THE HISTORY OFTHE ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS

The Bahamas has a rich multi-cultural history. It is made up of about 700 islands. The indigenous people of the Bahamas were the Lucayans, an Awarakan speaking group of the Taino people. They called the island, Guanahani. Christopher Columbus came to the Bahamas in 1492 and claimed it for Spain. Within 25 years, all 40,000 of the native islanders were wiped out as a result of slavery, maltreatment and disease. Ultimately Spain abandoned the island chain but kept its titular claim until 1783 when Spain traded the islands to Britain in exchange for East Florida.

During the 18th century transatlantic slave trade Europeans brought human cargo, enslaved Africans, to the Bahamas to work for free. The Bahamas was also home to many pirates because it was a safe place for them to hide their bounty.

After the American revolution, American Loyalists, now in exile in the Bahamas had brought with them enslaved Africans for labor. Today the descendants of the enslaved make up about 85 % of the Bahamian population. Also, throughout the 19th century, about 5,000 liberated Africans were freed by the British Royal Navy, they lived on various islands in the Bahamas and integrated into society. The British abolished the slave trade in 1807, but slavery was not ended in the British Empire until 1834. Historians note that in the 1820's hundreds of enslaved Africans and Seminoles in America escaped from Cape Florida to the Bahamas. Also, there were Black soldiers in Nassau, Bahamas when it served as an army base during the Civil War.

During World War I, as many as 1,800 Bahamians served in Canadian, British and United States armed forces. July 10th, 1973, the Bahamas gained independence from British rule.