate of roughly 3.6 centimetres (2 inches) per 1,000 years.<ref name=NASA/>
The Bahamas is part of the [[Lucayan Archipelago]], which continues into the Turks and Caicos Islands, the [[Mouchoir Bank]], the [[Silver Bank]], and the [[Navidad Bank]].<ref name=Carew/> The Bahamas Platform, which includes the Bahamas, Southern Florida, Northern Cuba, the Turks and Caicos, and the [[Blake Plateau]], formed about 150 [[megaannum|Ma]], not long after the formation of the North Atlantic. The {{cvt|6.4|km||adj=on}} thick [[limestone]]s, which predominate in the Bahamas, date back to the [[Cretaceous]]. These limestones would have been deposited in shallow seas, assumed to be a stretched and thinned portion of the [[North American Plate|North American continental crust]]. Sediments were forming at about the same rate as the crust below was sinking due to the added weight. Thus, the entire area consisted of a large marine plain with some islands. Then, at about 80&nbsp;Ma, the area became flooded by the [[Gulf Stream]]. This resulted in 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]], plus the [[Bahama Banks|Little and Great Bahama Banks]]. Sedimentation from the "carbonate factory" of each bank, or [[atoll]], continues today at the rate of about {{cvt|20|mm}} per [[kyr]]. [[Coral reef]]s form the "retaining walls" of these atolls, within which [[oolite]]s and [[pellets (petrology)|pellets]] form.<ref name="Sealey">{{cite book|last1=Sealey|first1=Neil|title=Bahamian Landscapes; An Introduction to the Geology and Physical Geography of The Bahamas|date=2006|publisher=Macmillan Education|location=Oxford|isbn=9781405064064|pages=1–24}}</ref>
Coral growth was greater through the [[Tertiary (geology)|Tertiary]], until the start of the [[ice ages]], and hence those deposits are more abundant below a depth of {{cvt|36|m}}. In fact, an ancient extinct reef exists half a kilometre seaward of the present one, {{cvt|30|m}} below sea level. Oolites form when oceanic water penetrate the shallow banks, increasing the temperature about {{cvt|3|C-change}} and the salinity by 0.5 per cent. [[Cementation (geology)|Cemented]] [[ooid]]s are referred to as grapestone. Additionally, giant [[stromatolite]]s are found off the [[Exuma Cays]].<ref name=Sealey/>{{rp|22,29–30}}
[[Sea level change]]s resulted in a drop in sea level, causing wind blown oolite to form [[sand dune]]s with distinct [[cross-bedding]]. Overlapping dunes form oolitic ridges, which become rapidly [[lithified]] through the action of rainwater, called [[eolianite]]. Most islands have ridges ranging from {{cvt|30|to|45|m}}, though Cat Island has a ridge {{cvt|60|m}} in height. The land between ridges is conducive to the formation of lakes and swamps.<ref name=Sealey/>{{rp|41–59,61–64}}
[[Solution weathering]] of the limestone results in a "Bahamian [[Karst]]" topography. This includes [[pothole (geology)|potholes]], [[blue hole]]s such as [[Dean's Blue Hole]], [[sinkhole]]s, [[beachrock]] such as the [[Bimini Road]] ("pavements of Atlantis"), [[caliche|limestone crust]], caves due to the lack of rivers, and [[sea caves]]. Several blue holes are aligned along the South Andros [[fault (geology)|Fault]] line. [[Tidal flat]]s and [[tidal creek]]s are common, but the more impressive drainage patterns are formed by troughs and canyons such as [[Great Bahama Canyon]] with the evidence of [[turbidity current]]s and [[turbidite]] deposition.<ref name=Sealey/>{{rp|33–40,65,72–84,86}}
The [[stratigraphy]] of the islands consists of the [[Middle Pleistocene]] Owl's Hole [[formation (geology)|Formation]], overlain by the [[Late Pleistocene]] Grotto Beach Formation, and then the [[Holocene]] Rice Bay Formation. However, these units are not necessarily stacked on top of each other but can be located laterally. The oldest formation, Owl's Hole, is capped by a [[terra rossa (soil)|terra rosa]] [[paleosoil]], as is the Grotto Beach, unless [[eroded]]. The Grotto Beach Formation is the most widespread.<ref name=Carew>{{cite book|last1=Carew|first1=James|last2=Mylroie|first2=John|editor1-last=Vacher|editor1-first=H.L.|editor2-last=Quinn|editor2-first=T.|title=Geology of Bahamas, in Geology and Hydrology of Carbonate Islands, Developments in Sedimentology 54|url=https://archive.org/details/geologyhydrogeol00vach_559|url-access=limited|date=1997|publisher=Elsevier Science B.V.|location=Amsterdam|isbn=9780444516442|pages=[https://archive.org/details/geologyhydrogeol00vach_559/page/n109 91]–139}}</ref>
==Government and politics==
{{Main|Politics of the Bahamas}}
{{Further information|Law of the Bahamas}}
[[File:BahamianParliamentPanorama.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The [[Parliament of the Bahamas|Bahamian Parliament]], located in [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]]]]
[[File:Traffic police stand in Nassau.jpg|thumb|Traffic police in [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]]]]
The Bahamas is a [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]], with [[Monarchy of the Bahamas|King of the Bahamas]] [[Charles III]] as head of state represented locally by a [[List of Governors-General of the Bahamas|governor-general]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/> Political and legal traditions closely follow those of England and the [[Westminster system]].<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> The Bahamas is a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] and [[personal union|shares]] its [[head of state]] with some other [[Commonwealth realm]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 August 2013|title=Bahamas, The|url=https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/bahamas|access-date=25 January 2021|website=The Commonwealth|archive-date=9 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309082734/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/bahamas|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hunter|first=Josh|date=27 September 2012|title=A more modern crown: changing the rules of succession in the Commonwealth Realms|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03050718.2012.694997?scroll=top&needAccess=true|journal=Commonwealth Law Bulletin|volume=38|issue=3|pages=423–466|doi=10.1080/03050718.2012.694997|s2cid=144518578|via=Taylor & Francis Online|access-date=15 November 2020|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710182604/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03050718.2012.694997?scroll=top&needAccess=true|url-status=live}}</ref>
The [[Prime Minister of the Bahamas|prime minister]] is the [[head of government]] and is the leader of the party with the most seats in the [[House of Assembly of the Bahamas|House of Assembly]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/><ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> [[Executive (government)|Executive power]] is exercised by the Cabinet, selected by the prime minister and drawn from his supporters in the House of Assembly. The current governor-general is [[Cynthia A. Pratt]], and the current [[List of heads of government of the Bahamas|prime minister]] is [[The Honourable|The Hon.]] [[Philip "Brave" Davis|Philip Davis]] [[Member of parliament|MP]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/>
[[Legislature|Legislative power]] is vested in a [[bicameralism|bicameral]] [[parliament]], which consists of a 38-member House of Assembly (the [[lower house]]), with members elected from [[Plurality voting system|single-member districts]], and a 16-member [[Parliament of the Bahamas#Senate|Senate]], with members appointed by the governor-general, including nine on the advice of the Prime Minister, four on the advice of the [[Leader of the Opposition (Bahamas)|leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition]], and three on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. As under the Westminster system, the prime minister may dissolve Parliament and call a general election at any time within a five-year term.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahamas 1973 (rev. 2002)|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Bahamas_2002?lang=en|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150317182651/https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Bahamas_2002?lang=en|archive-date=17 March 2015|access-date=17 March 2015|website=Constitute}}</ref>
Constitutional safeguards include [[freedom of speech]], [[Freedom of the press|press]], [[Freedom of religion|worship]], [[Freedom of movement|movement]] and [[Freedom of association|association]]. The Judiciary of the Bahamas is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on [[English law]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/>
===Political culture===
The Bahamas has a [[two-party system]] dominated by the [[centre-left]] [[Progressive Liberal Party]] and the [[centre-right]] [[Free National Movement]]. A handful of other political parties have been unable to win election to parliament; these have included the [[Bahamas Democratic Movement]], the Coalition for Democratic Reform, Bahamian Nationalist Party and the [[Democratic National Alliance (Bahamas)|Democratic National Alliance]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Political Parties in the Bahamas|url=http://caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/parties/bs_parties/default.asp|website=Caribbean Elections|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427192739/http://caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/parties/bs_parties/default.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> There has been a growing [[Republicanism in the Bahamas|republican movement in the Bahamas]], particularly since the death of Elizabeth II, with a majority now supporting an elected head of state according to an opinion poll.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2022-09-15|title=Bahamas PM signals referendum to remove Charles III as head of state|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/world/the-bahamas-referendum-charles-iii-b2167812.html|access-date=2023-05-08|website=The Independent|archive-date=17 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517181230/https://www.independent.co.uk/world/the-bahamas-referendum-charles-iii-b2167812.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Uncharted Realms: The Future of the Monarchy in the UK and Around the World – Lord Ashcroft Polls|url=https://lordashcroftpolls.com/2023/05/uncharted-realms-the-future-of-the-monarchy-in-the-uk-and-around-the-world/#more-17010|access-date=2023-05-04|website=lordashcroftpolls.com|date=2 May 2023|archive-date=12 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512052903/https://lordashcroftpolls.com/2023/05/uncharted-realms-the-future-of-the-monarchy-in-the-uk-and-around-the-world/#more-17010|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Foreign relations===
{{Further|Foreign relations of the Bahamas}}
[[File:Vice President Harris met with Prime Minister Davis of The Bahamas at the VP Office in 2023.jpg|thumb|United States Vice President [[Kamala Harris]] met with Prime Minister [[Philip Davis (Bahamian politician)|Philip Davis]] of the Bahamas at the Office of the Vice President in 2023.]]
