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| Caribbean Property Magazine Home / February 2009 / 'The Dazzling Bahamas : A 700-island Chain ' | SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND  |
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FEBRUARY  2 0 0 9Issue 25
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| THE DAZZLING BAHAMAS : A 700 ISLAND CHAIN By Raquel B. Tejeda Overview The Bahamas is one of the most geographically complicated nations. A coral-based archipelago, it is composed of more than 700 islands, 2,000 cays (pronounced "keys," from the Spanish word for small islands), and hundreds of rocky outcroppings that have damaged the hulls of countless ships since colonial days. Officially known as the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, it is an independent, sovereign, and English-speaking country. Located in the Atlantic Ocean between Florida and Hispaniola, its total area covers approximately 100,000 square miles. The total land area is approximately 5,380 square miles, about the size of Wales or two-thirds the size of Massachusetts. The largest island, Andros, has an area of 2,300 square miles and the smallest inhabited island is Spanish Wells, with an area of one-half mile. Some of the most beautiful beaches and lagoons in the world are located in The Bahamas.  The islands of The Bahamas lie between 20 and 27°N latitude and 72 and 79°W longitude and are located southeast of the United States; north of Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the Caribbean Sea; and northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Separated from the North American continent by the Florida Channel and cooled in the summer by the northeast trade winds, The Bahamas enjoys a moderate climate. During the summer, temperatures rarely rise above 90°F, while the lowest winter temperatures vary between 40 and 50°F. Rainfall ranges between 40-60 inches a year. The Tropic of Cancer crosses the lower part of Long Island. Contrary to popular belief, The Bahamas is not in the Caribbean, but is in the Atlantic Ocean. The Bahamas have a population of 330,000, concentrated on the islands of New Providence and Grand Bahama. Andros Island is the largest island of the Bahamas and has the world's third-largest barrier reef. The origin of the name "Bahamas" is unclear. It may derive from the Spanish baja mar, meaning "shallow seas"; or the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, ba-ha-ma "large upper middle land." 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. The southeastern most island is Great Inagua. Other notable islands include Andros Island, 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 49 to 66 feet. The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia, or Como Hill, which has an altitude of 210 feet. 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. The Commonwealth of The Bahamas became a free and sovereign country on July 10, 1973 after centuries of peaceful colonial rule. After Great Britain granted The Bahamas internal self-rule in 1964, the fledgling nation adopted its own constitution but chose not to sever its ties with its motherland. It has remained in the Commonwealth, with the British monarch as its head of state, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The queen appoints a Bahamian governor-general to represent the Crown. In the British tradition, The Bahamas has a two-house Parliament, a ministerial cabinet headed by a prime minister, and an independent judiciary. The prime minister is the head of government and is the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet, selected by the prime minister and drawn his supporters in the House of Assembly. The Bahamas has a largely two-party system dominated by the centre-left Progressive Liberal Party and the centre-right Free National Movement. Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Although the Bahamas is not geographically located in the Caribbean, it is a member of the Caribbean Community. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English law. From a demographic perspective the Bahamas is comprised of 85% Blacks, 12% Whites and 3% Asian and Hispanic. There are over 5,500 British residents in the Bahamas. UNLIKE NATIONS SUCH AS HAITI AND JAMAICA, THE BAHAMAS HAS A HISTORY OF POLITICAL STABILITY. Unlike nations such as Haiti and Jamaica, The Bahamas has a history of political stability and made the transition from minority white rule to black majority rule with relatively little tension. History Unlike most islands in the Caribbean region, The Bahamas has had a fairly peaceful, non-violent past. It is thought to be first occupied by the seafaring Taino people who moved into the uninhabited southern Bahamas from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 7th century AD. They relied on the ocean for food. From around 900—1500 AD the Lucayan Indians settled here. Known for being peaceful, they were also politically, socially and religiously advanced. In 1492, Christopher Columbus made landfall in the New World on the island of San Salvador (known to the Lucayans Guanahani) and 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. Inspired by the surrounding shallow sea, he said “baja mar” (shallow water). The country then became known as The Bahamas, or The Islands of the Shallow Sea. COLUMBUS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THEIR PEACEFUL NATURE AND ENSLAVED THEM. WITHIN 25 YEARS, ALL OF THE LUCAYANS WERE WIPED OUT When Columbus arrived, there were about 40,000 Lucayans. Columbus took advantage of their peaceful nature and enslaved them. Within 25 years, all of the Lucayans were wiped out due to the diseases, hardships and slavery they endured. 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 but named it Sayle’s Island in honor of Captain William Sayles. These English were in search of religious freedom. Instead, they found food shortages. To survive, the settlers salvaged goods from wrecks. Captain William Sayles sailed to the American colonies for help and received supplies from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Upon his return, the settlers thanked the American colonies by shipping them brasileto wood. The proceeds helped purchase land for what later became Harvard University. 