Geography
The islands of the Bahamas lie in the southwest Atlantic Ocean near Florida in the USA and stretching down to Cuba. They are known as the 700 islands although there are more than 4,000 islands, islets and cays. There are about fifteen main islands including Cat Island, Bimini, Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama and New Providence.


The islands are low lying, composed of coral with a limestone base. Their highest point is not even 120m above sea level. Many of the islands are covered with woodlands, some are swampy and uninhabitable. Others have miles of beautiful beaches.


The seas around the islands are shallow and clear. The name Bahamas comes from the Spanish baja-mar meaning shallow sea.


The climate is subtropical with frequent thunder storms between June and November and a possibility of hurricanes. In 1992 Hurricane Andrew killed four people and caused millions of dollars worth of damage. Residents are given advice on how to proceed when a hurricane is imminent and there is a warning system in operation.

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Environment
Two-thirds of the Bahamas is made up of coral formations and hills. Around the islands is found approximately five per cent of the world's coral - coral reefs are important to the world's ecology because they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Just under a third of the land is covered by scrub and woodlands.


The subtropical climate is suited to the growth of exotic flora such as bougainvillea, hibiscus and oleander. The Yellow Elder is the national flower and the national tree is the Tree of Life (Lignum Vitae).


The Bahamas National Trust is responsible for the conservation of natural resources of The Bahamas. The Bahamas has signed The Convention of the International Trade of Endangered Species and protects endangered flora and fauna.


Protected reptiles include the Bahamian boa constrictor, the green turtle and various types of iguanas. The national bird is the pink West Indian flamingo which, like the parrot, is protected by law. Other birds inhabiting the islands include pelicans and humming birds.


The blue marlin (the national fish) can be caught off the coast of Bimini, said to be the game fishing capital of the world. The Gulf Stream flows north past the island bringing large fish such as tuna and dolphin to the coastal waters. The sea is full of a variety of creatures including sea-horses and moray eels.


Architecture

Nassau (New Providence), the main city of the Bahamas, is an expanding commercial centre, famous for its Colonial architectural heritage. This style of architecture was brought to the Bahamas by supporters of King George III who moved to the islands at the time of American Independence.


Although there are many modern buildings including hotels, there are still some clay houses with thatched roofs. Many homes are built of wood, others of concrete painted in bright pastel colours.


Population
There are about 37 inhabited islands with a population of 301,790, estimated in 2005. A large proportion of the people are descendants of freed slaves. Over eighty percent are therefore of African origin, mainly from the Yoruba tribe. The remainder of the population is largely of European descent, some descended from British loyalists who left America after the War of Independence. The original inhabitants, the Lucayans, an Arawak tribe, died out or were transported to the gold mines of Hispaniola within forty years of Columbus setting foot on Bahamian soil.


Languages

English is the official language, but an increasing Haitian population has made Creole and unofficial second language


Religion
Christianity is the main religion: 32% of the islands' Christians are Baptists; 20% Anglicans; 19% Roman Catholic; 12% Protestant; 6% Methodist. There are small Jewish and Muslim communities.


Throughout the Caribbean, religious beliefs drawing on African roots but intermingled with aspects of Christianity and European superstitions are to be found: Voodoo, Shango and Santeria are some examples. In the Bahamas the comparable set of beliefs is called Obeah, although Obeah does not have priests, gods or saints.


Food

The flavour of Bahamian food is influenced by a number of cultures, mainly African, Asian and Creole as well as British and North American. Its distinctive spicy flavour is achieved by using a mixture of thyme, pepper, lemon and lime.


Seafood such as conch, grouper and crawfish (spiny lobster) plays an important part in the diet. Vegetables available are breadfruit, cassava, plantains, sweet potatoes and yams.


Popular dishes are peas and grits, peas and rice, salads, and pudding-like macaroni cheese. There is a variety of soups (including turtle soup) and stews. Stews are even eaten at breakfast. Steaming is another favourite cooking method. The local fruits: citrus, guava, mangoes and pineapples are an important part of the diet and are also used to make homemade ice creams.


History
Christopher Columbus made his first landing in the New World in the Bahamas, landing on the island of Guanahani, which he renamed San Salvador, on October 12th 1492. The inhabitants of the island were Arawak Indians who had migrated from South America some five hundred years before and now called themselves Lucayans. They told the Spanish that their few gold ornaments came from the South and Columbus soon sailed away in search of its source.


Eventually the Spanish transported the Lucayan population to Hispaniola and Cuba to work in gold mines and fish the pearl beds. Within forty years all the Lucayans were dead. The Bahamas remained uninhabited until the seventeenth century, called the "useless islands" (islas inutilas) by the Spanish because of their lack of resources.


In 1629 Charles I granted the Carolinas in America and the Bahamas to the British Attorney General. In the early seventeenth century, British Puritans escaping religious persecution in Bermuda colonized the island they called Eleuthera (derived from the Greek word for freedom). Although a number of the colonists left because of the difficulty in farming the poor soil, others, including freed slaves, took their place.