The Bahamas has strong bilateral relationships with the United States and the United Kingdom, represented by an ambassador in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] and [[High Commissioner]] in [[London]]. The Bahamas also associates closely with other nations of the [[Caribbean Community]] (CARICOM).<ref>{{cite web|title=Member States and Associate Members|url=https://caricom.org/member-states-and-associate-members/|website=CARICOM|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-date=8 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208170714/https://caricom.org/member-states-and-associate-members/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The embassy of the United States in Nassau donated $3.6 million to the Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Management, and Reconstruction for modular shelters, medical evacuation boats, and construction materials. The donation was made two weeks after the one-year anniversary of [[Hurricane Dorian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bs.usembassy.gov/us-donates-shelters-boats-construction-disaster-response-bahamas/|title=United States Donates $3.6M in Modular Shelters, Rescue Boats, and Construction Materials for Hurricane Response in The Bahamas|access-date=18 September 2020|website=U.S. Embassy in The Bahamas|date=18 September 2020|archive-date=1 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001205939/https://bs.usembassy.gov/us-donates-shelters-boats-construction-disaster-response-bahamas/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Armed forces===
{{Main|Royal Bahamas Defence Force}}
[[File:Hmbsnassau.jpg|thumb|left|{{HMBS|Nassau|P-61}}]]
The Bahamian military is the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF),<ref name="auto">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Bahamas, The|year=2009}}</ref> the navy of the Bahamas which includes a land unit called Commando Squadron (Regiment) and an Air Wing (Air Force). Under the Defence Act, the RBDF has been mandated, in the name of the [[Charles III|King]], to defend the Bahamas, protect its territorial integrity, patrol its waters, provide assistance and relief in times of disaster, maintain order in conjunction with the law enforcement agencies of the Bahamas, and carry out any such duties as determined by the National Security Council.<ref>{{cite act|title=Defence Act|type=Act|page=211–14|date=1980}}</ref> The Defence Force is also a member of the Caribbean Community ([[Caricom|CARICOM]])'s Regional Security Task Force.<ref name="auto"/>
The RBDF came into existence on 31 March 1980. Its duties include defending the Bahamas, stopping [[Illegal drug trade|drug smuggling]], illegal immigration and poaching, and providing assistance to mariners. The Defence Force has a fleet of 26 coastal and inshore patrol craft along with 3 aircraft and over 1,100 personnel including 65 officers and 74 women.<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Mandat|url=https://rbdf.gov.bs/our-mandate/|website=rbdf.gov.bs|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-date=17 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217002006/https://rbdf.gov.bs/our-mandate/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Local government in the Bahamas}}
{{further|List of islands of the Bahamas}}
The districts of the Bahamas provide a system of local government everywhere except [[New Providence]] (which holds 70 per cent of the national population), whose affairs are handled directly by the central government. In 1996, the Bahamian Parliament passed the "Local Government Act" to facilitate the establishment of family island administrators, local government districts, local district councillors and local town committees for the various island communities. The overall goal of this act is to allow the various elected leaders to govern and oversee the affairs of their respective districts without the interference of the central government. In total, there are 32 districts, with elections being held every five years. There are 110 councillors and 281 town committee members elected to represent the various districts.<ref>[http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/bahamasweb2/home.nsf/vContentW/A5FB7665F3E4341306256F0000763055 Family Island District Councillors & Town Committee Members] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210823/http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/bahamasweb2/home.nsf/vContentW/A5FB7665F3E4341306256F0000763055 |date=3 March 2016 }}. Bahamas.gov.bs. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref>
Each councillor or town committee member is responsible for the proper use of public funds for the maintenance and development of their constituency.
{{clear}}
The districts other than New Providence are:<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahama Island Information|url=http://www.bahamaislands.com/information/|website=bahamaislands.com|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427050209/http://www.bahamaislands.com/information/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em|content=
#[[Acklins]]
#[[Berry Islands]]
#[[Bimini]]
#[[Black Point (Bahamas)|Black Point]], [[Exuma]]
#[[Cat Island, Bahamas|Cat Island]]
#[[Central Abaco]]
#[[Central Andros]]
#[[Central Eleuthera]]
#[[Freeport, Bahamas|City of Freeport, Grand Bahama]]
#[[Crooked Island, Bahamas|Crooked Island]]
#[[East Grand Bahama]]
#[[Exuma]]
#[[Grand Cay]], [[Abaco Islands|Abaco]]
#[[Harbour Island (Bahamas)|Harbour Island]], [[Eleuthera]]
#[[Hope Town]], [[Abaco Islands|Abaco]]
#[[Inagua]]
#[[Long Island, Bahamas|Long Island]]
#[[Mangrove Cay]], [[Andros, Bahamas|Andros]]
#[[Mayaguana]]
#[[Moore's Island]], [[Abaco Islands|Abaco]]
#[[North Abaco]]
#[[North Andros]]
#[[North Eleuthera]]
#[[Ragged Island, Bahamas|Ragged Island]]
#[[Rum Cay]]
#[[San Salvador Island|San Salvador]]
#[[South Abaco]]
#[[South Andros]]
#[[South Eleuthera]]
#[[Spanish Wells]], [[Eleuthera]]
#[[West Grand Bahama]]
}}
[[File:Districts of the Bahamas (Labeled).png|center|thumb|upright=2.4|Districts of the Bahamas]]
==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of the Bahamas}}
{{Further|Agriculture in the Bahamas}}
[[File:Taino Beach, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas.jpg|thumb|Taino Beach, Grand Bahama Island]]
In terms of [[Lists of countries by GDP per capita|GDP per capita]], the Bahamas is one of the wealthiest countries in the [[Americas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/real-gdp-per-capita/country-comparison|title=Real GDP per capita|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=9 July 2022|archive-date=5 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405152309/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/real-gdp-per-capita/country-comparison/|url-status=live}}</ref> Its currency (the [[Bahamian dollar]]) is kept at a 1-to-1 [[currency peg|peg]] with the [[US dollar]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
The Bahamas relies heavily on [[tourism]] to generate most of its economic activity. Tourism as an industry accounts for about 70% of the Bahamian GDP and provides jobs for about half of the country's workforce.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bahamas – Market Overview|url=https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/bahamas-market-overview|access-date=2022-12-20|website=trade.gov|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406172145/https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/bahamas-market-overview|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bahamas attracted 5.8&nbsp;million visitors in 2012, more than 70% of whom were cruise visitors.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Spencer|first=Andrew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LVdxDwAAQBAJ&q=bahamas+2012+tourist+70%25+cruise&pg=PA51|title=Travel and Tourism in the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities for Small Island Developing States|date=14 July 2018|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-69581-5|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427090427/https://books.google.com/books?id=LVdxDwAAQBAJ&q=bahamas+2012+tourist+70%25+cruise&pg=PA51|url-status=live}}</ref>
After tourism, the next most important economic sector is banking and [[Offshore financial centre|offshore international financial services]], accounting for some 15% of GDP.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It was revealed in the [[Panama Papers]] that the Bahamas is the jurisdiction with the most offshore entities or companies in the world.<ref name="ICIJbahamas">{{cite web|title=Panama Papers|url=https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/|website=The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists|access-date=17 August 2017|archive-date=10 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510002550/https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Bahamas is considered a major international financial center. According to some estimates, it is the fourth-largest tax haven globally based on assets under management. It is believed to hold approximately $13.7 trillion in private household wealth and an additional $12 trillion in corporate wealth sheltered within offshore shell companies. This combined figure represents roughly a quarter of the world's annual wealth creation. As recently as 2019, the offshore financial services sector contributed an estimated 20% to the Bahamian economy.<ref>{{cite news|last=Harrington|first=Brooke|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/08/offshore-tax-bahamas-wallace-groves/679491|title=The American Con Man Who Pioneered Offshore Finance|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=2024-08-19|access-date=2024-08-20}}</ref>
The economy has a very competitive tax regime (classified by some as a [[tax haven]]). The government derives its revenue from import tariffs, [[VAT]], licence fees, property and stamp taxes, but there is no income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, or wealth tax. Payroll taxes fund social insurance benefits and amount to 3.9% paid by the employee and 5.9% paid by the employer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Contributions Table|url=http://www.nib-bahamas.com/_m1722/Brochures/default.aspx|publisher=The National Insurance Board of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas|access-date=22 December 2011|date=11 May 2010|archive-date=15 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115114955/http://www.nib-bahamas.com/_m1722/Brochures/default.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 17.2%.<ref name="cia.gov">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Bahamas, The|date=26 January 2021}}</ref>
Agriculture and manufacturing form the third largest sector of the Bahamian economy, representing 5–7% of total GDP.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> An estimated 80% of the Bahamian food supply is imported. Major crops include [[onion]]s, [[okra]], [[tomato]]es, [[Orange (fruit)|oranges]], [[grapefruit]], [[cucumber]]s, [[sugar cane]], [[lemon]]s, [[Lime (fruit)|limes]], and [[sweet potato]]es.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wGA4o-UhAfgC&q=An+estimated+80%25+of+the+Bahamian+food+supply+is+imported.&pg=PA657|title=Europa World Year|date=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-85743-254-1|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426223437/https://books.google.com/books?id=wGA4o-UhAfgC&q=An+estimated+80%25+of+the+Bahamian+food+supply+is+imported.&pg=PA657|url-status=live}}</ref>
Access to [[biocapacity]] in the Bahamas is much higher than the world average. In 2016, the Bahamas had 9.2 global hectares<ref name=footprintdata>{{cite web|url=http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/countryTrends?cn=12&type=BCpc,EFCpc|title=Country Trends|publisher=Global Footprint Network|access-date=4 June 2020|archive-date=8 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808050235/http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/countryTrends?cn=12&type=BCpc,EFCpc|url-status=live}}</ref> of biocapacity per person within its territory, much more than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=David|last2=Hanscom|first2=Laurel|last3=Murthy|first3=Adeline|last4=Galli|first4=Alessandro|last5=Evans|first5=Mikel|last6=Neill|first6=Evan|last7=Mancini|first7=Maria Serena|last8=Martindill|first8=Jon|last9=Medouar|first9=FatimeZahra|last10=Huang|first10=Shiyu|last11=Wackernagel|first11=Mathis|year=2018|title=Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018|journal=Resources|volume=7|issue=3|pages=58|doi=10.3390/resources7030058|doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2016 the Bahamas used 3.7 global hectares of biocapacity per person – their [[ecological footprint]] of consumption. This means they use less biocapacity than the Bahamas contains. As a result, the Bahamas is running a biocapacity reserve.<ref name=footprintdata/>
===Transport===
[[File:LTIA.jpg|thumb|right|Leonard M. Thompson International Airport]]
The Bahamas contains about {{cvt|1,620|km}} of paved roads.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/> Inter-island transport is conducted primarily via ship and air. The country has 61 airports, the chief of which are [[Lynden Pindling International Airport]] on New Providence, [[Grand Bahama International Airport]] on Grand Bahama Island, and [[Marsh Harbour Airport|Leonard M. Thompson International Airport]] (formerly Marsh Harbour Airport) on Abaco Island.
