The Bahamus

The Bahamus

The Bahamas / is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 low-lying islands and 2,387 islands. The islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba, Hispaniola, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States of America

The indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas are the Araco Taino. The islands were also the first foothold for Columbus in the New World in 1492. Although the Spaniards never colonized the colony, they moved the original inhabitants of the island to the island of Hispaniola as slaves. Most of the islands were deserted between (1513-1650) when British colonists settled in Eleuthera Island

The Bahamas became a crown colony in 1718 as the British curbed piracy. After the American War of Independence, thousands of British loyalists and enslaved Africans moved to the Bahamas and set up a farm economy. The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807 as many African survivors of slave ships liberated by the Royal Navy settled in the Bahamas Islands during the nineteenth century. Slavery itself was abolished in 1834, with Afro-descendants making up the bulk of the population of the Bahamas today

The origin of the name "Bahamas Islands" is unclear. It can be traced back to the Spanish language (“shallow seas”) or to the indigenous name of the Grand Bahama Island called “ba-ha-ma” (meaning the large upper middle earth)

The coat of arms of the Bahamas consists of a shield in the middle that contains the official emblem and is a drawing of the Santa Maria of the Christopher Columbus fleet sailing under a bright sun. The shield relies on a pink flamingo on the right and the Merlin fish on the left, the two official animals of the Bahamas, and they also symbolize land and sea as the Bahamas are an archipelago of islands

The large yellow flower was chosen as the national flower for the Bahamas as its original habitat, this flower blooms at all times of the year

This flower was chosen among a number of other flowers by popular vote among the members of the seven agricultural clubs in the regions of the seventies of the twentieth century, and they are; Nassau Club, Marver Club, International Club and YWCA Club

The reason for choosing this flower specifically is that the rest of the competing flowers were chosen as the national flower of other countries, unlike the large yellow flower, it is worth noting that the Virgin Islands have chosen this flower as a national symbol for it as well

The closest island to the United States is Bimini Island, also known as the Bahamas Gate. Abaco Island is located to the east of Grand Bahama. As for the island of Enagua, it is located in the far southeast. The largest of these islands are Andros, and other inhabited islands are Eleuthera, Cat and Long Island, San Salvador, Aklins, Lame Island, Exuma and Mayagwana. The city of Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas, located on the new island of Providence

All the islands of the Bahamas archipelago are low and flat, with hills usually not exceeding 15-20 meters (49-66 feet). Mount Alvernia is the highest point in the country, and was formerly called Como Hill. It is 63 meters (207 feet) high and is located on Cat Island

To the southeast of the archipelago, the Turks and Caicos Islands are located, in addition to three other large-scale marine landmarks called the Moshewar Bank, the Silver Bank and the Navadad Bank, which are geographically an extension of the Bahamas Islands but not part of the Commonwealth

The climate of the Bahamas is subtropical. The Gulf Stream plays a great role in modifying it, especially in the winter season. On the contrary, this current often plays a very dangerous role in summer and autumn when hurricanes pass near or through islands. Hurricane Andrew hit the northern islands during the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Floyd hit most of the islands during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season

Although temperatures do not drop below the freezing point in the Bahamas, they may reach 2-3 ° C (35.6-37.4 ° F) due to the waves coming from the Arctic that affect neighboring Florida. In January 1977, the archipelago witnessed snowfall with rain in the Freeport area, while snow fell in the Miami area. At that time the temperature was about 4.5 ° C (40.1 ° F)

The Bahamas is one of the most prosperous Caribbean countries, relying on tourism to generate most of the economic activity. The tourism industry provides more than 60% of the country's GDP and provides employment for almost half of the population. An example of tourism in the Bahamas is the number of cruise ships that dock in the capital, Nassau, where tourists visit the straw market for shopping. Financial services constitute the second economic sector after tourism, where it contributes about 15 percent of GDP

The government has adopted financial incentives to encourage foreign businessmen and banking and more financial reforms are still in progress. The government plans to merge the regulatory functions of the major financial institutions including the Central Bank of The Bahamas (Central Bank) and the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are restrictions and controls on capital and money market instruments and are managed by the Central Bank. The Bahamas International Stock Exchange currently has 19 public listed companies. This reflects the relative integrity of the banking system (most of them Canadian banks), and the impact of the global financial crisis on the financial sector has been limited

The country's economy has a very competitive tax system. The government derives its income from import duties, licensing fees, ownership and stamps, but there is no income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, value-added tax or wealth tax. Payroll taxes are included in the social insurance fund. Tax revenues in the last year accounted for 21.8% of GDP. The authorities are trying to increase tax liability in the wake of the global crisis. The country's inflation rate is moderate, averaging 3.7 percent between 2006 and 2008