The Bahamas

The Bahamas is a Caribbean nation, located just a few miles off the coast of South Florida, stretching all the way south to Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. It has a population of nearly 400,000 people spread out over 29 of the most inhabited islands.

The Bahamas were first settled by Arawak and Lucayan peoples for many centuries. Christopher Columbus made landfall in the “new world” in 1492, on the island of San Salvador. For centuries the islands were mostly ignored, a few having become havens for pirates until Great Britain colonized them in the early part of the 18th century. Independence was granted in 1973, but the country has remained a part of the British Commonwealth.

The Bahamas has strong international relationships with the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the European Union, as well as with other nations of the Caribbean community.

The local economy is supported mainly by tourism, banking, and offshore financial services. Other main sectors are agriculture, fisheries, and manufacturing. The local currency is the Bahamian Dollar, the US Dollar being accepted throughout the Bahamas, exchanged at a 1-1 rate.