==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of the Bahamas}}
[[File:Bahamas population.svg|thumb|right|Demographics of Bahamas, data of [[FAO]]; number of inhabitants in thousands]]
The Bahamas had a population of {{UN_Population|Bahamas}} at the 2018 Census, of which 25.9% were 14 or under, 67.2% 15 to 64 and 6.9% over 65. It has a population growth rate of 0.925% (2010), with a birth rate of 17.81/1,000 population, death rate of 9.35/1,000, and net migration rate of −2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html#top Country Comparison "Total fertility rate"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028133713/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html#top |date=28 October 2009 }}, [[CIA World Factbook]].</ref> The [[infant mortality rate]] is 23.21 deaths/1,000 live births. Residents have a life expectancy at birth of 69.87 years: 73.49 years for females, 66.32 years for males. The total fertility rate is 2.0 children born/woman (2010).<ref name="cia.gov"/> The latest official estimate (as at 2022) is 400,516.
The most populous islands are [[New Providence]], where [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], the capital and largest city, is located;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/About%20The%20Bahamas/The%20Islands/NEW%20PROVIDENCE/!ut/p/b1/vZTJcqMwFEW_JR-QIGaxFIMx8yTGjQsbQ8Bm8ATGX9-ke5PuqiSbTqSVqo7effdK9YiMSIisy8e6yq913-XHt3PGbWigWggx0FJZwAEtdE3k8mvKIVkiJhKcUne51yZV88vBuzbhNK-ukiWp1VZUDUe8lw8PNTGlR7pQ1pcbHgvhFt6cq4GvTTYWvt5Xrh3wMZXbB5iu-tJkbdvE-0zvt8JmL9hnuBPO2RG45d1PW2DKkL0lM5IcGFlhtA435LCbTaO-aSN7fT0q2i1vgrMQnjy_Qfk9ULvW2hWpeDLlOCu0Tpl9bXKO7n6HrutL1zEoL3Xv4j09LYbTxTD4YCHwVR5_7n8EMODrPLNPkbcKv4HPWvy0gkER6QLw7wAcAaCRAPkB6QFokwQmEsBsgmYetMfh4TdgvluyQtlbBMA2BDg8hzZe2VYRkIGsmySOTItPpwA7d2ymICiwW0R-KCL5BLvI_VfQobCwCEokZ4QsCADz3YIq68AlAh67iKWA6pA_LUj_aKSq64Bvd_jXp2G8__-GOpHV2_Zl2rUv4AUKHMnykBEgBxgG8kTUpBwrX7RJUfyNnpLm5cQPXlVpdXjRqnwlthBrh-ShJ1UDXS_NRURHo90WTK-iajZnD6aLn8szT52wDZmpbNzcv2TCTqIb0zcDOhxVlSr0uDcbiWKUalyv8k470XSp3lgszgd_q2-d4cZlbTIIrtkOdL-fWdVYSdVGEToQ29cDeYz31EOIc7JlqHMWdWLJ5sLZsBOr9m1-Ml5x1w5FUTCyWtVrmVqGFaZ4RYaSJjMKku96Lo3wWROhXCeHahlR9rpv98TQjobJ-etH8m7v0dMvgIXGSg!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|title=NEW PROVIDENCE|publisher=Government of the Bahamas|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=5 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605025124/http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/About%20The%20Bahamas/The%20Islands/NEW%20PROVIDENCE/!ut/p/b1/vZTJcqMwFEW_JR-QIGaxFIMx8yTGjQsbQ8Bm8ATGX9-ke5PuqiSbTqSVqo7effdK9YiMSIisy8e6yq913-XHt3PGbWigWggx0FJZwAEtdE3k8mvKIVkiJhKcUne51yZV88vBuzbhNK-ukiWp1VZUDUe8lw8PNTGlR7pQ1pcbHgvhFt6cq4GvTTYWvt5Xrh3wMZXbB5iu-tJkbdvE-0zvt8JmL9hnuBPO2RG45d1PW2DKkL0lM5IcGFlhtA435LCbTaO-aSN7fT0q2i1vgrMQnjy_Qfk9ULvW2hWpeDLlOCu0Tpl9bXKO7n6HrutL1zEoL3Xv4j09LYbTxTD4YCHwVR5_7n8EMODrPLNPkbcKv4HPWvy0gkER6QLw7wAcAaCRAPkB6QFokwQmEsBsgmYetMfh4TdgvluyQtlbBMA2BDg8hzZe2VYRkIGsmySOTItPpwA7d2ymICiwW0R-KCL5BLvI_VfQobCwCEokZ4QsCADz3YIq68AlAh67iKWA6pA_LUj_aKSq64Bvd_jXp2G8__-GOpHV2_Zl2rUv4AUKHMnykBEgBxgG8kTUpBwrX7RJUfyNnpLm5cQPXlVpdXjRqnwlthBrh-ShJ1UDXS_NRURHo90WTK-iajZnD6aLn8szT52wDZmpbNzcv2TCTqIb0zcDOhxVlSr0uDcbiWKUalyv8k470XSp3lgszgd_q2-d4cZlbTIIrtkOdL-fWdVYSdVGEToQ29cDeYz31EOIc7JlqHMWdWLJ5sLZsBOr9m1-Ml5x1w5FUTCyWtVrmVqGFaZ4RYaSJjMKku96Lo3wWROhXCeHahlR9rpv98TQjobJ-etH8m7v0dMvgIXGSg!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Grand Bahama]], home to the second largest city of [[Freeport, Bahamas|Freeport]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/About%20The%20Bahamas/The%20Islands/GRAND%20BAHAMA/!ut/p/b1/vZTLjpswFIafZR6ggwFjnKUJCcPN3BNggyBkuAVIQgYYnr5U6mJaqdNNp7bO4ki_zqf_95GZmAmZuEvHqkgfVd-llx99jBIeKCYhEJuKABBQA9sgtvjCWazAHJnQj7hZ7tVJUd3XMjrOeqAasTelwNnTmgyDcD8_9grNottoZzjcowyOOe5K4iTbsr70vJ7H-WY-swNU4sBKfV95PTQBSoUjEEueGiZIMHqI5dkT091WJq_fMjEB8l1dvG4sy2Zx8by8WXDTmL1g6D6iub-bvA1rnG-3vpDIRSOS0itHjW086pq3q-pfThcjk8o8gRIMsbOQp6fVbLSaBX84BPw9i_hTCQQ_BZ8golUgfpjgHwBQWUBcj3UApizjMyGAiVe_X9VldV6DWfN8k6dLNIOAtcygC2jQggfdsoPscKAB3LBIlPq7d-o7C80zOz-4gURkawaN9zvQ4vzNCtyySA8E4AH41UBFsPCakejbROCAYrH_G8j_10gV2wJf7vCXpYHOv39DjYmrrH2eTu0zeMYbxAoihhuMAIRYZA51hAR5UKfdzk20iDWONAfS4JSnoFKnmyu12FebcNHCosa2F1-LturjNuav8qmAqa5N_TzP97e3VkwPXZ6dzRGBuQoVJ3EonNatrIZ-bsfRk9vtUOc2GTqY3Ctk9JEIOf6I9i4XI05_hEkT26PNqaPOow5SK-3BUU3R49EAORDuu6QatksbVTZHRjHj9OYmpWz1Ul6wJruxKByuCBI3i9R31bpoiINngeC1ChsXj_GlHmepLQmUzSeGvvTtmbm2o4FczH64fLF-Lt8BcHa2Bg!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|title=GRAND BAHAMA|publisher=Government of the Bahamas|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=5 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605024513/http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/About%20The%20Bahamas/The%20Islands/GRAND%20BAHAMA/!ut/p/b1/vZTLjpswFIafZR6ggwFjnKUJCcPN3BNggyBkuAVIQgYYnr5U6mJaqdNNp7bO4ki_zqf_95GZmAmZuEvHqkgfVd-llx99jBIeKCYhEJuKABBQA9sgtvjCWazAHJnQj7hZ7tVJUd3XMjrOeqAasTelwNnTmgyDcD8_9grNottoZzjcowyOOe5K4iTbsr70vJ7H-WY-swNU4sBKfV95PTQBSoUjEEueGiZIMHqI5dkT091WJq_fMjEB8l1dvG4sy2Zx8by8WXDTmL1g6D6iub-bvA1rnG-3vpDIRSOS0itHjW086pq3q-pfThcjk8o8gRIMsbOQp6fVbLSaBX84BPw9i_hTCQQ_BZ8golUgfpjgHwBQWUBcj3UApizjMyGAiVe_X9VldV6DWfN8k6dLNIOAtcygC2jQggfdsoPscKAB3LBIlPq7d-o7C80zOz-4gURkawaN9zvQ4vzNCtyySA8E4AH41UBFsPCakejbROCAYrH_G8j_10gV2wJf7vCXpYHOv39DjYmrrH2eTu0zeMYbxAoihhuMAIRYZA51hAR5UKfdzk20iDWONAfS4JSnoFKnmyu12FebcNHCosa2F1-LturjNuav8qmAqa5N_TzP97e3VkwPXZ6dzRGBuQoVJ3EonNatrIZ-bsfRk9vtUOc2GTqY3Ctk9JEIOf6I9i4XI05_hEkT26PNqaPOow5SK-3BUU3R49EAORDuu6QatksbVTZHRjHj9OYmpWz1Ul6wJruxKByuCBI3i9R31bpoiINngeC1ChsXj_GlHmepLQmUzSeGvvTtmbm2o4FczH64fLF-Lt8BcHa2Bg!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Racial and ethnic groups===
According to the 99% response rate obtained from the race question on the 2010 Census questionnaire, 90.6% of the population identified themselves as being [[Afro-Bahamians|Black]], 4.7% [[White Bahamians|White]] and 2.1% of a [[Mixed ethnicity|Mixed]] (African and European).<ref name="soencouragement.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.soencouragement.org/forms/CENSUS2010084903300.pdf|title=2010 Census of Population and Housing|author=The Commonwealth of the Bahamas|quote=In 1722 when the first official census of the Bahamas was taken, 74% of the population was European or native British and 26% was [[African diaspora|African]] or mixed. Three centuries later, and according to the 99% response rate obtained from the race question on the 2010 Census questionnaire, 90.6% of the population identified themselves as being Afro-Bahamian, about five per cent (4.7%) Euro-Bahamian and two per cent (2%) of a mixed race (African and European) and (1%) other races and (1%) not stated.|pages=10 and 82|date=August 2012|access-date=19 April 2016|archive-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408090115/http://www.soencouragement.org/forms/CENSUS2010084903300.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Three centuries prior, in 1722 when the first official census of the Bahamas was taken, 74% of the population was native European and 26% native African.<ref name="soencouragement.org"/>
[[File:Gary White Visits Local Schools - Bahamas.JPG|thumb|[[Afro-Bahamians|Afro-Bahamian]] children at a local school]]
Since the colonial era of plantations, [[African diaspora|Africans]] or Afro-Bahamians have been the largest ethnic group in the Bahamas, whose primary ancestry was based in [[West Africa]]. The first Africans to arrive to the Bahamas were freed slaves from [[Bermuda]]; they arrived with the [[Eleutheran Adventurers]] looking for new lives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aiafla.org/upload_documents/CaribbeanCountriesResourceGuide.pdf|title=Caribbean Countries Resource Guide|website=aiafla.org|access-date=23 November 2020|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427004153/http://www.aiafla.org/upload_documents/CaribbeanCountriesResourceGuide.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
The [[Haitians|Haitian]] community in the Bahamas is also largely of African descent and numbers about 80,000. Due to an extremely high immigration of Haitians to the Bahamas, the Bahamian government started deporting illegal Haitian immigrants to their homeland in late 2014.<ref>Davis, Nick (20 September 2009), [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8257660.stm "Bahamas outlook clouds for Haitians"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630073227/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8257660.stm |date=30 June 2015 }}, BBC.</ref>
[[File:Bahamas 1988 (644) New Providence Creative Learning Preschool, Nassau (25181400074).jpg|thumb|[[White Bahamian]]s on the island of New Providence]]
The white Bahamian population are mainly the descendants of the [[Puritan|English Puritans]] and [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|American Loyalists]] escaping the [[Revolutionary War (United States)|American Revolution]] who arrived in 1649 and 1783, respectively.<ref>"[https://archive.today/20120805113249/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bhswgw/land.htm The Names of Loyalist Settlers and Grants of Land Which They Received from the British Government: 1778–1783]".</ref> Many Southern Loyalists went to the [[Abaco Islands]], half of whose population was of European descent as of 1985.<ref>Christmas, Rachel J. and Christmas, Walter (1984) ''Fielding's Bermuda and the Bahamas 1985''. Fielding Travel Books. p. 158. {{ISBN|0-688-03965-0}}</ref> The term ''white'' is usually used to identify Bahamians with Anglo ancestry, as well as some light-skinned Afro-Bahamians. Sometimes Bahamians use the term ''[[Conch (people)|Conchy Joe]]'' to describe people of Anglo descent. Generally, however, Bahamians self-identify as white or black along the lines similar to the distinction made in the US.<ref name="The Lesser-Known">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TGSgT2SyH0C|title=The Lesser-Known Varieties of English: An Introduction|editor1=Schreier, Daniel|editor2=Trudgill, Peter|editor3=Schneider, Edgar W.|editor4=Williams, Jeffrey P.|page=162|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139487412|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801101604/https://books.google.com/books?id=-TGSgT2SyH0C|url-status=live}}</ref>
