Bahamas – The Ultimate Place to Visit

We have visited many countries throughout the world and each nation has its own specialty and uniqueness. Some countries are famous for virgin beaches, vibrant nightlife and excellent water sports and general entertainment facilities. Others are famous for their wonderful natural surroundings, huge mountains and wildlife.  During your travel, you must have seen various cultures and come across various languages.  In short, it is an experience of a lifetime experiencing some other’s person’s culture even though some may have a different opinion. Then we try to compare which is the best place amongst the lot. As per the world view, the Bahamas ranks right up there, let’s have a look at this nation.

The island of the Bahamas is considered by most to be ‘The Best’ the world possesses when it comes to a holiday on a beach with white and clean sands and crystal clear blue waters in addition to the excellent accommodation and public transport facilities.

Let’s have a look at the nation as a whole and focus on its history and current status with regards to its economy and other aspects.

Officially, the country is known as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.  This island nation is located in the Atlantic Ocean and has some very powerful neighbors like the United States and Cuba.  The entire country is spread over an area of around 14,000 sq km and an estimated 330,000 people reside in the country.  English is the official language of the country and the Bahamas actually consists of 29 different islands, 2,387 islets and 661 cays.  The currency of the nation is the Dollar and the symbol is B$.

The city of Nassau is the capital of the nation.  The country’s economy is based on financial services and tourism.  In short, tourism can be considered the nations lifeline.  Overall, the nation is quite developed and ranks as the more prosperous countries of the Caribbean ocean.

History of the Bahamas

As seen above, the use of the word ‘Commonwealth’ implies the British must have ruled the islands at some point or the other.  The Arawakan Taino people were the original inhabitants of the Bahamas.  These people entered the nation via the south from Cuba and Hispaniola way back in the 7th century AD and were later know as the ‘Lucayans.’  Over the years, the population increased and by the time Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, there were more than 30,000 Lucayans.

The islands remained largely uninhabited till the middle of the 17th century.  The Spanish followed Columbus and converted most of the population to slaves.  Later the Lucayans were wiped out, courtesy some incurable diseases.  For example, the small pox virus wiped out around half the population.

The 18th century saw Piracy on a large scale.  In order to get order restored, the island was converted into a British crown colony in 1718 and Governor Woodes Rogers should be credited for wiping out piracy.  He was instrumental in defeating the Spaniards in the war of 1720.

Later, during the American War of Independence, the capital Nassau became a very strategic point and was largely occupied by the US marines.

After the American war, around 7,300 loyalists from New York, Carolinas and Florida, along with their slaves moved to the Bahamas and established plantations on the various islands and as a result of possessing huge amounts of land, they became a powerful political force.  Later in 1807, the British abolished slave trade.

The 20th century saw hectic and positive developments.  The end of the Second World War saw the first political parties formed in the 50s’.  In 1967, the Progressive Liberal Party came into power with Lynden Pindling as the first premier.  A year later, this post was renamed to ‘Prime Minister.’ The year 1973 saw the country gaining independence and Sir Milo Butler was the first governor-general.

Currently, Hubert A. Ingraham is the Prime Minister and Arthur Dion Hanna is the Governor-General of the Bahamas.

Climate:

The climate of the islands ranges from subtropical to tropical.  The periods of summer and autumn can be quite devastating as the region can witness hurricanes.  Some of the famous hurricanes to have devastated the nation in the past include Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Frances.  There have been instances of snow getting mixed with rain in 1977 at Freeport.  An ideal time to visit the islands would be from March to July.  The weather tends to get very humid after July.  On the contrary, the months of January and February are very cold.

Economy:

Without a shadow of a doubt, Tourism is the life line of the country.  The nation has wonderful beaches and is visited by people from all over the world.  Being in close proximity to the US has helped the island immensely.

The county also has a thriving financial sector, which accounts for 15 % of the GDP.  Overall, the fundamentals of the Bahamian economy are very strong and the financial crises of late 2008 and 2009 have had little or no effect on the economy. Banking and financial sector reforms are in process and the nation is all set to play a huge role in the coming years. Besides, the nation ranks a respectable 47th as the ‘Most Free economy in the world.’

In conclusion, the Bahamas has it all for an ideal destination.  Hence, do not waste anymore time and start planning your visit to this wonderful country.