In the late seventeenth century the Bahamas were the haunt of notorious pirates. Among the most famous of the pirates were Edward Teach (known as Blackbeard), and Mary Read. In 1718 Captain Woodes Rogers, an ex-privateer, was appointed the Royal Governor. Woodes Rogers rid the Bahamas of its pirate inhabitants by hanging a number of their leaders.


In 1728 Woodes Rogers assembled a Parliament which in 1979 celebrated 250 years of parliamentary democracy. The Bahamas remained under the United Kingdom's control apart from a brief encounter with American revolutionaries and a year between 1782 and 1783 when the Spanish occupied the islands.


The many islands and cays of the Bahamas were ideal for gun runners during the American Civil War. Likewise, the islands were used by smugglers during Prohibition in America in the 1920s and early 1930s and, more recently, drug-runners from South America have also passed through.


During the Second World War the Duke and Duchess of Windsor lived in the Bahamas, the Duke governing the colony. On 10 July 1973 the Commonwealth of the Bahamas became independent from the UK.


Economy

Nassau, the capital, is an important commercial centre. Over half of the population of the Bahamas live in Nassau on New Providence. The second largest town is Freeport, an important industrial centre, on Grand Bahama.


Farming has always been difficult because of the thin soil and early cotton plantations failed. Historically the islanders survived by salvaging cargo from ships wrecked on the reefs; some dived for sponges; while others turned to smuggling. Today smuggling continues in the illegal drugs trade: over eleven percent of cocaine for the US goes via the Bahamas.


One per cent of the land is used as cropland and less than one per cent used for pasture. Agricultural products include citrus fruits, bananas and vegetables. The livestock is mainly sheep, poultry and pigs.


Just over five per cent of the population is employed in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Crawfish (spiny lobster) are an important fish export.


Other exports are petroleum products, cement, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, steel pipe and rum.


Freeport, on Grand Bahama, was developed in the 1950s by American business interests and is now home to a number of US commercial enterprises. (Wallace Groves, the American millionaire, founded the Grand Bahama Port Authority which was granted Crown Land and taxation concessions in return for developing the land, building schools, dredging the harbour and building an airport. The Port Authority, now run by British, Canadian and American investors has gone into partnership with Hutchison Whampoa, the Anglo-Chinese Container/Port company).


Banking and financial services are vital to the economy. Favourable tax laws have made the Bahamas an international banking centre. There is no income tax and no capital gains or inheritance taxes. The government raises revenue through selective taxes such as hotel occupancy tax, restaurant service charges, custom duties and departure tax.


Tourism, with over three million visitors a year, is the main industry. It accounts for sixty percent of the country's revenues and employs over half the total labour force.


The People-to-People Programme introduces tourists to the Bahamian way of life. Visitors are paired with people with similar backgrounds and interests for the duration of their stay in the Bahamas.


Arts
Artifacts of the original Indian inhabitants have been found though much of the traditional culture draws on the islanders' roots in slavery and, before that, in West Africa. Many of the stories and folk tales are closely related to those of the American South.


Music in the Bahamas is influenced by African rhythm, Caribbean calypso and English folk music. Rhyming spirituals, a form of religious folk songs, are unique to the Bahamas. The local music is called goombay; reggae is also popular.


Clement Bethel, a Bahamian musician, has set Obeah folk tales to music and dance, bringing a new dimension to an important part of the Caribbean's spiritual heritage. Obeah rhythms also feature in the work of Tony Mckay.


Junkanoo, is a traditional Bahamian festival combining music and dancing. Instruments used include goatskin drums, whistles, horns and cowbells. The Junkanoo takes place in the early hours on Boxing Day and New Year's Day.


Traditional crafts are important additional sources of income from tourism and there are a number of Bahamian artists of international status.


Sport

The clear, shallow seas around the Bahamas, with their coral reefs and beautiful beaches have made the islands famous for water sports such as water-skiing, windsurfing and underwater swimming.


The Underwater Explorers Society, UNEXSO, is said to be the world's best equipped dive facility. As well as watching sharks being fed, divers can explore the large number of wrecks which provide habitats for marine life such as sponges and coral.


Bimini is said to be the most well-known big-game fishing area in the world. Visitors can fish for barracuda, sharks, dorado and marlin.


The islands also provide facilities for golf and tennis. Cricket is the national sport, though not widely played. The Bahamas is making its name in international athletics, their women´s 100m relay team being number two in the world.


Holidays
The national holidays include Christian holidays as well as Labour Day, Independence Day, Emancipation Day and Discovery Day.


By far the biggest celebration is Junkanoo, a festival which takes place during the Christmas season, with big parades on Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Two explanations of its name are given: one derives it from John Canoe said to have been an African king; the other claims it comes from gens inconnu, unknown people, unknown because of wearing masks.