A small portion of the Euro-Bahamian population are [[Greek Bahamians]], descended from [[Greece|Greek]] labourers who came to help develop the sponging industry in the 1900s.<ref>Johnson, Howard (1986), "'Safeguarding our traders': The beginnings of immigration restrictions in the Bahamas, 1925–33", Immigrants and Minorities, 5 (1): 5–27,</ref> They make up less than 2% of the nation's population, but have still preserved their distinct [[Greek Bahamians|Greek Bahamian]] culture.<ref>Johnson 1986</ref><ref>Crain, Edward E. (1994), Historic architecture in the Caribbean Islands, University Press of Florida</ref>
Other ethnic groups in the Bahamas include Asians and people of Spanish and Portuguese origin.<ref>[https://minorityrights.org/country/bahamas/ Bahamas – World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples]</ref>
===Religion===
{{Further|Religion in the Bahamas}}
{{Pie chart
| thumb=right
| caption=Religion in the Bahamas (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/bahamas#/?affiliations_religion_id=11&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015|title=Religion in Bahamas|website=Pew Global Religious Futures|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-date=16 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016214732/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/bahamas#/?affiliations_religion_id=11&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
| label1=[[Protestant]]
| value1=80
| color1=White
| label2=[[Roman Catholic]]
| value2=14.5
| color2=Yellow
| label3=Other Christian
| value3=1.3
| color3=Blue
| label4=Unaffiliated
| value4=3.1
| color4=Grey
| label5=Other religion
| value5=1.1
| color5=Black
}}
The islands' population is predominantly [[Christians|Christian]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/> [[Protestant]] denominations collectively account for more than 70% of the population, with [[Baptists]] representing 35% of the population, [[Anglicans]] 15%, [[Pentecostals]] 8%, [[Church of God (Holiness)|Church of God]] 5%, [[Seventh-day Adventists]] 5% and [[Methodists]] 4%. There is also a significant [[Roman Catholic]] community accounting for about 14%.<ref name=us>{{citation-attribution|1=United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. [http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108512.htm Bahamas: International Religious Freedom Report 2008] }}</ref>
[[Jews]] in the Bahamas have a history dating back to the [[Cristopher Columbus|Columbus]] expeditions, where [[Luis De Torres]], an interpreter and member of Columbus' party, is believed to have been [[secretly Jewish]]. Today, there is a small community with about 200 members, according to census data, although higher estimates place this figure at 300.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahamas Virtual Jewish History Tour|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bahamas-virtual-jewish-history-tour|website=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=2 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102150957/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bahamas-virtual-jewish-history-tour|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bahamas' Jewish community has a small but steady presence|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/opinion/fl-jj-opinion-gurinsky-bahamas-jewish-community-20190918-20190909-aww2u23jija7bet32nlpd764ji-story.html|website=Sun Sentinel|date=9 September 2019|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202034129/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/opinion/fl-jj-opinion-gurinsky-bahamas-jewish-community-20190918-20190909-aww2u23jija7bet32nlpd764ji-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Census">{{cite web|title=Population & Census|url=https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Key%20Statistics/Social%20Statistics/Population%20and%20Census/!ut/p/b1/vZDJkqJAEIafpR_ApliE8kghIsqOsl0IBATZN4Gup5-e5TCXHi8TnXnKiC_jy_yJgPCIoInmRxZNj7aJqp9zwIYmAqat7Gge7kUG8CzDc2hr0RLDEi7hOT6z7hl5OciX0M4T6ToKgmeSEqJU4PvKoTIipN33EZDTU7hjpSJtnvMw56kac0V66XAylk8Mn8OuzXnnbFNRppiN1UCpz3VHqdEUmXI-y2yHSidMtZpubvRGoNm1b4ago1i9gfrotaVQgoH31QiasJlRj3gDFUNW3UxytkkdcXL8OJpboWNlWu7cqjqX8KPvvXbMsRxmo8HGIUw_jHp5e_t83P98HHxRPHiVy-_9LwBwoF7nGvxCaCCpPM9AVbo4AMgk4C2bNIFOU3-Af534Lwk4kK8AivA_Ae7LMyFLXAgPMKFdfHQyLrFVYEtTr0_SFlsMSoC1snG1a3VWE4lUFXcBynWZMFLGgl_VwlLV5GgkjnVF_L4uVS16JeS-Wagz3y0kv1v43ZEy_z_SExE8bvX7Etfv4J2BDENBkgY7iuO2EBJO4bM7IZNXUbbu26C_0n1EieCqHEz3Fgn61tNNwb74ZYo3m9mf3HwNXBWP3B7B9nkMxMiuy1JXGbJnTlMsZltkQUU818WZMgc70DBlHzRUnKxWuVFgEe2xKCJvut9pOT-6T72aaOnUgS4-DHnLDUv2mMu9HD5jHempcad3RcN5Cc9w7t2SHGPexJbPJrkbrZOC8RGumIu6_qIHbWDUYsWRA7fiQkj2mfO0HZ2ODQm1ur-0yjYzDUrkLzB2HjBSR-NBaMe2Tomuns8Ka4l37e9m3n4Am6UKZw!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|website=bahamas.gov|year=2011|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202034130/https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Key%20Statistics/Social%20Statistics/Population%20and%20Census/!ut/p/b1/vZDJkqJAEIafpR_ApliE8kghIsqOsl0IBATZN4Gup5-e5TCXHi8TnXnKiC_jy_yJgPCIoInmRxZNj7aJqp9zwIYmAqat7Gge7kUG8CzDc2hr0RLDEi7hOT6z7hl5OciX0M4T6ToKgmeSEqJU4PvKoTIipN33EZDTU7hjpSJtnvMw56kac0V66XAylk8Mn8OuzXnnbFNRppiN1UCpz3VHqdEUmXI-y2yHSidMtZpubvRGoNm1b4ago1i9gfrotaVQgoH31QiasJlRj3gDFUNW3UxytkkdcXL8OJpboWNlWu7cqjqX8KPvvXbMsRxmo8HGIUw_jHp5e_t83P98HHxRPHiVy-_9LwBwoF7nGvxCaCCpPM9AVbo4AMgk4C2bNIFOU3-Af534Lwk4kK8AivA_Ae7LMyFLXAgPMKFdfHQyLrFVYEtTr0_SFlsMSoC1snG1a3VWE4lUFXcBynWZMFLGgl_VwlLV5GgkjnVF_L4uVS16JeS-Wagz3y0kv1v43ZEy_z_SExE8bvX7Etfv4J2BDENBkgY7iuO2EBJO4bM7IZNXUbbu26C_0n1EieCqHEz3Fgn61tNNwb74ZYo3m9mf3HwNXBWP3B7B9nkMxMiuy1JXGbJnTlMsZltkQUU818WZMgc70DBlHzRUnKxWuVFgEe2xKCJvut9pOT-6T72aaOnUgS4-DHnLDUv2mMu9HD5jHempcad3RcN5Cc9w7t2SHGPexJbPJrkbrZOC8RGumIu6_qIHbWDUYsWRA7fiQkj2mfO0HZ2ODQm1ur-0yjYzDUrkLzB2HjBSR-NBaMe2Tomuns8Ka4l37e9m3n4Am6UKZw!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Muslims]] also have a minority presence. While some slaves and free Africans in the colonial era were Muslim, the religion was absent until around the 1970s, when it experienced a revival. Today, there are about 300 Muslims.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jamaa' Ahlus Sunnah Bahamas (Jamaat-ul-Islaam Bahamas)|url=http://jamaa-ahlussunnah-bahamas.com/history.html|website=Jamaa' Ahlus Sunnah Bahamas|access-date=2 December 2021|archive-date=2 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202034134/http://jamaa-ahlussunnah-bahamas.com/history.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Census" />
There are also smaller communities of [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]], [[Hindus]], [[Rastafari]] and practitioners of traditional African religions such as [[Obeah]].<ref name="Census" />
===Languages===
The [[official language]] of the Bahamas is English. Many people speak an [[English-based creole languages|English-based creole language]] called [[Bahamian Creole|''Bahamian dialect'']] (known simply as "dialect") or "Bahamianese".<ref name="Hackert">{{cite web|url=http://clu.uni.no/icame/ij34/ICE_Age2_3.pdf|title=ICE Bahamas: Why and how?|editor=Hackert, Stephanie|publisher=University of Augsburg|pages=41–45|year=2010|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-date=3 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203163201/http://clu.uni.no/icame/ij34/ICE_Age2_3.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Laurente Gibbs, a Bahamian writer and actor, was the first to coin the latter name in a poem and has since promoted its usage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eleutheranews.com/?p=2963|title=SWAA students have accomplished Bahamian playwright, actor and poet Laurente Gibbs as Guest Speaker|editor=Staff|date=27 February 2013|publisher=Eleuthera News|access-date=1 February 2017|archive-date=3 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203031725/http://eleutheranews.com/?p=2963|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0-7-0WNpxkC|title=Preserving Our Heritage: Language Arts, an Integrated Approach, Part 1|last=Collie|first=Linda|pages=26–29|year=2003|publisher=Heinemann|isbn=9780435984809|access-date=1 February 2017|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427050617/https://books.google.com/books?id=I0-7-0WNpxkC|url-status=live}}</ref> Both are used as [[wikt:autoglossonym|autoglossonym]]s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZkeAAAAQBAJ|title=The Survey of Pidgin and Creole Languages, Volume 1|editor1=Michaelis, Susanne Maria|editor2=Maurer, Philippe|editor3=Haspelmath, Martin|editor4=Huber, Magnus|pages=127–129|year=2013|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=9780199691401|access-date=1 February 2017|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426220543/https://books.google.com/books?id=NZkeAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Haitian Creole]], a [[French-based creole languages|French-based creole language]] is spoken by Haitians and their descendants, who make up of about 25% of the total population. It is known simply as ''Creole''<ref name="cia.gov"/> to differentiate it from Bahamian English.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Book Review: Urban Bahamian Creole: System and Variation|editor=Osiapem, Iyabo F.|year=2006|journal=Journal of English Linguistics|doi=10.1177/0075424206292990|volume=34|issue=4|pages=362–366|s2cid=144817997}}</ref>
===Education===
{{main|Education in the Bahamas}}
According to 2011 estimates, 95% of the Bahamian adult population are literate.