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. During the late 1600s to early 1700s, many privateers and pirates came here. The most famous ones being Blackbeard and Calico Jack. There were also female pirates like Anne Bonny and Mary Read disguised as men. THE SHALLOW WATERS AND 700 ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS MADE GREAT HIDING PLACES FOR TREASURE The shallow waters and 700 islands of the Bahamas made great hiding places for treasure. And its close proximity to well-traveled shipping lanes made for the perfect spot to steal from merchant ships. There are rumors of hidden treasure that still exist today. It is believed that British pirate William Catt buried loot on Cat Island and Sir Henry Morgan, a wealthy privateer, buried treasure throughout our islands. Established around 1670 as a commercial port, Nassau was overrun by lawless, seafaring men. Years later, Nassau was destroyed twice—once by Spanish troops, the other time by French and Spanish navies. Soon after, pirates began looting the heavily laden cargo ships. 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. Upon his appointment by the King of England to serve as Royal Governor, Woodes Rogers was to restore order. And he did. He offered amnesty to those who surrendered. Those who resisted would be hanged. 300 pirates surrendered and the rest, including Blackbeard, fled. 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. | ||||
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More than a century later, American colonists loyal to Britain arrived in Eleuthera. Many brought their slaves as well as their building skills and agriculture and shipbuilding expertise. These greatly influenced Eleutheran life. In 1783, they solidified their independence and forced the retreat of the Spanish forces from the region without firing a shot. 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.  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. 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. From 1861 to1865, the islands Of The Bahamas benefited greatly from the U.S. Civil War. Britain’s textile industry depended on Southern cotton; however, the Union blockaded British ships from reaching Southern ports. So blockade runners from Charleston met British ships in the Bahamas and traded cotton for British goods. Upon their return, they sold their shipment for huge profits. The end of the Civil War marked the end of prosperity. An economic upswing occurred in 1919, the United States passed the 14th amendment prohibiting alcohol. The colonial government expanded Prince George Wharf in Nassau to accommodate the flow of alcohol. When Prohibition ended in 1934 so did the enormous revenues. Combined with the collapse of the sponge harvesting industry, it economically devastated The Bahamas. 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. ECONOMIC FREEDOM The prosperity of The Bahamas has been tied to the United States due to the proximity of location which has provided both a negative and positive economic impact during times of war, illegal liquor trade and the growth of a major tourism industry. The Hotel and Steam Ship Service Act of 1898 opened the doors to the Bahamas to the world. This act provided the government support needed for the construction of hotels and subsidized steamship service. Since then, everything from Prohibition bringing well-to-do Americans to the closure of Cuba to Americans has positively impacted tourism in our country. In the 1960s, the country enjoyed robust growth averaging 9 per cent annually as direct foreign investment spurred the development of tourism. A global economic downturn after the 1973 oil price shock coincided with Bahamian independence and led to a drop in foreign investment.  Toward the end of that decade economic performance improved, led by growth in tourism. Real GDP growth in the 1980-84 period averaged 3 per cent, but declined in the late 1980s. GDP growth was 0.3 per cent in 1995 and accelerated to 6 per cent in 1999. After 9/11 the economy slumped temporarily due to travel fears, but began growing again in 2002. Bahamas is now more commonly known as a popular destination amongst the rich and powerful business families of the Americas. The Bahamian dollar is pegged to the US dollar, and US notes and coins are used interchangeably with Bahamian currency for most practical purposes. However, government exchange controls still apply for the purchase of foreign currency. CLASSIFIED AS AN UPPER MIDDLE-INCOME DEVELOPING COUNTRY IT HAS THE THIRD HIGHEST PER CAPITA INCOME IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE The Bahamas is classified as an upper middle-income developing country and has the third highest per capita income in the western hemisphere (after the United States and Canada). Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for about two thirds of the gross domestic product (GDP). Offshore finance is the second largest industry, accounting for about 15 per cent of GDP. Historically, most development in The Bahamas has occurred on New Providence and Grand Bahamas, causing significant migration from the Family Islands to these two urban centers and straining their infrastructure. The government is also faced with the burden of duplicating facilities and services throughout the archipelago. Aside from these challenging infrastructure problems, The Bahamas also has experienced challenges in areas of upgrading education and health care while also fighting international narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration from Haiti. The government continues to promote tourism and financial services while aiming for greater diversification through agriculture, fishing, manufacturing and e-commerce. Significantly, there is no income, corporate or capital gains tax in The Bahamas. Government revenues are derived from import tariffs, excise taxes, property taxes, business licenses and fees. The Bahamas is a 700-island chain that not only has one of a kind white sand beaches and dazzling sites – it has a prosperous economy built on the twin pillars of offshore finance and tourism. Author: Raquel B. Tejeda a native of Mexico, and medical professional, calls herself the” accidental freelance writer.” As a keen observer of the Latin political and social scenes she began to write occasionally for various Latin publications leading her to an exciting career as a part-time journalist. | ||||
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Haiti : Update On A Tough 2008
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