The Bahamas Researched via: Student Name: Jeph Brutus Date:June, 7, 2010

Where is Bahamas located? officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets (rocks). It is located at the north-east of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States of America (nearest to the state of Florida). Its total land area is almost km², with an estimated population of 330,000. Its capital is Nassau.

Flag, Motto, Anthem: Royal anthemRoyal anthem: "God Save the Queen" MottoMotto: "Forward, Upward, Onward, Together" AnthemAnthem: "March On, Bahamaland"

History: Originally inhabited by Arawakan Taino people, The Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in Although the Spanish never colonised The Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans (as the Bahamian Taino settlers referred to themselves) to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1650, when British colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera. The Bahamas became a Crown Colony in 1718 when the British clamped down on piracy. Following the American War of Independence, thousands of pro- British loyalists and enslaved Africans moved to The Bahamas and set up a plantation economy.

Economy: As one of the most prosperous county in the Caribbean region, the Bahamas relies on tourism to generate most of their economic activity. Tourism as an industry not only accounts for over 60 percent of the Bahamian GDP, but provides jobs for more than half the country's workforce. An example of Tourism in the Bahamas is the number of cruise ships that land in the capital of Nassau where tourists visit the straw market to buy different items or have their hair braided. After tourism, the most important economic sector is financial services, accounting for around 15 percent of GDP.

What do you like the most about Bahamas? I like the people I like the culture And I like the history