The [[University of the Bahamas]] (UB) is the national higher education/tertiary system. Offering baccalaureate, masters and associate degrees, UB has three campuses, and teaching and research centres throughout the Bahamas. The University of the Bahamas was chartered on 10 November 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2017|title=About Us|url=https://www.ub.edu.bs/about-us/|url-status=live|access-date=26 April 2021|publisher=University of the Bahamas|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426015037/https://www.ub.edu.bs/about-us/}}</ref>
==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of the Bahamas|Music of the Bahamas}}
[[File:Junkanoo.jpg|thumb|[[Junkanoo]] celebration in [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]]]]
The culture of the islands is a mixture of African (Afro-Bahamians being the largest ethnicity), [[British Culture|British]] and [[American culture|American]] due to historical family ties, migration of freed slaves from the United States to the Bahamas, and as the dominant country in the region and source of most tourists.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>
A form of African-based folk magic is practised by some Bahamians, mainly in the Family Islands (out-islands) of the Bahamas.<ref>{{cite web|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005 – Bahamas|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2005/51625.htm|publisher=United States Department of State|access-date=22 July 2012|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221083126/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2005/51625.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The practice of [[obeah]] is illegal in the Bahamas and punishable in law.<ref>[http://laws.bahamas.gov.bs/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1873/1873-0015/PenalCode_1.pdf "Practising Obeah, etc."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421040918/http://laws.bahamas.gov.bs/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1873/1873-0015/PenalCode_1.pdf |date=21 April 2017 }}, Ch. 84 Penal Code. laws.bahamas.gov.bs</ref>
In the outer islands also called Family Islands, handicrafts include basketry made from palm fronds. This material, commonly called "straw", is plaited into hats and bags that are popular tourist items.<ref>[[Hurbon, Laennec]] (1995). "American Fantasy and Haitian Vodou". ''Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou''. Ed. Donald J. Cosentino. Los Angeles: [[UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History]], pp. 181–97.</ref>
[[Junkanoo]] is a traditional Afro-Bahamian street parade of 'rushing', music, dance and art held in Nassau (and a few other settlements) every [[Boxing Day]] and [[New Year's Day]]. Junkanoo is also used to celebrate other holidays and events such as Emancipation Day.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas"/>
[[Regatta]]s are important social events in many family island settlements. They usually feature one or more days of sailing by old-fashioned [[Boat|work boats]], as well as an onshore festival.<ref>{{cite web|title=Native Boat Regattas in The Bahamas|url=https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/the-bahamas/native-boat-regattas-in-the-bahamas|website=World Nomads|date=17 March 2020|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426223127/https://www.worldnomads.com/explore/caribbean/the-bahamas/native-boat-regattas-in-the-bahamas|url-status=live}}</ref>
Many dishes are associated with [[Bahamian cuisine]], which reflects Caribbean, African and European influences. Some settlements have festivals associated with the traditional crop or food of that area, such as the "Pineapple Fest" in Gregory Town, [[Eleuthera]] or the "Crab Fest" on Andros. Other significant traditions include [[story telling]].
Bahamians have created a rich literature of poetry, short stories, plays and short fictional works. Common themes in these works are (1) an awareness of change, (2) a striving for sophistication, (3) a search for identity, (4) nostalgia for the old ways and (5) an appreciation of beauty. Some major writers are Susan Wallace, Percival Miller, Robert Johnson, Raymond Brown, O.M. Smith, William Johnson, Eddie Minnis and [[Winston Saunders]].<ref>Collinwood, Dean W. and Dodge, Steve (1989) ''Modern Bahamian Society'', Caribbean Books, {{ISBN|0931209013}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Collinwood|first1=Dean|last2=Phillips|first2=Rick|year=1990|title=The National Literature of the New Bahamas|journal=Weber Studies|volume=7|issue=1|pages=43–62}}</ref>
The best-known folklore and legends in the Bahamas include the [[lusca]] and [[chickcharney]] creatures of Andros, Pretty Molly on Exuma Bahamas and the Lost City of [[Atlantis]] on Bimini Bahamas.
===Media===
{{main|Television in the Bahamas|List of newspapers in the Bahamas}}
===Symbols===
{{main|Flag of the Bahamas|Coat of arms of the Bahamas}}
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.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/> 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.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – The Bahamas"/>
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 Maria (ship)|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:<ref>[https://archive.today/20120722015816/http://www.bahamasschools.com/National%20Coat%20of%20Arms.htm ASJ-Bahamas National Coat of Arms]. Bahamasschools.com. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref>
<blockquote>Forward, Upward, Onward Together.</blockquote>
The national flower of the Bahamas is the [[Tecoma stans|yellow elder]], as it is endemic to the Bahama islands and it blooms throughout the year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Yellow Elder – National Flower of The Bahamas – Government – Details|url=https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/about%20the%20bahamas/national%20symbols/the%20yellow%20elder%20-%20national%20flower%20of%20the%20bahamas/!ut/p/b1/vZLJcqMwFEW_JR9AEFhgWGJmIwZjMW4oJg_YGIzD-PWddPUi3VWd9KITvZWqjt59OhIZkyEZ39LhfExfzs0tvb7tYzZZAdUUBMiZKgNYoHsOEpy1RtsU8wpEHwAQfHY-IEPsMUhqzKOCRkNlctlCWRpHxElNbOHE68Iynl4gQaGsMGBdc7UOooltq3DQz6dLoz1a8VpXqN53vRA8MpHTt0Pr-zt4qUzNzRNzOAJFHF39Gs07zQtHZFObi0ckR5fm26WQstWmujkUeukqRQ8fpVyGgViZKVZZ-8Qj-2zIapyqTGqx2TRI9LndSi0jhYJB77ljnBYzAlXy0O5Msrrsnp5-OQF_WcI_OIk_RAz6E-BN-0_ggxmiV2D9rgP2AdApILh7agc4iyIxGQKY7Ku51ZfL4laLa2K5RZa0tajO102vcy2sIKvYWJbMGxT2TSy5W7MSRyxPtvVycArf9TaCMKzhLfsz0KYx_xooUqzhMWAP4FcHqozNvTpaY0dgaKDa1HcHrr5VqerY4Mtv-Nungbv__4ZbMj5n9fOY18_gmeNZillzkOdYACG3Jv2rR0z4Yk6SM_toc81iOuuWYymjx4lZIC_nvd7kcU8Mc-6dxDaKHMQcpO5wjMrwrtwPHbL6SlNM3eXCucgKsy36MKDnoCvPTc_6ndJfjE2gcNMqV9BEBVkWIp5lLTXvrK2imjU_3_yeCCc4bbq6IXxBrran6XC-N_vdfWbDhz0OKxyJRa1GMWyDyGauPcBhND8qOh2tJJWEO-_W9wW3QT1rVincy2v0cHLoTy6cVR_nUiIeOyKmpDEZE4MiDtgGsBGDyxNpaU1dkm3tDYh1tSV8V6Xw9APLM3ZW/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|access-date=30 October 2020|website=bahamas.gov.bs|archive-date=4 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104155259/https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/about%20the%20bahamas/national%20symbols/the%20yellow%20elder%20-%20national%20flower%20of%20the%20bahamas/!ut/p/b1/vZLJcqMwFEW_JR9AEFhgWGJmIwZjMW4oJg_YGIzD-PWddPUi3VWd9KITvZWqjt59OhIZkyEZ39LhfExfzs0tvb7tYzZZAdUUBMiZKgNYoHsOEpy1RtsU8wpEHwAQfHY-IEPsMUhqzKOCRkNlctlCWRpHxElNbOHE68Iynl4gQaGsMGBdc7UOooltq3DQz6dLoz1a8VpXqN53vRA8MpHTt0Pr-zt4qUzNzRNzOAJFHF39Gs07zQtHZFObi0ckR5fm26WQstWmujkUeukqRQ8fpVyGgViZKVZZ-8Qj-2zIapyqTGqx2TRI9LndSi0jhYJB77ljnBYzAlXy0O5Msrrsnp5-OQF_WcI_OIk_RAz6E-BN-0_ggxmiV2D9rgP2AdApILh7agc4iyIxGQKY7Ku51ZfL4laLa2K5RZa0tajO102vcy2sIKvYWJbMGxT2TSy5W7MSRyxPtvVycArf9TaCMKzhLfsz0KYx_xooUqzhMWAP4FcHqozNvTpaY0dgaKDa1HcHrr5VqerY4Mtv-Nungbv__4ZbMj5n9fOY18_gmeNZillzkOdYACG3Jv2rR0z4Yk6SM_toc81iOuuWYymjx4lZIC_nvd7kcU8Mc-6dxDaKHMQcpO5wjMrwrtwPHbL6SlNM3eXCucgKsy36MKDnoCvPTc_6ndJfjE2gcNMqV9BEBVkWIp5lLTXvrK2imjU_3_yeCCc4bbq6IXxBrran6XC-N_vdfWbDhz0OKxyJRa1GMWyDyGauPcBhND8qOh2tJJWEO-_W9wW3QT1rVincy2v0cHLoTy6cVR_nUiIeOyKmpDEZE4MiDtgGsBGDyxNpaU1dkm3tDYh1tSV8V6Xw9APLM3ZW/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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 [[Delonix regia|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.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120722015954/http://www.bahamasschools.com/Symbol%20-%20Flower.htm ASJ-Bahamas Symbol – Flower]. Bahamasschools.com. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref>
===Sport===
{{See also|Sport in the Bahamas}}
[[File:Tommy Robinson National Stadium.jpg|thumb|[[Thomas Robinson Stadium]] in [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]].]]
