Bahamas(Facts on File)
100Jamz
A-Z
of the Bahamas Islands
Abaco
Life
The
Abacos
Adventure
Learning Centre
The
Bahamas
Bahamas
Accommodations and Travel Resources
The
Bahamas Guide
Bahamas
Mall
Bahamas.net
Bahamas-On-Line
Bahamas
Vacation Guide
Bahamaweb
Tourist Guide
Bahamian
Web Community
Destination:
Bahamas
Go-Abacos
Junkanoo
SoulShop
The
Juliette Art Gallery
Official
Guide to The Islands of The Bahamas
San
Salvador the Land of Lakes
Tourist
Guide
Virtual
Voyages
Where
To Stay in the Bahamas
Business & Community Links
Arcadian
Investments
Bahamas
National Trust
Bimini
Undersea
International
Trade & Investments, Ltd.
Offshore
Group, Ltd
Swiss
Rejuvenation Medical Clinic
Bahamas
Official
Name: Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Capital
Nassau: (New Providence) Nationality
Official:
Language English
Head
of State Queen Elizabeth II
Governor
General Sir Clifford Darling
Head
of Government:
Prime
Minister Hubert A. Ingraham
Ruling
Parties: Free National Movement (FNM)
Currency
Bahamian Dollar (B$) Exchange Rate B$1.00 = U.S.$1.00
Time
Zone: EST , GMT - 5
Phone
Code: Regional code (242) plus the local 7 digit number
Geography
Location
The Bahamas are located off the southeast coast of Florida, at the northern
end of the Caribbean. It is an area of 100,000 square miles, made up of
700 islands and numerous cays. The general population lives on 29 of these
islands permanently. The Bahamas are made up of two oceanic banks of coral
formations. Many of the islands are uninhabited, barren, and very windswept.
Other islands are beautiful and green, and notably a sailors paradise.
Climate
The
average yearly temperature ranges between 20 degrees celcius (68 F) and
30 degrees celcius (86 F) through the winter and summer. The islands are
semitropical, with a yearly rainfall of 52 inches, occurring during the
months of May-June and September-October.
Total
Population: 273,000
Average
Annual Rate of Growth: 2.1 %
Reproductive
Rate: 19 per 1,000
Population
Density: 47.52 per square mile Adult Literacy 98 % Labor Force 142,000
Ethnic
Divisions: The people are a blend of 86% African, 7% European, and 8% mixed.
Education
The
government provides and maintains an extensive school system on the elementary
and secondary levels, and has made it free and compulsory between the ages
of five and fourteen. To further your education you can attend facilities
such as the University of the West Indies, College of the Bahamas, Bahamas
Hotel Training College, and Catholic Continuing Education College of St.
Benedicts.
History
The
Bahamas were discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 when he landed
on San Salvador Island, believed by scholars to be his first landing in
the Western Hemisphere. The islands were found to be inhabited by aboriginal
peoples known as Lucayans. The Spanish never did occupy these islands.
Instead, they were occupied by native Englishmen from Bermuda, and in 1648
the first British settlement was established on Eleuthera. Later they were
also settled by the French, Dutch and Spanish sea merchants. From 1670
to 1838 the British fortified New Providence, making it the seat of government,
and in 1717 it became a British Crown Colony. After the Revolutionary War
in 1776-83, thousands of loyalists and their slaves from the mainland settled
in the Bahamas. In 1964 the islands were granted internal self-government,
and the first elections were held in 1967. The Bahamas became an independent
nation within the British Commonwealth in 1973.
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