Category Archives: Bahamas

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas leads the entire Caribbean on economic losses stemming from crime, losing $434 million or almost 5 per cent of its annual gross domestic product (GDP) to the scourge.

The extent of crimes impact on Bahamian economic output and wider society is laid bare in an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report, which shows that out of 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries, only Honduras and El Salvador incur greater annual costs as a proportion of GDP.

The study, The costs of crime and violence: New insights in Latin America and the Caribbean, reveals that the Bahamas is one of only two countries in the region where crime costs its citizens and residents more than $1,000 per person annually.

Once currency differences are accounted for, crime was shown as costing Bahamas residents $1,177 per capita annually, second only to Trinidad & Tobagos $1,189 per person.

The IDB study described crimes costs as particularly high in the Bahamas, while placing Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago in the same category, with more than 75 per cent of Bahamian companies spending money on security personnel, technology and equipment.

Again, the Bahamas is second only to Trinidad in the proportion of companies forced into expenditure on security measures, which has become an everyday feature of life for too many businesses.

The private security industry has been one of the few growth areas in the Bahamian economy since the 2008-2009 recession, reflecting just how strong a grip crime - and the fear of crime - maintain on the private sector and wider society.

In Honduras, private spending is almost 2 per cent of GDP more than twice the regional average and the higher bound is above 3 per cent, the IDB said of spending on security measures.

El Salvador follows with costs incurred by the private sector hovering between 1.6 and 2.7 per cent of GDP. The Bahamas and Brazil also show high private costs, with estimates varying between 1 and 1.9 per cent.

The IDB study also found that when it came to the Caribbeans urban areas, New Providence and Nassau led the way when it came to the number of physical assaults, robberies, burglaries, thefts and car thefts per capita. Nassau was above the global and regional average for all categories apart from burglary and theft.

The findings again illustrate why it is a matter of national urgency, and priority, for the Bahamas to get a grip on crime, given the enormous economic and social costs it continues to inflict, and which threaten to both undermine its main industries and overall competitiveness.

Not surprisingly, the three countries in the [Caribbean] that lose the highest percentages of their GDP to crime are those with the highest levels of violent crime: The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, the IDB study found.

The high levels of crime likewise affect the private sector in the [Caribbean]. The number of firms in the Caribbean experiencing losses due to crime, and the proportion of firms that pay for private security, are higher than the international averages. These costs draw money away from other activities that could potentially enhance productivity - such as the amount spent on research and development, which is lower than the amount spent on crime overall.

Finally, although government expenditure on combating crime is relatively high, the money is spent overwhelmingly on police, but this has not translated into higher police effectiveness, the report continued.

Moreover, with precious little of the total expenditure going to the judicial systems and crime prevention, much of the sub-region has ended up with overcrowded prisons, where nearly half of the detainees may wait years before going to trial.

The report, which has been studied by Tribune Business, seeks to measure crimes costs from three perspectives. Apart from the impact on the private sector, and the spending by households and companies on security, it also analyses the cost to government in terms of public expenditures on the judicial and prison systems, plus the police force.

And, finally, it also attempts to measure crimes social costs, particularly its impact on Bahamians quality of life, and income lost by the imprisonment of inmates at Fox Hill prison.

The Bahamas was found to lead the Caribbean by almost a full percentage point of GDP when it came to crimes costs, estimated to cost this nation 4.79 per cent of annual economic output - a sum equivalent to $434 million.

Only Jamaica came near to the Bahamas at 3.99 per cent of GDP per annum, with just Honduras and El Salvador ahead of this nation in the Latin American and Caribbean region, both losing more than 6 per cent of their annual economic output.

Adjusting for different currencies and exchange rates, the IDB study found: Trinidad & Tobago and the Bahamas have the highest costs at well over US$1,000 per capita in international US dollars.

Argentina is a relatively distant third, with per capita costs slightly below $700 in international US dollars. Guatemala, Paraguay, and Honduras, in that order, have the lowest per capita costs at or below $300 in international US dollars.

The Bahamas was also shown to be above the regional average when it came to income lost as a result of murders/homicides, the report pegging this at almost 0.5 per cent of annual economic output - a sum equal to $40-$50 million.

On average, foregone income related to homicides represents 0.32 per cent of GDP, the IDB study said. However, this average hides enormous variability across countries.

The Bahamas has the third highest homicide cost, at 0.48 per cent of GDP..... The third country classified as having a high social cost of homicides [after Honduras and El Salvador] is the Bahamas, with an average cost from homicides of 0.53 per cent of GDP during the sample period. The Bahamas had a peak cost of 0.64 per cent in 2011, and the lowest value in 2010 at 0.47 per cent.

The Bahamas also incurred one of the high costs in income foregone as a result of the incarcerated prison population at Fox Hill, the IDB estimating this as equivalent to 0.35 per cent of GDP - around $30-$40 million - as result of inmates not being engaged in productive work.

Adding this to the 0.3 per cent of GDP spent by the Government on running Fox Hill prison, the report found the Bahamas was spending 0.65 per cent of its annual economic output on incarceration - a proportion that was the second highest loss in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Taking all this into account, the Bahamas led the Caribbean in terms of the social costs inflicted by crime. Overall, social costs of crime are lowest in Chile, at 0.28 per cent of GDP, followed by Argentina and Barbados, both at 0.30 per cent, the IDB study found.

Countries with the highest costs are Honduras, at 2.19 per cent of GDP, El Salvador, at 1.44 per cent, and the Bahamas, at 0.94 per cent.

When it came to government spending on the police/security forces, and crime prevention, the IDB report found that the Bahamas lagged behind only Jamaica and Barbados, pegging this at between 1.15 per cent and 1.94 per cent of this countrys GDP.

However, conversely, the Bahamas and these other two nations were shown as spending the least - around 0.06 per cent of GDP - on their judicial systems and the administration of justice.

The IDB report said this overreliance on the police to combat crime had resulted in the Bahamas having the highest ratio of police to citizens in the region - some 846 officers per 100,000 persons.

However, high police density has not necessarily resulted in rapid police response or higher police effectiveness in solving and investigating crime, the study added.

Referring to a survey of persons living in Nassau and four other Caribbean metropolitan areas, the report said: Of those polled...., an average of 56 per cent said that if they called the police because someone was entering their home, it would take the police more than 30 minutes to arrive.

It would take more than three hours, according to 9 per cent of respondents, and 2.5 per cent said there are no police in their area at all.

The Bahamas, though, was said to have the highest murder rate detection based on 2013 data, pegged at 51 per cent.

