Bahamas
From ArticleWorld
Bahamas is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located to the east of Florida and Cuba. It comprises of about 700 islands and islets and about 2400 cays.
The islands, are composed mainly of limestone and coral, and rise from a vast submarine plateau. Most are generally low and flat, riverless, with many mangrove swamps, brackish lakes (connected with the ocean by underground passages), and coral reefs and shoals. Fresh water is obtained from rainfall and from desalinization. Navigation is hazardous, and many of the outer islands are uninhabited and undeveloped, although steps have been taken to improve transportation facilities. Hurricanes occasionally cause severe damage, but the climate is generally excellent. In addition to New Providence, other main islands are Grand Bahama, Great and Little Abaco, the Biminis, Andros, Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador, Great and Little Exuma (Exuma and Cays), Long Island, Crooked Island, Acklins Island, Mayaguana, and Great and Little Inagua.
The islands’ vivid subtropical atmosphere—brilliant sky and sea, lush vegetation, flocks of bright-feathered birds, and submarine gardens where multicolored fish swim among white, rose, yellow, and purple coral—as well as rich local color and folklore, has made the Bahamas one of the most popular resorts in the hemisphere. The islands’ many casinos are an additional attraction. Tourism, which has grown rapidly since the end of World War II, is by far the country's most important industry. Although declining tourism in the late 1980s did serious damage to the country’s economy, tourism continues to provide half of the gross domestic product and to employ about 40% of the workforce. Offshore banking is the other economic mainstay. Pharmaceuticals, crawfish, rum, cement, salt, hormones, and aragonite are among the chief exports. The Bahamas also possess facilities for the refining and transshipment of petroleum. Since the 1960s, the transport of illegal narcotic drugs has been a problem, as has an unprecedented flow of illegal refugees from other islands.
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Bahamas were inhabited by the Lucayos, a group of Arawaks. Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in the Bahamas (1492), and he claimed the islands for Spain. In 1781, the Spanish captured Nassau and took possession of the whole colony; however, under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1783) the islands were ceded to Great Britain. Bahamas was granted limited self-government as a British crown colony in 1964, and finally in 1973, it became a sovereign state. The Bahamas are governed under the constitution of 1973 and have a parliamentary form of government. There is a bicameral legislature consisting of a 16-seat Senate and a 49-seat House of Assembly. The prime minister is the head of government, and the monarch of the United Kingdom, represented by an appointed governor-general, is the titular head of state. The nation is divided into 21 administrative districts.
The population is primarily of African and mixed African and European descent; some 15% is of European descent. About three quarters of the people belong to one of several Protestant denominations and nearly 20% are Roman Catholic. English is the official language. The Bahamas have a relatively low illiteracy rate. The government provides free education through the secondary level. The College of the Bahamas was established in 1974, although most Bahamians study in Jamaica or elsewhere.