Sport is a significant part of Bahamian culture. The national sport is [[cricket]], which has been played in the Bahamas from 1846<ref>[http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Recreation%20and%20Sports/Cricket/!ut/p/b1/vZLbcqowGEafpQ9gCWe4BMEQkVM454ZRQARFaEVQnn7bvW86nWl7s9vkKjMr_8r3TShCJRQ5b8e62g51d96e3s5EyFgALUXhJAvyQAAodDeKKxqMwwtUTCVGyty0zqogwvtDGmNlle4gvgSOGNk7tShgh_d9CjJVb_fj4gBkmT3l57mqJD0El7VotoIrDzQXoOV62ec0agM27tQ887OgbDDbCHdtLk4WvIVFq1SCk8p6d09czrFKW4ZEnMXzwnc7GN_L2ai9nOzYQ0TMaa5u261a87u2a9dkaa0by_cP5H7u8kXUZ5uzJL1oF_YRMn2EBJ8sBXzXwb_7nwEc-L5D8iXyNuEv8NUTv5zgMVT6AMR3QBABgGigYJ_2AGcwVEAlgMv85t6j-TjjZsbmsMFWoNMmmCMraJLIDvTZGiLb1rwJ6LTtzylz0Txg7TDyh41bRDhUFa3WAK1-FDpMID-ES1owQx74Dv3TQsg70qMCMXAVngHQBL8t_N1KoeuwP57ww6f5_8I1Repd-zzl7TN4ZnmJE2VZ4BiJEQRapKIm5HjtgibdvZmwL45J4Rx8W518pNe9Dp3Rr-Lx6l3yfSUHL8tjt-6bIbA0LbqJ3avanl0Yhi9HMQb9CMnikntug5LX1VVFR0GNvbw8Fp1vd6sZYRtN-2AYdvJeJ_StbSZpuro4FV2GnE7SiK90bFc0IXzpbUmIVeZ1WDqrOK-4xZyE4WBklphp-ZAGpW60bmnXOTpmBoE-o9UWcoBC1Cx8Ea_cviX3ELCgmzhWnNVRATUCT5RtdG1J9e1obgRszMm7XSpPfwAK0BGQ/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/ Cricket – Government – Non-Residents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927214656/http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Recreation%20and%20Sports/Cricket/!ut/p/b1/vZLbcqowGEafpQ9gCWe4BMEQkVM454ZRQARFaEVQnn7bvW86nWl7s9vkKjMr_8r3TShCJRQ5b8e62g51d96e3s5EyFgALUXhJAvyQAAodDeKKxqMwwtUTCVGyty0zqogwvtDGmNlle4gvgSOGNk7tShgh_d9CjJVb_fj4gBkmT3l57mqJD0El7VotoIrDzQXoOV62ec0agM27tQ887OgbDDbCHdtLk4WvIVFq1SCk8p6d09czrFKW4ZEnMXzwnc7GN_L2ai9nOzYQ0TMaa5u261a87u2a9dkaa0by_cP5H7u8kXUZ5uzJL1oF_YRMn2EBJ8sBXzXwb_7nwEc-L5D8iXyNuEv8NUTv5zgMVT6AMR3QBABgGigYJ_2AGcwVEAlgMv85t6j-TjjZsbmsMFWoNMmmCMraJLIDvTZGiLb1rwJ6LTtzylz0Txg7TDyh41bRDhUFa3WAK1-FDpMID-ES1owQx74Dv3TQsg70qMCMXAVngHQBL8t_N1KoeuwP57ww6f5_8I1Repd-zzl7TN4ZnmJE2VZ4BiJEQRapKIm5HjtgibdvZmwL45J4Rx8W518pNe9Dp3Rr-Lx6l3yfSUHL8tjt-6bIbA0LbqJ3avanl0Yhi9HMQb9CMnikntug5LX1VVFR0GNvbw8Fp1vd6sZYRtN-2AYdvJeJ_StbSZpuro4FV2GnE7SiK90bFc0IXzpbUmIVeZ1WDqrOK-4xZyE4WBklphp-ZAGpW60bmnXOTpmBoE-o9UWcoBC1Cx8Ea_cviX3ELCgmzhWnNVRATUCT5RtdG1J9e1obgRszMm7XSpPfwAK0BGQ/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/ |date=27 September 2013 }}. Bahamas.gov.bs. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> and is the oldest sport played in the country today. The [[Bahamas Cricket Association]] was formed in 1936, and from the 1940s to the 1970s, cricket was played amongst many Bahamians. Bahamas is not a part of the [[West Indies Cricket Board]], so players are not eligible to play for the [[West Indies cricket team]]. The late 1970s saw the game begin to decline in the country as teachers, who had previously come from the United Kingdom with a passion for cricket, were replaced by teachers who had been trained in the United States. The Bahamian physical education teachers had no knowledge of the game and instead taught [[track and field]], [[basketball]], [[baseball]], [[softball]],<ref>[http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/feb/01/call-to-continue-to-develop-softball/ "Call to continue to develop softball"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928122803/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/feb/01/call-to-continue-to-develop-softball/ |date=28 September 2013 }}. ''The Tribune''. (1 February 2013). Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> [[volleyball]]<ref>[http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/jul/12/team-bahamas-ratified-for-volleyball-championships/?news "Team Bahamas ratified for volleyball championships"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928122806/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/jul/12/team-bahamas-ratified-for-volleyball-championships/?news |date=28 September 2013 }}, ''The Tribune'' (12 July 2013). Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> and [[association football]]<ref>[https://archive.today/20130909103150/http://bahamasfa.com/ Bahamas – Football Association]. Bahamasfa.com. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> where primary and high schools compete against each other. Today cricket is still enjoyed by a few locals and immigrants in the country, usually from [[Jamaica]], [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad]] and [[Barbados]]. Cricket is played on Saturdays and Sundays at Windsor Park and Haynes Oval in [[Nassau, Bahamas]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sports|url=https://www.thebahamasguide.com/facts/sports/|website=The Bahamas Guide|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426235328/https://www.thebahamasguide.com/facts/sports/|url-status=live}}</ref> Whiles the main and only cricket grounds on [[Grand Bahama]] is the Lucaya Cricket Oval.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Lucaya Cricket Club|url=https://www.bahamas.com/plan-your-trip/things-to-do/lucaya-cricket-club|website=Bahamas.com|access-date=16 February 2022|archive-date=28 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128044424/https://www.bahamas.com/plan-your-trip/things-to-do/lucaya-cricket-club|url-status=live}}</ref>
The only other sporting event that began before cricket was [[horse racing]], which started in 1796. The most popular spectator sports are those imported from the United States, such as basketball,<ref>[https://archive.today/20130909103143/http://www.bahamasbasketballfederation.com/ The Bahamas Basketball Federation]. The Bahamas Basketball Federation. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> [[American football]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sturupp|first=Fred|date=12 July 2018|title=American football in The Bahamas poised for a new era of exposure|url=https://thenassauguardian.com/2018/07/12/american-football-in-the-bahamas-poised-for-a-new-era-of-exposure/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713190103/https://thenassauguardian.com/2018/07/12/american-football-in-the-bahamas-poised-for-a-new-era-of-exposure/|archive-date=13 July 2018|access-date=10 March 2019|website=The Nassau Guardian}}</ref> and baseball,<ref>[http://www.baseballbahamas.net/ www.Baseball Bahamas.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929012111/http://www.baseballbahamas.net/ |date=29 September 2013 }}. www.Baseball Bahamas.net. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> rather than from the British Isles, due to the country's close proximity to the United States, unlike their other Caribbean counterparts, where cricket, [[soccer]], and [[netball]] have proven to be more popular.