And the Christie administration has been attempting to address the justice systems weaknesses via the $20 million Citizen Security initiative with the IDB, increasing the number of criminal courts and recently unveiling the Office of the Public Defender.

Excerpt from:

Bahamas Tops Caribbean On Crime'S Economic Cost - Bahamas Tribune

Brittany Lincicome has belted her way into the hunt for what could be her sixth consecutive berth on Team USA at the 2017 Solheim Cup after her season opening win at the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic.

"Making the Solheim Cup team is by far my number-one goal," Lincicome said. "Getting a win is just icing on the cake. To make the Solheim Cup team and play for (Team USA Captain) Juli Inkster again would just be a dream come true.

Known as "Bam Bam" for her monstrous tee shots, Lincicome jumped out to an early lead at the Pure Silk Bahamas while setting a 36-hole course record 129. She finished the final round in a tie with Lexi Thompson at 26 under par. Lincicome won the tournament title with a birdie putt on the first playoff hole. The Jan. 29 win marked her seventh career victory on the LPGA Tour and her first since she won the ANA Inspiration in 2015. The win also catapulted the 31-year-old Floridian to seventh place on the 2017 Solheim Cup point rankings.

Lincicome brings an impressive long game. She's hit drives as long as 369 yards and ranks third on the LPGA this season in average driving distance. She can easily challenge the par 5 holes, which could give her team opportunities to card eagles and birdies at Des Moines Golf and Country Club, site of the 2017 Solheim Cup. She also has improved her short game, showcasing an excellent putting stroke at the Pure Silk Bahamas.

While her early season win is a confidence builder, Lincicome says success in the match play format at the 2017 Solheim Cup will rely heavily on team chemistry. She ought to know, having played for Team USA in every Solheim Cup since 2007, where she has a combined match play record of 5-11-2.

"The Solheim Cup week is a very stressful week. Obviously we want to play well for ourselves, play well for our country and play well for our captain," Lincicome said.

"There's an extra pressure on it than a normal week when you play individually for yourself. Obviously the emotions are very high in the locker room. So I just try to be myself, pump everybody up and encourage everyone as best as I can."

Will Lincicome deliver her long blasts for Team USA? The next six months will tell. Get your tickets now to catch all the action when Team USA faces off against Team Europe at the 2017 Solheim Cup at Des Moines Golf and Country Club, in West Des Moines, Iowa, August 14-20.

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Bahamas Victory Could Propel Lincicome to 2017 Solheim Cup - LPGA (press release)

Miami hosting Venezuela-Bahamas Davis Cup tie Tennis Magazine It decided not to play the tie at home because of economic concerns in the country, instead moving it to Doral, Florida. But with an area population that is 17 percent Venezuelan, the team should still receive plenty of backing from the crowd. The ...

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Miami hosting Venezuela-Bahamas Davis Cup tie - Tennis Magazine

Miami Herald

Venezuela hosts home Davis Cup matches vs. Bahamas in Doral Miami Herald The Venezuelan Davis Cup team will host its home matches against the Bahamas this weekend at the Doral Park Country Club. Due to the economic turmoil and security concerns in Venezuela, Davis Cup officials moved the event to Doral, which is almost ... 'Fantastic Four' All Set For The Davis Cup TieBahamas Tribune all 2 news articles »

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Venezuela hosts home Davis Cup matches vs. Bahamas in Doral - Miami Herald

By JAY POWELL jpowell@c-dh.net

Reconnecting with old friends after years, or sometimes decades, are opportunities I wish would happen more times than they do.

Its nice to see how the years have treated the other person, how theyve navigated the labyrinthine ups and downs of surviving adulthood. There is also the chance to reflect on how much Ive grown since that time, from back when I was younger and interacting with this person was part of my normal routine.

Some friends have fared better than others. Either way, there are always great stories to relive and new ones to discover in each other.

I had such an experience last weekend, with a friend who I had not spent time with in more than 10 years. We reconnected last fall at a music festival when we discovered we both wound up working in media. Where it all began, however, was a tale of survival involving a group of teenagers marooned on an island in The Bahamas during the summer of 2004.

Our mission was to travel to an island called Eleuthra, which spans about 100 miles and has a population of only a few thousand people, many of them poor.

We were to split up in two groups. A few of us were to spend each day at a local daycare working with children, while the rest of us strapped on our work boots and built a house. I was in the latter group, probably because the job involved heavy lifting and smashing things.

That was our quest, or at least the plan according to what we were told.

It so happened we arrived on the island a few days early. Another group was stationed at our headquarters for the time being, and they had no place for us. We were left with two choices swim for the States, or find shelter.

Being a bunch of young people seeped in pop culture, we all started thinking about Lord of The Flies, Survivor or Robinson Crusoe. Lost had just become a popular new television show, so there were jokes about looking for secret hatches and being watched by the others. It also didnt help team morale when our chaperones on the island approached us carrying machine guns.

Thankfully, we found an old school to hole up in for a few nights, the first night bunking together in a large room like inside a crowded army barracks.

When the heat became too much to handle, about six or eight of us grabbed our mattresses and lay down on a nearby basketball court. After days of traveling on planes, boats, buses and the realization that about 20 people were now homeless and miles from their beds, gazing up into the clear sky and seeing the entire universe above left us all speechless.

The next day, we did what a bunch of teenage boys and girls do when stranded on an island with nothing but time on their hands: we roamed around searching for food, leapt off cliff edges into barracuda-infested waters, trapped crabs and other critters. Mostly, we just wanted to know where the heck we had landed the night before, and just how far away from civilization, at least as we knew it, we now stood.

After a few days of roughing it in the wild, we all became closer with one another than on any trip like that Id taken before or sense. Surviving those first few days was a test of our abilities to keep it together when faced with a great challenge, allowed us to bond and come up with ideas to pass the time or keep our minds off the current situation.

We met plenty of locals, did little odd jobs, wandered into a food market and even watched a reggae band. Ill have to tell you about the life-changing fear that runs through a person when you drive a truck with no brakes offroad sometime.

Life could have been worse for being lost on an island, thats for sure. The whole experience made it so when the real work finally started, we were more ready than ever.

I still keep a pack of photographs from that trip I take with me everywhere I move. Its nice to see pictures of those friends I once knew, and to think about what theyre probably doing now. Thanks to Facebook, its not such a stretch to find out these days.

Its also fun to see how long my hair was back then, and the progressions of our sunburns from those days in sunny Eleuthra 13 years ago, when at one point we were convinced our lives were doomed.

