The Bahamas

The Bahamas
State
Flag Seal
Nickname:  The Paradise State
Motto(s):  Forward, Upward, Onward, Together
Country	United States
Colonial Establishment	1648
Republic of Pirates	1706
Federation	November 20, 1886
United States Act	August 17, 1970
Capital	Nassau
Largest city	Nassau
Government
• Body	Government of the Bahamas
• Governor	Cynthia A. Pratt
• Premier	Phillip Davis
Legislature Upper house Lower house	General Assembly Senate House of Assembly
Area
• Total	5,383 sq mi (13,943 km2)
Population  (2019)
• Total	795,637
Time zone	UTC-5:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4:00 (EDT)

The Bahamas (abbreviated BH) is a U.S. state located in the Lucaya Archipelago in the Caribbean. The state takes up 97% of the land area of the archipelago and contains 93% of its population. The remainder is a part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a U.S. territory. While The Bahamas does not physically border any other entity, it shares sea borders with the U.S. state of Plantaginea, the U.S. territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the countries of Cuba and Haiti. Additionally, The Bahamas are surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. The capital and largest city is Nassau. As of 2020, 795,637 people live in The Bahamas.

The Bahamas were originally inhabited by the Lucayan people for several centuries prior to European discovery of the Americas. Christopher Columbus made his first landfall in the Americas in The Bahamas in 1492. The Iberians enslaved the local Lucayan people, and shipped them to Hispanola. As a result, the islands were virtually uninhabited between 1513 and 1648. In 1648, English settlers from Bermuda began moving to the Bahamas. During the American Revolution, The Bahamas held some sympathy for the Americans but never joined the Americans in the revolution. Following the war, some Bahamanians wanted to join the United States, but its proximity to then-Venetian Plantaginea prevented the British from transferring the colony to its dominion. After the revolution, a plantation economy became predominant in the colony, based on slavery. The British abolished slavery in 1833 and following that, the islands became a haven for slaves from illegal slave ships.

Widespread poverty led to Bahamanians pushing for a transfer to the United States in the early and mid-1880s. The Bahamas Act, 1886 formally transfered the colony to the United States, where it became a U.S. state upon admittance. The American government preferred for The Bahamas to enter into the United States as a territory, a situation which was unacceptable to the Bahamanian Parliament at the time. However, its admittance as a state made it the poorest state in the nation, and was isolated politically and geographically from the United States in its early period. The invention of the airplane and creation of air service to the Bahamas changed the local economy, allowing the development of the islands.

The state's various cultures which have largely been brought to The Bahamas over time play an important role in the overall culture of the state. The Bahamas are internationally known for their beaches, golf, tennis, and water sports facilities. Economically, The Bahamas have the highest gross domestic product per capita of any U.S. state or territory in the Caribbean.

Economy

Tourism, including cruise ships, account for a significant portion of the Bahamanian economy.

The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest states within the American Caribbean and performs well in comparison to many other U.S. states and territories. The economy has traditionally been highly dependent on tourism, primarily from the United States mainland. Tourism accounts for roughly 35% of the Gross State Product (GSP) and employs roughly 30% of the islands workforce.

Since the 1980s, the economy has begun to diversify, primarily due to the influx of people moving to the islands. Services now account for roughly 40% of the economy and employ around the same percentage of the state's workforce. Financial services have become popular as many of those moving to the islands are retirees. In addition, the Bahamas has long had lucrative state tax laws which have allowed it to become a tax haven within the United States for many people and corporations.

Agriculture accounts for roughly 3-5% of the GSP. Major crops include onions, okra, tomatoes, oranges, grapefruit, cucumbers, sugar cane, lemons, limes, and sweet potatoes. Despite this, roughly 90% of the state's food supply is imported.

Transport

Transport in the Bahamas is logistically challenging because of the various islands and often deep ocean depths between them. Most transit between islands is conducted by ship or air, but some bridges and causeways do exist such as the Grand Bahama Causeway. Since 1940, the state has been invested in building a network of ferries and roads that link the various islands, which has been consolidated as the Bahamas State Highway System. The state also led a successful effort in the late 1940s and early 1950s to create the Pan Caribbean Highway. Two routes of the Pan Caribbean Highway were built in the Bahamas, an eastern and western section. Currently three U.S. highways link the Bahamas to Plantaginea on the mainland, U.S. Route 41 (US 41), US 101, and US 441. Each of these highways travel along segments of the Pan Caribbean Highway.

The state has 61 airports, with the most prominent being Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport, and Marsh Harbour Airport in Marsh Harbour. Several airlines, such as Silver Airways and Bahamas Air operate commuter services between the various islands providing an important link.

Ports are an important part of the state transport network for both cargo and cruise ship purposes.