Over the years American football has become much more popular than soccer. Leagues for teens and adults have been developed by the Bahamas American Football Federation.<ref>Fred Sturrup, [https://archive.today/20130909103127/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11035&Itemid=50 "American Football Expanding Locally"], ''The Nassau Guardian''. 17 June 2011.</ref> However soccer, as it is commonly known in the country, is still a very popular sport amongst high school pupils. Leagues are governed by the [[Bahamas Football Association]]. In 2013 the Bahamian government has been working closely with [[Tottenham Hotspur]] of London to promote the sport in the country as well as promoting the Bahamas in the European market. In 2013, 'Spurs' became the first Premier League club to play an [[exhibition match]] in the Bahamas, facing the [[Jamaica men's national football team|Jamaica men's national team]]. [[Joe Lewis (British businessman)|Joe Lewis]], the owner of the club, is based in the Bahamas.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thebahamasinvestor.com/2013/jamaica-spurs-ready-for-bahamas-match/|title=Jamaica, Spurs ready for Bahamas match|date=11 March 2013|work=The Bahamas Investor|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102121214/http://www.thebahamasinvestor.com/2013/jamaica-spurs-ready-for-bahamas-match/|archive-date=2 January 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bahamas.com/bahamas-host-football-match-part-40th-anniversary-independence|title=The Bahamas to host football match as part of 40th anniversary of independence|publisher=The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102122158/https://www.bahamas.com/bahamas-host-football-match-part-40th-anniversary-independence|archive-date=2 January 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Luscombe|first1=Richard|last2=Teather|first2=David|title=The East Ender who blew a billion dollars in a day|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=22 March 2008|access-date=1 October 2011|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/mar/22/creditcrunch.moneyinvestments|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902032403/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/mar/22/creditcrunch.moneyinvestments|archive-date=2 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
Other popular sports are [[Swimming (sport)|swimming]],<ref>[http://www.bahamasswimmingfederation.com/ Home] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112084320/http://www.bahamasswimmingfederation.com/ |date=12 January 2012 }}. Bahamas Swimming Federation (6 April 2014). Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> [[tennis]]<ref>[https://archive.today/20130909103138/http://www.bahamastennis.com/ Bahamas Tennis]. Bahamas Tennis. Mark Knowlesrepresented the Bahamas as #1 in the world in Doubles on the Men's ATP tour. He won many Grand Slams as doubles Specialist over a 25-year professional career. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> and [[boxing]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Recreation%20and%20Sports/Boxing/!ut/p/b1/vZTZbqMwGEafpQ9Asc1-6YaEfd-5iUIgCSQEKAkkfvpJRyPNqFLbm2ntK8vn9ycfL3ROp3R-3kz1fnOpu_Pm9DbO-TUDFAtjVrQUDvBAi1wTu4KKHI5_ANkDAB80DD6tN9Cf-o8AFnyVn9CpmqGbPGp7RfN3hyzxveXx4hiDHrZ9kJavK-AaaXbRdl53vonb2CklqTTHUmA6Kss4jvPFFO7OfInbAodaNLWHhVGJHDavq3Bjt5sEyMl87S9dnhirMVvq0xXfDHxqbk3gEl55BaX6EogpCOs5r1ZzJ60KZg9tfVfdI-8O4DBXjbLij11vR-N1iNv-3FSBuTtI1Pbek2H_9PSFh4eoLz3knyJvJn8Dnx3Vpyt4iLbVrq3o7IEJ_2BhDIAGAfYD6AFWRXRIp4BdB82918iR-A2Y7xYJ7rasEQgQHE3Zs6OTEdoBDGTrDgEgY4Mf80vGBlC3bdMtYz96wS9Xzlyj94EOCqVH4ALyRsSBwIHfHahwjvgQIYQu5hBQDPDTgT-rVHEd5tt3-O7S_P9Anc7ron2et-0zeGY4kRUkiWeRiHgeCnTcRLxQjDpeunNsw6lmwq70F7q9rIO9JYddoazrI3MX-rVdO8zazYptNFTZiXi3pHLOFnsYPSD7dr-RZJTscXu0JgxfLLQ3IOmJ5Hv5EGtkJZqDhwq8oJrXsaCoV5nyiH5VLXIAqUr6dpUXxwTFhLMUJqnSViOVfk7beD6eirNhtL3AhGg7TktXmNA2hEv54lDlQGY3ygUmnVqqDhazXXWCfWWpWB3TgavthK9dhr2mj1d9yaL07YPp2yiaTN5XZyj-7fPTLxd8hiw!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|title=Boxing – Government – Non-Residents|work=Bahamas.gov.bs|access-date=20 April 2014|archive-date=26 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726151323/https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Recreation%20and%20Sports/Boxing/!ut/p/b1/vZTZbqMwGEafpQ9Asc1-6YaEfd-5iUIgCSQEKAkkfvpJRyPNqFLbm2ntK8vn9ycfL3ROp3R-3kz1fnOpu_Pm9DbO-TUDFAtjVrQUDvBAi1wTu4KKHI5_ANkDAB80DD6tN9Cf-o8AFnyVn9CpmqGbPGp7RfN3hyzxveXx4hiDHrZ9kJavK-AaaXbRdl53vonb2CklqTTHUmA6Kss4jvPFFO7OfInbAodaNLWHhVGJHDavq3Bjt5sEyMl87S9dnhirMVvq0xXfDHxqbk3gEl55BaX6EogpCOs5r1ZzJ60KZg9tfVfdI-8O4DBXjbLij11vR-N1iNv-3FSBuTtI1Pbek2H_9PSFh4eoLz3knyJvJn8Dnx3Vpyt4iLbVrq3o7IEJ_2BhDIAGAfYD6AFWRXRIp4BdB82918iR-A2Y7xYJ7rasEQgQHE3Zs6OTEdoBDGTrDgEgY4Mf80vGBlC3bdMtYz96wS9Xzlyj94EOCqVH4ALyRsSBwIHfHahwjvgQIYQu5hBQDPDTgT-rVHEd5tt3-O7S_P9Anc7ron2et-0zeGY4kRUkiWeRiHgeCnTcRLxQjDpeunNsw6lmwq70F7q9rIO9JYddoazrI3MX-rVdO8zazYptNFTZiXi3pHLOFnsYPSD7dr-RZJTscXu0JgxfLLQ3IOmJ5Hv5EGtkJZqDhwq8oJrXsaCoV5nyiH5VLXIAqUr6dpUXxwTFhLMUJqnSViOVfk7beD6eirNhtL3AhGg7TktXmNA2hEv54lDlQGY3ygUmnVqqDhazXXWCfWWpWB3TgavthK9dhr2mj1d9yaL07YPp2yiaTN5XZyj-7fPTLxd8hiw!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref> where Bahamians have enjoyed some degree of success at the international level. Other sports such as [[golf]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Recreation%20and%20Sports/Golf/!ut/p/b1/vZLbcqowGEafpQ9gCZFDuIxQATkfhdwwoKichIqI8PTb7n3T6Uzbm90mV5lZ-Ve-b0IRKqLIOb0Vx_RatOe0fjsTLlkC2cCYQYbMAg6oga1jm1egxXLUloqUGNwlRh3Xqp94XW75LlqdYl52xZh23H3sy_WhDUguwxIlYdoMi2SoOktS8FQ3ckZ2fJnrnDC3qhdYdtFrcA3ne01kniP1BbIrV91nV7aB5Qmk6yyYnH3RFHf-rksLZiZIwTmROC0HVia4Uk8yGCT0cSWHXtEf6XXQOdoprYGu40SzxEKLoV2By922ueJw2OKnR8j4ERJ8sjD4roN_9z8DGPB9h-RL5G3CX-CrJ345wYFU_AD4d4AfAqDSALse7QBGgZRPRYBJvHLq1Lma3RKMkzmv1GvpbuiA3hig9ExfhqYp0uYLAjQAtHkJDb80RlPyZs_M7H3oBiss4loTnY9CC_rCQyjSnBawwLPonxbKrIUeFfC-jVkIZA38tvB3K5Vta_njCT98mv8v3FCkyJrncdc8g-clixheEDgGIshxNE-FZcDxUq-Okj2F-olfna-V81KMqDM2zvAqAnP7Wm1U1nPQ7VAhXRsV5wajfcxkYVR6_bFVXnY1n90nOkbAcveyuiqqI9ca8ALWbtPWKd6trd5uXOfSGmaXC1d08MTMcCKLNzdzT8xzeON8RQx678T2NR0tIkXLoFaEwaZ01vmuTTOyZAYWL8zFUJH-JHTz1Nvn3aBO9v1awabx0VEJACyEfsDXrZ0MY3O7OfbhcDFnUL0i54kylbbJqa65aTrnKnP0buf46Q-r2P-1/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|title=Golf – Government – Non-Residents|work=Bahamas.gov.bs|access-date=20 April 2014|archive-date=13 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113235412/http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Recreation%20and%20Sports/Golf/!ut/p/b1/vZLbcqowGEafpQ9gCZFDuIxQATkfhdwwoKichIqI8PTb7n3T6Uzbm90mV5lZ-Ve-b0IRKqLIOb0Vx_RatOe0fjsTLlkC2cCYQYbMAg6oga1jm1egxXLUloqUGNwlRh3Xqp94XW75LlqdYl52xZh23H3sy_WhDUguwxIlYdoMi2SoOktS8FQ3ckZ2fJnrnDC3qhdYdtFrcA3ne01kniP1BbIrV91nV7aB5Qmk6yyYnH3RFHf-rksLZiZIwTmROC0HVia4Uk8yGCT0cSWHXtEf6XXQOdoprYGu40SzxEKLoV2By922ueJw2OKnR8j4ERJ8sjD4roN_9z8DGPB9h-RL5G3CX-CrJ345wYFU_AD4d4AfAqDSALse7QBGgZRPRYBJvHLq1Lma3RKMkzmv1GvpbuiA3hig9ExfhqYp0uYLAjQAtHkJDb80RlPyZs_M7H3oBiss4loTnY9CC_rCQyjSnBawwLPonxbKrIUeFfC-jVkIZA38tvB3K5Vta_njCT98mv8v3FCkyJrncdc8g-clixheEDgGIshxNE-FZcDxUq-Okj2F-olfna-V81KMqDM2zvAqAnP7Wm1U1nPQ7VAhXRsV5wajfcxkYVR6_bFVXnY1n90nOkbAcveyuiqqI9ca8ALWbtPWKd6trd5uXOfSGmaXC1d08MTMcCKLNzdzT8xzeON8RQx678T2NR0tIkXLoFaEwaZ01vmuTTOyZAYWL8zFUJH-JHTz1Nvn3aBO9v1awabx0VEJACyEfsDXrZ0MY3O7OfbhcDFnUL0i54kylbbJqa65aTrnKnP0buf46Q-r2P-1/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[rugby league]],<ref>[http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/portal/public/Recreation%20and%20Sports/Rugby/!ut/p/b1/vZLJcqMwFEW_JR_gIEbBEmObwcxi3rgAYwyYwcZm-vp2ujepVCXZdCKtVHX0ju4tYREWYFETD0Ue34u2iS9v54g5kEDUeJ5iNZEGDJBdU-VNKBEGzWA-FkghmARWHneyc0BdpsknMZrq0LVQ6l2rB0T6le3OEuPe23ZlsHqTMSuDopybf4ao0WI7NSsuoFcNki-dZlez2lrRkKZ9Um4TJupigrEzGb-lysVX6qHfQauzhbZ_ZPI0Eb5qQgg11MwjMXKPchnvu-2pEXMgCme1S3Ji1QueVIyky-8kUVncxpJSyNruEHIHxaqvqvXy8gwaPoOCTxYPvuvh3_3PAAp832P0JfI24S_w1RO_nGARWPgE4DvA8QCQccDbCLcAJRGYgwWAOqBy7uSlWuxysZa-tGbdcSfg-Iu-MQPd2amIQ7iuyiOoAI6qftK2j1nftrh-d8yjZ7trXqicE6d9FBqEwz2FAs7sXRogA_9poUgb7LMC6Jg8TQBxD35b-LuViqZB_njCD5_m_wsVLCqS-nVM61fwStIsBTmOoQiWYBgcYl7pMvSml8eNSXjqme5MVTsru5zqNMV6XIVKc2yUzmf8BtlGRf0GwHs1zMc96xfhOIVWul4kUigSnKME5xbhki_IQa5f50htLFnAj2A27MRHhesqmUplzfAYNkSO7CpTSHvYlw0tz1eoTMldtyLSRnFgro—rayHQXtcwDHvV7cmOXilka_EQ4j2rbpJfZCodZCkSnaPQ0OrbkmBOjkpE3FIxvY0hXU2Vy4MNvHJWu9mMiowXWrrDOvqYa8ytrQE73bGv_wBSughcw!!/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/ Rugby – Government – Non-Residents]. Bahamas.gov.bs. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> [[rugby union]],<ref>[http://rugbybahamas.com/ RugbyBahamas —] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003035436/http://rugbybahamas.com/ |date=3 October 2013 }}. Rugbybahamas.com. Retrieved 20 April 2014.</ref> [[beach soccer]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130603172127/http://www.beachsoccer.com/events?id=980191032 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 – CONCACAF Qualifier Bahamas]. beachsoccer.com</ref> and [[netball]] are considered growing sports. [[Athletics (sport)|Athletics]], commonly known as 'track and field' in the country, is the most successful sport by far amongst Bahamians. Bahamians have a strong tradition in the [[Sprint (running)|sprints]] and jumps. Track and field is probably the most popular spectator sport in the country next to [[basketball]] due to their success over the years. Triathlons are gaining popularity in Nassau and the Family Islands.