Jay Powell is a reporter for The Daily Herald. Contact him at jpowell@c-dh.net and follow him on Twitter at @JayPowellCDH.

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Survival in the Bahamas - Columbia Daily Herald

The Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie is now in no rush to ring the election bell.

NASSAU, The Bahamas, Friday February 3, 2017 There will be no snap elections in The Bahamas, Prime Minister Perry Christie has said in the face of heightened expectation. Elections are not in the near future, he told Parliament this week.

In fact, he served notice that government still had some unfinished business on its agenda.

Responding to concerns raised by the opposition Free National Movement about governments failure to account for several controversial projects, Christie said his administration was preparing to bring those matters before the House in the near future.

The announcement of elections not being called anytime soon appears to be a change of heart on the part of the Prime Minister who was hinting late last year that he was ready to ring the bell.

Not only did he urge party supporters to get registered now, but he cautioned that things will go fast and furious.

But there has been concern that Bahamians appear not be in an election mood, with voter registration at an all-time low.

The Nassau Guardian reported that only 92,000 voters, around half of anticipated voters, had registered.

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No Elections Just Yet, Bahamas Prime Minister Says - Caribbean360.com (subscription)

UK Citizen Entry Requirements Read more about how to get here and Travel info

Ragged Island Click on island for more information

Andros Click on island for more information

Nassau / Paradise Island Click on island for more information

The Abacos Click on island for more information

Grand Bahama Island Click on island for more information

The Berry Islands Click on island for more information

Bimini Click on island for more information

Eleuthera / Harbour Island Click on island for more information

The Exumas Click on island for more information

Cat Island Click on island for more information

San Salvador & Rum Cay Click on island for more information

Long Island Click on island for more information

Acklins / Crooked Island Click on island for more information

Mayaguana Click on island for more information

Inagua Click on island for more information

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The Official UK website, The Island of The Bahamas | The ...

Latest Articles

A new climate study warning of abrupt coastal flooding gets dipped in the acid bath of open peer review.

To celebrate turning 29, the designer made a Bahamian getaway with his boyfriend, Paul Arnhold, and their cockapoo, Bird.

By JULIE BAUMGARDNER

From aristocratic roots to a peaceful beachside existence on Harbour Island, the model-turned-designers new lifestyle brand reveals no shortage of inspiration.

By EVIANA HARTMAN

Raids on places where Haitians live have swept up hundreds of people since a new policy took effect, requiring everyone to hold a passport.

Many buyers of high-end condos in Manhattan have started shopping for beachfront retreats in the Bahamas, some developed by New Yorkers.

By JULIE SATOW

Baha Mar, a luxury resort scheduled to open next year in Nassau in the Bahamas, will have four different hotel brands in separate towers.

By SHIVANI VORA

About 20 years ago, the beautiful and otherworldly red lionfish started showing up in south Florida and the Caribbean. Now theyre a plague.

About 20 years ago, the beautiful and otherworldly red lionfish started showing up in south Florida and the Caribbean. Now theyre a plague.

As the plane was touching down in Nassau, flames were spotted near the lefthand engine. All 93 on board escaped safely.

The wind was picking up here Thursday afternoon as Hurricane Frances worked its way up the Bahamas, kicking up 15-foot waves in the sparsely populated southeastern islands. But Mervyn Taylor, a graying civil servant, was playing a leisurely game of dominoes outside the Columbus Primary School with some friends who, like himself, had boarded up their houses and now were just waiting for the storm. Mr. Taylor and the others had heard the reports of hundreds of thousands of Floridians clogging the highways in an urgent exodus from the beaches. But, he said, having lived all his life on one or another of the 700 islands that make up the Bahamas, the idea of trying to run from a hurricane never occurred to him.

SHIFTING FORTUNES -- New figures show how sharply the fortunes of the big airlines and their low-cost rivals have diverged since the industry's peak year of 2000. The discount carriers flew 20 percent more seats in May than four years earlier, according to a report by the Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General, while the network airlines capacity was down 16 percent. Reflecting the relentless pressure that low-cost carriers have kept on their bigger competitors, average air fares for a 1,000-mile trip dropped to $116 from $147 over that period. Underlining the trend toward driving rather than flying short distances, the report said that there were 27 percent fewer scheduled flights of under 250 miles in May than in May 2000, but there were 9 percent more flights of over 1,000 miles. Southwest had a 59 percent share of the low-cost market in May, followed by America West with 12 percent and Air Tran with 8 percent. Meanwhile, the propeller-driven airplane is rapidly becoming scarce on commercial flights. Flights by turboprop and piston-engine aircraft fell 63 percent in May over May 2000. Flights by regional jet increased 180 percent.

The plane crash on Aug. 25 in the Bahamas that killed Aaliyah, the 22-year-old singer and actress, followed a decision by the officials managing her travel not to use two professional charter services with planes nearby and instead to rely on a small charter company. A reconstruction of the days leading up to the crash at the Bahamian island of Abaco suggests a disorganized and confused effort to set up the filming of a video for Aaliyah. On the flight there, an official from the cargo company that loaded the planes said, the managers who supervised the travel were warned that their attempts to overload their aircraft could lead to disaster.

A fire in Nassau that raged for hours as it crept along rooftops destroyed the capital's renowned handicrafts market as well as the offices of the Tourism Ministry. The blaze, which took eight hours to control, started Tuesday afternoon in the Straw Market, a crowded and popular tourist destination. No one was reported injured, although the authorities had to evacuate 300 guests from a hotel, as well as remove artifacts from the nearby national museum, which is in an 18th-century building. David Gonzalez (NYT)

A sailboat packed with perhaps as many as 156 Haitians trying to get to the United States ran aground on the reefs surrounding Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas during the past week, leaving six dead and possibly dozens more missing, American and Bahamian authorities said today. Helicopters and boats combed the waters off Great Inagua, the southernmost island of the Bahamas, on Tuesday looking for signs of life and evacuating 69 survivors from the island. Based on interviews with survivors, the authorities could be looking for as many as 81 others.

William Morris Bain walked barefoot and somberly today through his house, where the tile floors were slick and silty from the surge of sea water that swept inside when Hurricane Floyd struck. Outside, piles of debris were all that remained of his tool shop and storehouse. The rushing water had also ripped through his two sons' homes next door, where their wives now hung damp clothes to dry on a fallen tree trunk. ''There ain't going to be no drying,'' he said as he showed a visitor a waterlogged mattress. ''We got to start all over again.''

