Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce

[edit] References

1. 
   ^ ^{a b} "West Indies." Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed. 2001. (ISBN 0-87779-546-0) Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., p. 1298.
   
2. 
   ^ Encyclopædia Britannica: The Windward Islands
   
3. 
   ^ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) | The Scotland District of Barbados
   
4. 
   ^ CountryStudies.us | The Windward Islands and Barbados
   
5. 
   ^ Cohen, Saul B., ed. "West Indies" The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. New York: Columbia University Press – Bartleby. Accessed: 19 September 2006
   
6. 
   ^ ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL CONSTITUTED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 287, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANNEX VII, OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION BETWEEN: BARBADOS - AND - THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - The Hague, 11 April 2006 (Pages 15-16)
   

• 
  Rogonzinski, Jan. A Brief History of the Caribbean. New York: Facts on File, 1992
  

The Bahamas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Flag
Motto: "Forward, Upward, Onward Together"
Anthem: "March On, Bahamaland" Royal anthem: "God Save the Queen"
Capital		Nassau 25°4′N 77°20′W / 25.067°N 77.333°W / 25.067; -77.333
Official languages		English
Ethnic groups		85% Black (esp. West African), 12% European, 3% Other
Demonym		Bahamian
Government		Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Queen Elizabeth II
-	Governor-General	Arthur Dion Hanna
-	Prime Minister	Hubert A. Ingraham
Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	Self-governing	1973
-	Full independence	July 10, 1973
Area
-	Total	13,878 km2 (160th) 5,358 sq mi
-	Water (%)	28%
Population
-	2007 estimate	330,549[1] (177th)
-	1990 census	254,685
-	Density	23.27/km2 (181st) 60/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$8.310 billion[2] (145th)
-	Per capita	$24,960[2] (IMF) (38th)
GDP (nominal)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$6.571 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$19,736[2] (IMF)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.845 (high) (49th)
Currency		Dollar (BSD)
Time zone		EST (UTC−5)
-	Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Drives on the		left
Internet TLD		.bs
Calling code		1 242

History

The seafaring Taino people moved into the uninhabited southern Bahamas from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 7th century AD. These people came to be known as the Lucayans. There were an estimated 30,000+ Lucayans at the time of Columbus' arrival in 1492. Christopher Columbus's first landfall in the New World was on an island named San Salvador (known to the Lucayans Guanahani) which is generally accepted to be present-day San Salvador Island (also known as Watling Island) in the southeastern Bahamas. Here, Columbus made first contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with them.

The Spaniards followed Columbus and depopulated the islands, carrying most of the indigenous people off into slavery. It is generally assumed that the islands were uninhabited until the mid-17th century. However, recent research suggests that there may have been attempts to settle the islands by groups from Spain, France, and Britain, as well as by other Amerindians. In 1648, the Eleutherian Adventurers migrated from Bermuda. The Adventurers (who were English) established the first permanent European settlements on an island which they named Eleuthera — the name derives from the Greek word for freedom. They later discovered New Providence and named it Sayle's Island. To survive, the settlers salvaged goods from wrecks.

In 1670 King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas, who rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing governors, and administering the country.

During proprietary rule, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates, including the infamous Blackbeard. To restore orderly government, the Bahamas was made a British crown colony in 1718 under the royal governorship of Woodes Rogers, who, after a difficult struggle, succeeded in suppressing piracy.^[3]

During the American Revolutionary War, the islands were a target for American naval forces under the command of Commodore Ezekial Hopkins. The capital of Nassau on island of New Providence was occupied by US Marines for a fortnight.

In 1782, after the British defeat at Yorktown, a Spanish fleet appeared off the coast of Nassau, which surrendered without fight. But the 1783 Treaty of Versailles — which ended the global conflict between Britain, France and Spain — returned the Bahamas to British sovereignty.

After the American Revolution, some 7,300 loyalists and their slaves moved to the Bahamas from New York, Florida and the Carolinas. These Americans established plantations on several islands and became a political force in the capital. The small population became mostly African from this point on.

The British abolished the slave trade in 1807, which led to the forced settlement on Bahamian islands of thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy. Slavery itself was finally abolished in the British Empire on August 1, 1834.

Modern political development began after the Second World War. The first political parties were formed in the 1950s and the British made the islands internally self-governing in 1964, with Roland Symonette of the United Bahamian Party as the first premier.

In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the Progressive Liberal Party became the first black premier of the colony, and in 1968 the title was changed to prime minister. In 1973, the Bahamas became fully independent, but retained membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first black governor-general (the representative of Queen Elizabeth II) shortly after independence.

Based on the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance, the Bahamian economy has prospered since the 1950s. However, there remain significant challenges in areas such as education, health care, international narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration from Haiti.

The origin of the name "Bahamas" is unclear. It may derive from the Spanish baja mar, meaning "shallow seas";^{[citation needed]} or the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, ba-ha-ma "large upper middle land".^{[citation needed]}

Geography and Climate

Map of the Bahamas

The closest island to the United States is Bimini, which is also known as the gateway to the Bahamas. The island of Abaco is to the east of Grand Bahama, also know as the "Big Island". The southeasternmost island is Great Inagua. Other notable islands include the Bahamas' largest island, Andros Island, and Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Exuma and Mayaguana. Nassau, the Bahamas capital city, lies on the island of New Providence.

All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft). The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia, formerly called Como Hill, which has an altitude of 63 metres (210 ft) on Cat Island. To the southeast, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and three more extensive submarine features called Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank, and Navidad Bank, are geographically a continuation of the Bahamas, but not part of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.^{[citation needed]}

While there has never been a freeze reported in the Bahamas, the temperature can fall as low as 2-3°C during Arctic outbreaks that affect nearby Florida. Snow has been reported to have mixed with rain in Freeport in January, 1977, the same time that it snowed in the Miami, FL area. The temperature was about 5°C at the time.^{[citation needed]}

Districts

The districts of the Bahamas provide a system of local government everywhere in The Bahamas except New Providence, whose affairs are handled directly by the central government. The districts other than New Providence are: