Bahamas Luxury Real Estate is pleased to introduce you to the Bahamas.

The Bahamas History

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is an archipelago of more than 700 islands. Located approximately 50 miles east of Florida and stretching over 100,000 square miles along the Atlantic. However, most of its estimated population of 305, 000 persons live on only 14 major islands and cays. With its capital city being Nassau, located on the island of New Providence.

The country’s official language is English and its official religion is Christianity. 

In 1492 the Bahamas was the landfall for Christopher Columbus in the new world as he landed on the island of San Salvador which he named “Baja Mar” for its shallow seas. Where he met the islands original inhabitants the Lucayan Indians.

However, the native Lucayan were moved to Hispaniola to work in the mines and the Bahamas lay largely unpopulated until it was resettled the arrival of the Eleutherian Adventurers in 1648. Who were religious refugees from the island of Bermuda and called their new home Eleuthera meaning “Freedom.”

In the late 1600′s and early 1700′s the Bahamas’ proximity to the trading routes, intricate reef system and large unsettled islands and cays made it ideal for piracy and wrecking as more than 300 pirates and privateers overran the Bahamas, including famous figures such as Sir Francis Drake, Henry Morgan and Blackbeard.

It wasn’t until the British gained control over the islands in 1717 and appointed Sir Woodes Rodgers as Royal Governor that piracy was largely eradicated as he expelled the pirates and restored commerce to the island. And hence the famous motto of the Bahamas, “Expulsis Piratis – Resituta Commercia.” 

The Island again saw a large influx of settlers after the American Revolutionary War when more than 6,000 loyalists accompanied by their slaves arrived to settled in the Bahamas.

Aside from a brief boom due to cotton cultivation, it wouldn’t be until blockade running during the American Civil War that the Bahamas would again prosper economically. There was another huge burst of economic prosperity during the 20th century and American Prohibition when countless Bahamians became involved in rum-running liquor to the southern United States.

It’s Better In The Bahamas – Come See Why!

The Bahamas Economy

In 1950 the Bahamas experienced the birth of what would be a thriving industry that would later become one of it economy’s two main pillars and spur on unprecedented growth and development as its tourism sector welcomed some 40,000 visitors for their winters in The Bahamas.

Today the Bahamas boasts more than 5 million visitors per year and is the tourism mecca of the Caribbean. And has an economy that places its Bahamian dollar on par with the U.S. dollar.

The Bahamas Government

After being granted limited self government in 1964 and becoming a Commonwealth in 1969 the Bahamas gained it’s full independence on July 10, 1973. And today continues a legacy of parliamentary democracy that has lasted for almost 300 years.

The Bahamas is a member of the Commonwealth as well as a member of the United Nations, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of American States (OAS).

You can learn more  about the Bahamas by visiting the Ministry of Tourism’s official site using the link below.