Around 7:30 on the morning after Christmas, Orlando Hernandez, one of the best pitchers ever on the Cuban national baseball team, and seven companions got into a small sailboat with four oars. They loaded four cans of Spam, bread, sugar and drinking water onto the craft and guided it into the calm azure Caribbean water off the Cuban coast. Hernandez, known in his homeland as El Duque (The Duke), was banned from the baseball team in August 1996 because the Government believed he was about to defect and had aided in the defection of other baseball players, including his half brother, Livan, who is a pitcher for the Florida Marlins and was the World Series most valuable player last season.

In 1988, eight Democratic members of Congress formed a company to buy a tiny island in the Bahamas -- an old pirates' lair with pink beaches and palm trees -- with the idea of turning it into a resort. One of them was Matthew F. McHugh, the upstate New York Representative who is now leading the ethics committee investigation of the House bank affair. Two of the others were Robert J. Mrazek of Long Island and Edward F. Feighan of Ohio, who figure prominently in that affair and who are now appealing to Mr. McHugh's panel for exoneration on the ground that they did not "routinely and repeatedly" overdraw their accounts by significant amounts.

LEAD: Eight members of Congress are buying a Bahamian island.

The Commonwealth conference here, now in its second day, has developed into a lobbying session on South Africa, with Britain trying to persuade most of the other members that discussion is likely to be more effective than sanctions in eliminating apartheid Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher avoided the subject of South Africa when she opened today's closed-door meeting with a wide-ranging speech on world issues. But she had previously spent 45 minutes talking mainly about South Africa with Prime Minister Robert Hawke of Australia. Sir Geoffrey Howe, the British Foreign Secretary, had lunch with several Caribbean foreign ministers and others in the 21-member British delegation had fanned out among the conference participants.

The heads of government of the Commonwealth nations opened a weeklong meeting here today with an apparent majority seeking to increase pressure on South Africa to end apartheid. But Britain, which once dictated policy to the Commonwealth members when they were colonies or dominions of the British Empire, has indicated that it is opposed to taking further measures against South Afica. Thus, in the meetings over the next few days, which are to take place behind closed doors, as is customary at these conferences, many of the heads of government will try to persuade Britain to shift its position. Terrorism and Drugs In initial remarks, Lynden O. Pindling, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, said the heads of government would also take up the issues of terrorism, drug trafficking and economic problems.

A new climate study warning of abrupt coastal flooding gets dipped in the acid bath of open peer review.

To celebrate turning 29, the designer made a Bahamian getaway with his boyfriend, Paul Arnhold, and their cockapoo, Bird.

By JULIE BAUMGARDNER

From aristocratic roots to a peaceful beachside existence on Harbour Island, the model-turned-designers new lifestyle brand reveals no shortage of inspiration.

By EVIANA HARTMAN

Raids on places where Haitians live have swept up hundreds of people since a new policy took effect, requiring everyone to hold a passport.

Many buyers of high-end condos in Manhattan have started shopping for beachfront retreats in the Bahamas, some developed by New Yorkers.

By JULIE SATOW

Baha Mar, a luxury resort scheduled to open next year in Nassau in the Bahamas, will have four different hotel brands in separate towers.

By SHIVANI VORA

About 20 years ago, the beautiful and otherworldly red lionfish started showing up in south Florida and the Caribbean. Now theyre a plague.

About 20 years ago, the beautiful and otherworldly red lionfish started showing up in south Florida and the Caribbean. Now theyre a plague.

As the plane was touching down in Nassau, flames were spotted near the lefthand engine. All 93 on board escaped safely.

The wind was picking up here Thursday afternoon as Hurricane Frances worked its way up the Bahamas, kicking up 15-foot waves in the sparsely populated southeastern islands. But Mervyn Taylor, a graying civil servant, was playing a leisurely game of dominoes outside the Columbus Primary School with some friends who, like himself, had boarded up their houses and now were just waiting for the storm. Mr. Taylor and the others had heard the reports of hundreds of thousands of Floridians clogging the highways in an urgent exodus from the beaches. But, he said, having lived all his life on one or another of the 700 islands that make up the Bahamas, the idea of trying to run from a hurricane never occurred to him.

SHIFTING FORTUNES -- New figures show how sharply the fortunes of the big airlines and their low-cost rivals have diverged since the industry's peak year of 2000. The discount carriers flew 20 percent more seats in May than four years earlier, according to a report by the Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General, while the network airlines capacity was down 16 percent. Reflecting the relentless pressure that low-cost carriers have kept on their bigger competitors, average air fares for a 1,000-mile trip dropped to $116 from $147 over that period. Underlining the trend toward driving rather than flying short distances, the report said that there were 27 percent fewer scheduled flights of under 250 miles in May than in May 2000, but there were 9 percent more flights of over 1,000 miles. Southwest had a 59 percent share of the low-cost market in May, followed by America West with 12 percent and Air Tran with 8 percent. Meanwhile, the propeller-driven airplane is rapidly becoming scarce on commercial flights. Flights by turboprop and piston-engine aircraft fell 63 percent in May over May 2000. Flights by regional jet increased 180 percent.

The plane crash on Aug. 25 in the Bahamas that killed Aaliyah, the 22-year-old singer and actress, followed a decision by the officials managing her travel not to use two professional charter services with planes nearby and instead to rely on a small charter company. A reconstruction of the days leading up to the crash at the Bahamian island of Abaco suggests a disorganized and confused effort to set up the filming of a video for Aaliyah. On the flight there, an official from the cargo company that loaded the planes said, the managers who supervised the travel were warned that their attempts to overload their aircraft could lead to disaster.

A fire in Nassau that raged for hours as it crept along rooftops destroyed the capital's renowned handicrafts market as well as the offices of the Tourism Ministry. The blaze, which took eight hours to control, started Tuesday afternoon in the Straw Market, a crowded and popular tourist destination. No one was reported injured, although the authorities had to evacuate 300 guests from a hotel, as well as remove artifacts from the nearby national museum, which is in an 18th-century building. David Gonzalez (NYT)

A sailboat packed with perhaps as many as 156 Haitians trying to get to the United States ran aground on the reefs surrounding Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas during the past week, leaving six dead and possibly dozens more missing, American and Bahamian authorities said today. Helicopters and boats combed the waters off Great Inagua, the southernmost island of the Bahamas, on Tuesday looking for signs of life and evacuating 69 survivors from the island. Based on interviews with survivors, the authorities could be looking for as many as 81 others.

