National flower

Tecoma Stans – The Bahamas National Flower.

The yellow elderflower is an evergreen shrub that can grow up to 20 feet in height. It is not a tree with a hard bark but thin branches that make up the shrub.

History

The first inhabitants of the Bahamas were the Taino people, who moved into the uninhabited southern islands from Hispaniola and Cuba having migrated there from South America. They came to be known as the Lucayan people and it is estimated that 30,000 Lucayans inhabited the Bahamas at the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1492.

Following Columbus's landing in the Bahamas islands, the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas theoretically divided the new territories between the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal, placing the Bahamas in the Spanish sphere. The English had shown interest in the Bahamas as early as 1629, but it was not until 1648 that the first English settlers arrived on the islands. English Puritans established the first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleuthera, Greek for freedom. They later settled in New Providence, naming it Sayle's Island. Life proved harder than envisaged, however, and many chose to return to Bermuda. To survive, the remaining settlers salvaged goods from wrecks. In 1670, King Charles II granted the islands to the Lord’s Proprietors of the Carolinas in North America. Whilst the islands had become a haven for piracy, the Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1718 and the British navy began to tackle the pirates who had disrupted the trade routes. At the end of the American War of Independence 1775 – 1783, Florida was exchanged for the Bahamas and 7,300 Loyalists from America were re-settled with their African slaves in the Bahamas along with 1,033 European, 2,214 African ancestrals and Native American Creeks from East Florida. The British government granted land to these planters, who then established prosperous plantations in the Bahamas, making strong contributions to the economy.  

During the 20th century, the Bahamian economy slowed but in August 1940, the Duke of Windsor was appointed Governor of the Bahamas and he opened the small local parliament on 29 October 1940. He resigned from this position in 1945, which gave rise to new political parties forming and taking increased responsibility for governance.  The Bahamas gained independence in 1973, led by Sir Lynden O. Pindling, with Elizabeth II as its Queen.  

The Bahamas adopted a new constitution in 1996 which established a bicameral parliament, with 38 members in the House of Assembly (the lower house), and a 16 member Senate, with members appointed by the governor-general, including nine on the advice of the Prime Minister, four on the advice of the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, and three on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Under the Westminster system, the Prime Minister may dissolve Parliament and call a general election at any time within a five-year term.

Geography, climate and environment

It is generally believed that the Bahamas were formed approximately 200 million years ago when Pangaea started to break apart. In current times, it endures as an archipelago containing over 700 islands and cays (a small island made of coral or sand). There are three terrestrial ecoregions: Bahamian dry forests, Bahamian pine mosaic, and Bahamian mangroves. The climate is mostly tropical savannah, with a hot and wet season and a warm and dry season. 

Tropical storms and hurricanes impact the Bahamas. Hurricane Dorian of 2019 passed over the archipelago at destructive Category 5 strength, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone on record. The storm inflicted at least £5million in damages, and killed more than 50 people with 1,300 people still missing.

Culture, music, dance and carnival

Bahamian bands Ophie & Da Websites and Bo Hog & Da Rooters around the 1960s, took on the preservation of “rake-n-scrape” — the traditional dance music of The Bahamas. The rake-n-scrape sound is immediately recognizable by the scraping, hitting, and bending of a common handsaw joined by the accordion and goatskin drum, which can be traced to the African slaves who came to work on the plantations in The Bahamas. Performing bands often appear in traditional costume (see image below). 

Junkanoo is the term used for a traditional Afro-Bahamian street parade of 'rushing', music, dance and art held in Nassau every Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Junkanoo is also integrated in other holidays and events such as Independence Day and Summer Fest.

The Junkanoo Festival over Christmas and New Year, is the defining symbol of Bahamian identity, reflecting the legacy of music and dance forms passed down by the slaves from West and Central Africa. Whilst the origin of the Junkanoo festival cannot be entirely certain, it is known that the 18th-century slaves of the Bahamas were given 3 days off for Christmas, which led to celebrations with colourful masks, singing and dancing. Once slavery was abolished, this festival was re-configured as the Junkanoo Bahamas festival, commemorating the slaves of the past and celebrating the Bahamas of today. Stilt walking, traditional music and dance bands are key features (see images below). 

Bahamian national dishes include Conch Fish, Seafood, Exotic fruit such as Guava Duff and rum cake handsaws. The national sport for the Bahamas is cricket, which has been played on the islands since 1846. Other popular spectator sports include baseball, basketball, American football, rugby, netball, boxing, swimming, and tennis. Bahamian athletes have excelled in track and field, winning medals in the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and Pan American Games.