[[Bahamas at the Olympics|The Bahamas first participated at the Olympic Games]] in 1952, and has sent athletes to compete in every [[Summer Olympic Games]] since then, except when they participated in the [[1980 Summer Olympics boycott|American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics]]. The nation has never participated in any [[Winter Olympic Games]]. Bahamian athletes have won a total of sixteen medals, all in [[sport of athletics|athletics]] and [[sailing (sport)|sailing]]. The Bahamas has won more Olympic medals than any other country with a population under one million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://olympics.com/ioc/celebrate-olympic-games|title=Celebrate the Olympic Games – The World's Biggest Sports Event|date=29 January 2022|publisher=International Olympic Committee|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601050709/https://olympics.com/ioc/celebrate-olympic-games|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Bahamas were hosts of the first men's senior FIFA tournament to be staged in the Caribbean, the [[2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup]].<ref name="Hostappointment">{{cite web|date=19 December 2014|title=Ethics: Executive Committee unanimously supports recommendation to publish report on 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process|url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/news/newsid=2494723/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141219152559/http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/news/newsid=2494723/index.html|archive-date=19 December 2014|publisher=FIFA}}</ref> The Bahamas also hosted the first three editions of the [[IAAF World Relays]].<ref>{{cite web|title=IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017|url=https://www.worldathletics.org/results/iaaf-world-relays/2017/iaafbtc-world-relays-bahamas-2017-7105078|website=World Athletics|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427150749/https://www.worldathletics.org/results/iaaf-world-relays/2017/iaafbtc-world-relays-bahamas-2017-7105078|url-status=live}}</ref> The nation also hosted the [[2017 Commonwealth Youth Games]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Bahamas 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games End on High Note|url=https://bahamaspress.com/bahamas-2017-commonwealth-youth-games-end-on-high-note/|access-date=16 February 2022|publisher=bahamaspress|archive-date=16 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216235031/https://bahamaspress.com/bahamas-2017-commonwealth-youth-games-end-on-high-note/|url-status=live}}</ref> along with annual events [[Bahamas Bowl]]<ref>{{cite news|title=This Year's Bahamas Bowl Most-Watched Edition of Event in Four Years|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2021/dec/30/years-bahamas-bowl-most-watched-edition-event-four/|access-date=16 February 2022|work=The Tribune|archive-date=16 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216235032/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2021/dec/30/years-bahamas-bowl-most-watched-edition-event-four/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Battle 4 Atlantis]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Star-Studded Field All Set For Battle 4 Atlantis|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2019/may/10/star-studded-field-all-set-battle-4-atlantis/|access-date=16 February 2022|work=The Tribune|archive-date=16 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216235031/http://www.tribune242.com/news/2019/may/10/star-studded-field-all-set-battle-4-atlantis/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|Caribbean}}
*[[Outline of the Bahamas]]
*[[Index of Bahamas-related articles]]
{{clear}}
==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|ref=Horne|last=Horne|first=Gerald|title=Negro Comrades of the Crown: African Americans and the British Empire Fight the U.S. Before Emancipation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XTLFKrmJPgcC|year=2012|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-4463-5|access-date=18 October 2015|archive-date=9 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209035543/https://books.google.com/books?id=XTLFKrmJPgcC|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book|ref=Higham|title=The Duchess of Windsor: The Secret Life|url=https://archive.org/details/duchessofwindsor0000high|url-access=registration|last=Higham|first=Charles|publisher=McGraw Hill|year=1988|isbn=978-0471485230}}
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
{{Main list|Bibliography of the Bahamas}}
'''General history'''
{{refbegin}}
*Cash Philip ''et al.'' (Don Maples, Alison Packer). ''The Making of The Bahamas: A History for Schools''. London: Collins, 1978.
*Miller, Hubert W. ''The Colonization of The Bahamas, 1647–1670, The William and Mary Quarterly'' 2 no.1 (January 1945): 33–46.
*Craton, Michael. ''A History of The Bahamas''. London: Collins, 1962.
*Craton, Michael and Saunders, Gail. ''Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People''. Athens: [[University of Georgia Press]], 1992
*Collinwood, Dean. "Columbus and the Discovery of Self", ''Weber Studies'', Vol. 9 No. 3 (Fall) 1992: 29–44.
*Dodge, Steve. ''Abaco: The History of an Out Island and its Cays'', Tropic Isle Publications, 1983.
*Dodge, Steve. ''The Compleat Guide to Nassau'', White Sound Press, 1987.
*Boultbee, Paul G. ''The Bahamas''. Oxford: ABC-Clio Press, 1990.
*Wood, David E., comp., ''A Guide to Selected Sources to the History of the Seminole Settlements of Red Bays, Andros, 1817–1980'', Nassau: Department of Archives
{{refend}}
'''Economic history'''
{{refbegin}}
*Johnson, Howard. ''The Bahamas in Slavery and Freedom''. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishing, 1991.
*Johnson, Howard. ''The Bahamas from Slavery to Servitude, 1783–1933''. Gainesville: [[University of Florida Press]], 1996.
*Alan A. Block. ''Masters of Paradise'', New Brunswick and London, Transaction Publishers, 1998.
*Storr, Virgil H. ''Enterprising Slaves and Master Pirates: Understanding Economic Life in the Bahamas''. New York: [[Peter Lang (publishing company)|Peter Lang]], 2004.
{{refend}}
'''Social history'''
{{refbegin}}
*Johnson, Wittington B. ''Race Relations in the Bahamas, 1784–1834: The Nonviolent Transformation from a Slave to a Free Society'', Fayetteville: [[University of Arkansas]], 2000.
*Shirley, Paul. "Tek Force Wid Force", ''History Today'' 54, no. 41 (April 2004): 30–35.
*Saunders, Gail. ''The Social Life in the Bahamas 1880s–1920s''. Nassau: Media Publishing, 1996.
*Saunders, Gail. ''Bahamas Society After Emancipation''. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishing, 1990.
*Curry, Jimmy. ''Filthy Rich Gangster/First Bahamian Movie''. Movie Mogul Pictures: 1996.
*Curry, Jimmy. ''To the Rescue/First Bahamian Rap/Hip Hop Song''. Royal Crown Records, 1985.
*Collinwood, Dean. ''The Bahamas Between Worlds'', White Sound Press, 1989.
*Collinwood, Dean and Steve Dodge. ''Modern Bahamian Society'', Caribbean Books, 1989.
*Dodge, Steve, Robert McIntire and Dean Collinwood. ''The Bahamas Index'', White Sound Press, 1989.
*Collinwood, Dean. "The Bahamas", in ''The Whole World Handbook 1992–1995'', 12th ed., New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.
*Collinwood, Dean. "The Bahamas", chapters in Jack W. Hopkins, ed., ''Latin American and Caribbean Contemporary Record'', Vols. 1,2,3,4, Holmes and Meier Publishers, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986.
*Collinwood, Dean. "Problems of Research and Training in Small Islands with a Social Science Faculty", in ''Social Science in Latin America and the Caribbean'', UNESCO, No. 48, 1982.
*Collinwood, Dean and Rick Phillips, "The National Literature of the New Bahamas", ''Weber Studies'', Vol.7, No. 1 (Spring) 1990: 43–62.
*Collinwood, Dean. "Writers, Social Scientists and Sexual Norms in the Caribbean", ''Tsuda Review'', No. 31 (November) 1986: 45–57.
*Collinwood, Dean. "Terra Incognita: Research on the Modern Bahamian Society", ''Journal of Caribbean Studies'', Vol. 1, Nos. 2–3 (Winter) 1981: 284–297.
*Collinwood, Dean and Steve Dodge. "Political Leadership in the Bahamas", The Bahamas Research Institute, No.1, May 1987.
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=1|s=y|voy=Bahamas|Bahamas}}
*{{Official website|http://www.bahamas.gov.bs}}
*{{Wikiatlas|Bahamas}}
*{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Bahamas, The}}
*[https://archive.today/20121210193254/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/bahamas.htm The Bahamas] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' (archived 10 December 2012)
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1154642.stm The Bahamas] from the [[BBC News]]
*[http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=BS Key Development Forecasts for The Bahamas] from [[International Futures]]
*[http://collections.lib.uwm.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISORESTMP=results.php&CISOVIEWTMP=item_viewer.php&CISOMODE=thumb&CISOGRID=thumbnail%2CA%2C1%3Btitle%2CA%2C1%3Boption%2CA%2C0%3Bdescri%2C200%2C0%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%3B20%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOBIB=title%2CA%2C1%2CN%3Boption%2CA%2C0%2CN%3Bdescri%2C200%2C0%2CN%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%2CN%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%2CN%3B20%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOTHUMB=20+%284x5%29%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOTITLE=20%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOHIERA=20%3Bdescri%2Ctitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOSUPPRESS=1&CISOOP1=all&CISOFIELD1=countr&CISOROOT=%2Fagdm&CISOBOX1=Bahamas Maps of the Bahamas] from the American Geographical Society Library
*[https://dloc.com/AA00076890/00001/allvolumes ''The Nassau Guardian''] newspaper, 1849–1922, at the [[Digital Library of the Caribbean]].
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