William Morris Bain walked barefoot and somberly today through his house, where the tile floors were slick and silty from the surge of sea water that swept inside when Hurricane Floyd struck. Outside, piles of debris were all that remained of his tool shop and storehouse. The rushing water had also ripped through his two sons' homes next door, where their wives now hung damp clothes to dry on a fallen tree trunk. ''There ain't going to be no drying,'' he said as he showed a visitor a waterlogged mattress. ''We got to start all over again.''

Around 7:30 on the morning after Christmas, Orlando Hernandez, one of the best pitchers ever on the Cuban national baseball team, and seven companions got into a small sailboat with four oars. They loaded four cans of Spam, bread, sugar and drinking water onto the craft and guided it into the calm azure Caribbean water off the Cuban coast. Hernandez, known in his homeland as El Duque (The Duke), was banned from the baseball team in August 1996 because the Government believed he was about to defect and had aided in the defection of other baseball players, including his half brother, Livan, who is a pitcher for the Florida Marlins and was the World Series most valuable player last season.

In 1988, eight Democratic members of Congress formed a company to buy a tiny island in the Bahamas -- an old pirates' lair with pink beaches and palm trees -- with the idea of turning it into a resort. One of them was Matthew F. McHugh, the upstate New York Representative who is now leading the ethics committee investigation of the House bank affair. Two of the others were Robert J. Mrazek of Long Island and Edward F. Feighan of Ohio, who figure prominently in that affair and who are now appealing to Mr. McHugh's panel for exoneration on the ground that they did not "routinely and repeatedly" overdraw their accounts by significant amounts.

LEAD: Eight members of Congress are buying a Bahamian island.

The Commonwealth conference here, now in its second day, has developed into a lobbying session on South Africa, with Britain trying to persuade most of the other members that discussion is likely to be more effective than sanctions in eliminating apartheid Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher avoided the subject of South Africa when she opened today's closed-door meeting with a wide-ranging speech on world issues. But she had previously spent 45 minutes talking mainly about South Africa with Prime Minister Robert Hawke of Australia. Sir Geoffrey Howe, the British Foreign Secretary, had lunch with several Caribbean foreign ministers and others in the 21-member British delegation had fanned out among the conference participants.

The heads of government of the Commonwealth nations opened a weeklong meeting here today with an apparent majority seeking to increase pressure on South Africa to end apartheid. But Britain, which once dictated policy to the Commonwealth members when they were colonies or dominions of the British Empire, has indicated that it is opposed to taking further measures against South Afica. Thus, in the meetings over the next few days, which are to take place behind closed doors, as is customary at these conferences, many of the heads of government will try to persuade Britain to shift its position. Terrorism and Drugs In initial remarks, Lynden O. Pindling, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, said the heads of government would also take up the issues of terrorism, drug trafficking and economic problems.

Continued here:

Bahamas - The New York Times

Coordinates: 2415N 7600W / 24.250N 76.000W / 24.250; -76.000

The Bahamas (i), officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an archipelagic state of the Lucayan Archipelago consisting of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean; north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic); northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands; southeast of the US state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. Its capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The designation of "The Bahamas" can refer to either the country or the larger island chain that it shares with the Turks and Caicos Islands. As stated in the mandate/manifesto of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Bahamas territory encompasses 470,000km2 (180,000sqmi) of ocean space.

The Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. At that time, the islands were inhabited by the Lucayan, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people. Although the Spanish never colonised the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.

The Bahamas became a British Crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy. After the American War of Independence, the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists in the Bahamas; they brought their slaves with them and established plantations on land grants. Africans constituted the majority of the population from this period. The Bahamas became a haven for freed African slaves: the Royal Navy resettled Africans here liberated from illegal slave ships; American slaves and Seminoles escaped here from Florida; and the government freed American slaves carried on United States domestic ships that had reached the Bahamas due to weather. Slavery in the Bahamas was abolished in 1834. Today the descendants of slaves and free Africans make up nearly 90% of the population; issues related to the slavery years are part of society.

The Bahamas became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1973, retaining Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch. In terms of gross domestic product per capita, the Bahamas is one of the richest countries in the Americas (following the United States and Canada), with an economy based on tourism and finance.[9]

The name Bahamas is derived from either the Taino ba ha ma ("big upper middle land"), which was a term for the region used by the indigenous Amerindians,[10] while other theories suggest it derives from the Spanish baja mar ("shallow water or sea" or "low tide") reflecting the shallow waters of the area. Alternatively it may originate from Guanahani, a local name of unclear meaning.[11] In English, the Bahamas is one of only two countries whose self-standing short name begins with the word "the", along with The Gambia.[12]

Taino people moved into the uninhabited southern Bahamas from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 11th century, having migrated there from South America. They came to be known as the Lucayan people. An estimated 30,000 Lucayan inhabited the Bahamas at the time of Christopher Columbus' arrival in 1492.

Columbus's first landfall in the New World was on an island he named San Salvador (known to the Lucayan as Guanahani). Some researchers believe this site to be present-day San Salvador Island (formerly known as Watling's Island), situated in the southeastern Bahamas. An alternative theory holds that Columbus landed to the southeast on Samana Cay, according to calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic writer and editor Joseph Judge, based on Columbus's log. Evidence in support of this remains inconclusive. On the landfall island, Columbus made first contact with the Lucayan and exchanged goods with them.

The Spanish forced much of the Lucayan population to Hispaniola for use as forced labour. The slaves suffered from harsh conditions and most died from contracting diseases to which they had no immunity; half of the Taino died from smallpox alone.[14] The population of the Bahamas was severely diminished.[15]

In 1648, the Eleutherian Adventurers, led by William Sayle, migrated from Bermuda. These English Puritans established the first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleutherathe name derives from the Greek word for freedom. They later settled New Providence, naming it Sayle's Island after one of their leaders. To survive, the settlers salvaged goods from wrecks.

In 1670 King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas in North America. They rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing governors, and administering the country.[16] In 1684 Spanish corsair Juan de Alcon raided the capital, Charles Town (later renamed Nassau). In 1703 a joint Franco-Spanish expedition briefly occupied the Bahamian capital during the War of the Spanish Succession.

During proprietary rule, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates, including the infamous Blackbeard (c.16801718). To put an end to the 'Pirates' republic' and restore orderly government, Britain made the Bahamas a crown colony in 1718 under the royal governorship of Woodes Rogers. After a difficult struggle, he succeeded in suppressing piracy.[17] In 1720, Rogers led local militia to drive off a Spanish attack.

During the American War of Independence in the late 18th century, the islands became a target for American naval forces under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins. US Marines occupied the capital of Nassau for a fortnight.

In 1782, following the British defeat at Yorktown, a Spanish fleet appeared off the coast of Nassau. The city surrendered without a fight. Spain returned possession of the Bahamas to Britain the following year, under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. Before the news was received, however, the islands were recaptured by a small British force led by Andrew Deveaux.

After American independence, the British resettled some 7,300 Loyalists with their slaves in the Bahamas, and granted land to the planters to help compensate for losses on the continent. These Loyalists, who included Deveaux, established plantations on several islands and became a political force in the capital. European Americans were outnumbered by the African-American slaves they brought with them, and ethnic Europeans remained a minority in the territory.

In 1807, the British abolished the slave trade, followed by the United States the next year. During the following decades, the Royal Navy intercepted the trade; they resettled in the Bahamas thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships.

In the 1820s during the period of the Seminole Wars in Florida, hundreds of American slaves and African Seminoles escaped from Cape Florida to the Bahamas. They settled mostly on northwest Andros Island, where they developed the village of Red Bays. From eyewitness accounts, 300 escaped in a mass flight in 1823, aided by Bahamians in 27 sloops, with others using canoes for the journey. This was commemorated in 2004 by a large sign at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.[18][19] Some of their descendants in Red Bays continue African Seminole traditions in basket making and grave marking.[20]

The United States' National Park Service, which administers the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, is working with the African Bahamian Museum and Research Center (ABAC) in Nassau on development to identify Red Bays as a site related to American slaves' search for freedom. The museum has researched and documented the African Seminoles' escape from southern Florida. It plans to develop interpretive programs at historical sites in Red Bay associated with the period of their settlement in the Bahamas.[21]

In 1818,[22] the Home Office in London had ruled that "any slave brought to the Bahamas from outside the British West Indies would be manumitted." This led to a total of nearly 300 slaves owned by US nationals being freed from 1830 to 1835.[23] The American slave ships Comet and Encomium used in the United States domestic coastwise slave trade, were wrecked off Abaco Island in December 1830 and February 1834, respectively. When wreckers took the masters, passengers and slaves into Nassau, customs officers seized the slaves and British colonial officials freed them, over the protests of the Americans. There were 165 slaves on the Comet and 48 on the Encomium. Britain finally paid an indemnity to the United States in those two cases in 1855, under the Treaty of Claims of 1853, which settled several compensation cases between the two nations.[24][25]

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire on 1 August 1834. After that British colonial officials freed 78 American slaves from the Enterprise, which went into Bermuda in 1835; and 38 from the Hermosa, which wrecked off Abaco Island in 1840.[26] The most notable case was that of the Creole in 1841: as a result of a slave revolt on board, the leaders ordered the American brig to Nassau. It was carrying 135 slaves from Virginia destined for sale in New Orleans. The Bahamian officials freed the 128 slaves who chose to stay in the islands. The Creole case has been described as the "most successful slave revolt in U.S. history".[27]

These incidents, in which a total of 447 slaves belonging to US nationals were freed from 1830 to 1842, increased tension between the United States and Great Britain. They had been co-operating in patrols to suppress the international slave trade. But, worried about the stability of its large domestic slave trade and its value, the United States argued that Britain should not treat its domestic ships that came to its colonial ports under duress, as part of the international trade. The United States worried that the success of the Creole slaves in gaining freedom would encourage more slave revolts on merchant ships.

In August 1940, after his abdication of the British throne, the Duke of Windsor was installed as Governor of the Bahamas, arriving with his wife, the Duchess. Although disheartened at the condition of Government House, they "tried to make the best of a bad situation".[28] He did not enjoy the position, and referred to the islands as "a third-class British colony".[29]

He opened the small local parliament on 29 October 1940. The couple visited the "Out Islands" that November, on Axel Wenner-Gren's yacht, which caused controversy;[30] the British Foreign Office strenuously objected because they had been advised (mistakenly) by United States intelligence that Wenner-Gren was a close friend of the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Gring of Nazi Germany.[30][31]

The Duke was praised at the time for his efforts to combat poverty on the islands. A 1991 biography by Philip Ziegler, however, described him as contemptuous of the Bahamians and other non-white peoples of the Empire. He was praised for his resolution of civil unrest over low wages in Nassau in June 1942, when there was a "full-scale riot."[32] Ziegler said that the Duke blamed the trouble on "mischief makers communists" and "men of Central European Jewish descent, who had secured jobs as a pretext for obtaining a deferment of draft".[33]

The Duke resigned the post on 16 March 1945.[34][35]

Modern political development began after the Second World War. The first political parties were formed in the 1950s. The British Parliament authorised the islands as internally self-governing in 1964, with Sir Roland Symonette, of the United Bahamian Party, as the first Premier.

A new constitution granting the Bahamas internal autonomy went into effect on 7 January 1964.[36] In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the Progressive Liberal Party, became the first black Premier of the majority-black colony; in 1968 the title of the position was changed to Prime Minister. In 1968, Pindling announced that the Bahamas would seek full independence.[37] A new constitution giving the Bahamas increased control over its own affairs was adopted in 1968.[38]

The British House of Lords voted to give the Bahamas its independence on 22 June 1973.[39]Prince Charles delivered the official documents to Prime Minister Lynden Pindling, officially declaring the Bahamas a fully independent nation on 10 July 1973.[40] It joined the Commonwealth of Nations on the same day.[41]Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first Governor-General of the Bahamas (the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II) shortly after independence. The Bahamas joined the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on 22 August 1973,[42] and it joined the United Nations on 18 September 1973.[43]

Based on the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance, the Bahamian economy has prospered since the 1950s. Significant challenges in areas such as education, health care, housing, international narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration from Haiti continue to be issues.

The College of the Bahamas is the national higher education/tertiary system. Offering baccalaureate, masters and associate degrees, COB has three campuses, and teaching and research centres throughout the Bahamas. COB is on track to become the national "University of The Bahamas" (UOB) in 2015.

The country lies between latitudes 20 and 28N, and longitudes 72 and 80W.

In 1864, the Governor of the Bahamas reported that there were 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 rocks in the colony.[44]

The closest island to the United States is Bimini, which is also known as the gateway to the Bahamas. The island of Abaco is to the east of Grand Bahama. The southeasternmost island is Inagua. The largest island is Andros Island. Other inhabited islands include Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Exuma, Berry Islands and Mayaguana. Nassau, capital city of the Bahamas, lies on the island of New Providence.

All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15 to 20m (49 to 66ft). The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia (formerly Como Hill) on Cat Island. It has an elevation of 63 metres (207ft).

To the southeast, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and three more extensive submarine features called Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank and Navidad Bank, are geographically a continuation of the Bahamas.

The climate of the Bahamas is tropical savannah climate or Aw according to Kppen climate classification. As such, there has never been a frost or freeze reported in the Bahamas, although every few decades low temperatures can fall into the 35C (3741F) range for a few hours when a severe cold outbreak comes off the North American landmass. Otherwise, the low latitude, warm tropical Gulf Stream, and low elevation give the Bahamas a warm and winterless climate. There is only an 8C difference between the warmest month and coolest month in most of the Bahama islands. As with most tropical climates, seasonal rainfall follows the sun, and summer is the wettest season. The Bahamas are often sunny and dry for long periods of time, and average more than 3,000 hours or 340 days[45] of sunlight annually.

Tropical storms and hurricanes affect the Bahamas. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew passed over the northern portions of the islands, and Hurricane Floyd passed near the eastern portions of the islands in 1999.

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The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by Queen Elizabeth II in her role as Queen of the Bahamas. Political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom and the Westminster system. The Bahamas is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations as a Commonwealth realm, retaining the Queen as head of state (represented by a Governor-General).

Legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament, which consists of a 38-member House of Assembly (the lower house), with members elected from single-member districts, 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. The House of Assembly carries out all major legislative functions. As under the Westminster system, the Prime Minister may dissolve Parliament and call a general election at any time within a five-year term.[48]

The Prime Minister is the head of government and is the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet, selected by the Prime Minister and drawn from his supporters in the House of Assembly. The current Governor-General is Dame Marguerite Pindling, and the current Prime Minister is The Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, P.C., M.P..

Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement and association. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English law.

The Bahamas has a two-party system dominated by the centre-left Progressive Liberal Party and the centre-right Free National Movement. A handful of splinter parties have been unable to win election to parliament. These parties have included the Bahamas Democratic Movement, the Coalition for Democratic Reform, Bahamian Nationalist Party and the Democratic National Alliance.

The Bahamas has strong bilateral relationships with the United States and the United Kingdom, represented by an ambassador in Washington and High Commissioner in London. The Bahamas also associates closely with other nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Its military is the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (the RBDF), the navy of the Bahamas which includes a land unit called Commando Squadron (Regiment) and an Air Wing (Air Force). Under the Defence Act, the RBDF has been mandated, in the name of the Queen, to defend the Bahamas, protect its territorial integrity, patrol its waters, provide assistance and relief in times of disaster, maintain order in conjunction with the law enforcement agencies of the Bahamas, and carry out any such duties as determined by the National Security Council. The Defence Force is also a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)'s Regional Security Task Force.

The RBDF came into existence on 31 March 1980. Their duties include defending the Bahamas, stopping drug smuggling, illegal immigration and poaching, and providing assistance to mariners. The Defence Force has a fleet of 26 coastal and inshore patrol craft along with 3 aircraft and over 1,100 personnel including 65 officers and 74 women.

The districts of the Bahamas provide a system of local government everywhere except New Providence (which holds 70% of the national population), whose affairs are handled directly by the central government. In 1996, the Bahamian Parliament passed the "Local Government Act" to facilitate the establishment of Family Island Administrators, Local Government Districts, Local District Councillors and Local Town Committees for the various island communities. The overall goal of this act is to allow the various elected leaders to govern and oversee the affairs of their respective districts without the interference of Central Government. In total, there are 32 districts, with elections being held every five years. There are 110 Councillors and 281 Town Committee members are elected to represent the various districts.[49]

Each Councillor or Town Committee member is responsible for the proper use of public funds for the maintenance and development of their constituency.

The Bahamas uses drive-on-the-Left traffic rules throughout the Commonwealth.

The districts other than New Providence are:

The colours embodied in the design of the Bahamian flag symbolise the image and aspirations of the people of the Bahamas; the design reflects aspects of the natural environment (sun, sand and sea) and the economic and social development. The flag is a black equilateral triangle against the mast, superimposed on a horizontal background made up of two colours on three equal stripes of aquamarine, gold and aquamarine.

The symbolism of the flag is as follows: Black, a strong colour, represents the vigour and force of a united people, the triangle pointing towards the body of the flag represents the enterprise and determination of the Bahamian people to develop and possess the rich resources of sun and sea symbolised by gold and aquamarine respectively. In reference to the representation of the people with the colour black, some white Bahamians have joked that they are represented in the thread which "holds it all together."[50]

There are rules on how to use the flag for certain events. For a funeral the national flag should be draped over the coffin covering the top completely but not covering the bearers. The black triangle on the flag should be placed over the head of the deceased in the coffin. The flag will remain on the coffin throughout the whole service and removed right before lowered into the grave. Upon removal of the flag it should be folded with dignity and put away. The black triangle should never be displayed pointing upwards or from the viewer's right. This would be a sign of distress.[51]

The coat of arms of the Bahamas contains a shield with the national symbols as its focal point. The shield is supported by a marlin and a flamingo, which are the national animals of the Bahamas. The flamingo is located on the land, and the marlin on the sea, indicating the geography of the islands.

On top of the shield is a conch shell, which represents the varied marine life of the island chain. The conch shell rests on a helmet. Below this is the actual shield, the main symbol of which is a ship representing the Santa Mara of Christopher Columbus, shown sailing beneath the sun. Along the bottom, below the shield appears a banner upon which is the national motto:[52]

"Forward, Upward, Onward Together."

The yellow elder was chosen as the national flower of the Bahamas because it is native to the Bahama islands, and it blooms throughout the year.

Selection of the yellow elder over many other flowers was made through the combined popular vote of members of all four of New Providence's garden clubs of the 1970sthe Nassau Garden Club, the Carver Garden Club, the International Garden Club and the Y.W.C.A. Garden Club.

They reasoned that other flowers grown theresuch as the bougainvillea, hibiscus and poincianahad already been chosen as the national flowers of other countries. The yellow elder, on the other hand, was unclaimed by other countries (although it is now also the national flower of the United States Virgin Islands) and also the yellow elder is native to the family islands.[53]

By the terms of GDP per capita, the Bahamas is one of the richest countries in the Americas.[54]

The Bahamas relies on tourism to generate most of its economic activity. Tourism as an industry not only accounts for over 60% of the Bahamian GDP, but provides jobs for more than half the country's workforce.[55] The Bahamas attracted 5.8 million visitors in 2012, more than 70% of which were cruise visitors.

After tourism, the next most important economic sector is banking and international financial services, accounting for some 15% of GDP.

The government has adopted incentives to encourage foreign financial business, and further banking and finance reforms are in progress. The government plans to merge the regulatory functions of key financial institutions, including the Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission.[citation needed] The Central Bank administers restrictions and controls on capital and money market instruments. The Bahamas International Securities Exchange consists of 19 listed public companies. Reflecting the relative soundness of the banking system (mostly populated by Canadian banks), the impact of the global financial crisis on the financial sector has been limited.[citation needed]

The economy has a very competitive tax regime. The government derives its revenue from import tariffs, VAT, licence fees, property and stamp taxes, but there is no income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, or wealth tax. Payroll taxes fund social insurance benefits and amount to 3.9% paid by the employee and 5.9% paid by the employer.[56] In 2010, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 17.2%.[5]

Agriculture is the third largest sector of the Bahamian economy, representing 57% of total GDP. An estimated 80% of the Bahamian food supply is imported. Major crops include onions, okra, and tomatoes, oranges, grapefruit, cucumbers, sugar cane, lemons, limes and sweet potatoes.

The Bahamas has an estimated population of 392,718, of which 25.9% are under 14, 67.2% 15 to 64 and 6.9% over 65. It has a population growth rate of 0.925% (2010), with a birth rate of 17.81/1,000 population, death rate of 9.35/1,000, and net migration rate of 2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population.[57] The infant mortality rate is 23.21 deaths/1,000 live births. Residents have a life expectancy at birth of 69.87 years: 73.49 years for females, 66.32 years for males. The total fertility rate is 2.0 children born/woman (2010).[5]

The most populous islands are New Providence, where Nassau, the capital and largest city, is located;[58] and Grand Bahama, home to the second largest city of Freeport.[59]

According to the 99% response rate obtained from the race question on the 2010 Census questionnaire, 91% of the population identified themselves as being Africans or Afro-Bahamian, 5% Europeans or Euro-Bahamian and 2% of a mixed race (African and European). Three centuries prior, in 1722 when the first official census of The Bahamas was taken, 74% of the population was White and 26% Black.[60]

Afro-Bahamians are Bahamian nationals whose primary ancestry was based in West Africa. The first Africans to arrive to the Bahamas were freed slaves from Bermuda; they arrived with the Eleutheran Adventurers looking for new lives.

Since the colonial era of plantations, Africans or Afro-Bahamians have been the largest ethnic group in the Bahamas; in the 21st century, they account for some 91% of the country's population.[60] The Haitian community is also largely of African descent and numbers about 80,000. Because of an extremely high immigration of Haitians to the Bahamas, the Bahamian government started deporting illegal Haitian immigrants to their homeland in late 2014.[61]

16,598 (5%) of the total population are descendants of Europeans or European Bahamians at the 2010 census.[1]European Bahamians, or Bahamians of European and mixed European descent form the largest minority, and are mainly the descendants of the English Puritans looking to flee religious persecution in England and American Loyalists escaping the American Revolution who arrived in 1649 and 1783, respectively.[62] Many Southern Loyalists went to the Abaco Islands, which has an about 50% European population as of 1985.[63] A small portion of the Euro Bahamian population is descended from Greek labourers who came to help develop the sponging industry in the 1900s. They make up less than 1% of the nation's population, but have still preserved their distinct Greek Bahamian culture.

The official language of the Bahamas is English. Many residents speak the Bahamian dialect.[64] According to 1995 estimates 98.2% of the adult population is literate.

According to International Religious Freedom Report 2008 prepared by United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the islands' population is predominantly Christian. Protestant denominations are widespread with Baptists representing 35% of the population, Anglicans 15%, Pentecostals 8%, Church of God 5%, Seventh-day Adventists 5% and Methodists 4%, but there is also a significant Roman Catholic community accounting for about 14%.[65] There are also smaller communities of Jews, Muslims, Baha'is, Hindus, Rastafarians and practitioners of Obeah.

In the less developed outer islands (or Family Islands), handicrafts include basketry made from palm fronds. This material, commonly called "straw", is plaited into hats and bags that are popular tourist items. Another use is for so-called "Voodoo dolls", even though such dolls are the result of the American imagination and not based on historic fact.[66]

A form of folk magic (obeah) is practiced by some Bahamians, mainly in the Family Islands (out-islands) of the Bahamas.[67] The practice of obeah is illegal in the Bahamas and punishable by law.[68]

Junkanoo is a traditional Afro-Bahamian street parade of 'rushing', music, dance and art held in Nassau (and a few other settlements) every Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Junkanoo is also used to celebrate other holidays and events such as Emancipation Day.

Regattas are important social events in many family island settlements. They usually feature one or more days of sailing by old-fashioned work boats, as well as an onshore festival.

Many dishes are associated with Bahamian cuisine, which reflects Caribbean, African and European influences. Some settlements have festivals associated with the traditional crop or food of that area, such as the "Pineapple Fest" in Gregory Town, Eleuthera or the "Crab Fest" on Andros. Other significant traditions include story telling.

Bahamians have created a rich literature of poetry, short stories, plays and short fictional works. Common themes in these works are (1) an awareness of change, (2) a striving for sophistication, (3) a search for identity, (4) nostalgia for the old ways and (5) an appreciation of beauty. Some contributing writers are Susan Wallace, Percival Miller, Robert Johnson, Raymond Brown, O.M. Smith, William Johnson, Eddie Minnis and Winston Saunders.[69][70]

Bahamas culture is rich with beliefs, traditions, folklore and legend. The most well-known folklore and legends in the Bahamas includes Lusca in Andros Bahamas, Pretty Molly on Exuma Bahamas, the Chickcharnies of Andro Bahamas, and the Lost City of Atlantis on Bimini Bahamas.

Sport is a significant part of Bahamian culture. The national sport is Cricket. Cricket has been played in the Bahamas from 1846.[71] It is the oldest sport being played in the country today. The Bahamas Cricket Association was formed in 1936 as an organised body. From the 1940s to the 1970s, cricket was played amongst many Bahamians. Bahamas is not a part of the West Indies Board, so players are not eligible to play for the West Indies cricket team. The late 1970s saw the game begin to decline in the country as teachers, who had previously come from the United Kingdom with a passion for cricket were replaced by teachers who had been trained in the United States. The Bahamian Physical education teachers had no knowledge of the game and instead taught track & field, basketball, baseball, softball,[72]volleyball[73] and football[74] where primary and high schools compete against each other. Today cricket is still enjoyed by a few locals and immigrants in the country usually from Jamaica, Guyana, Haiti and Barbados. Cricket is played on Saturdays and Sundays at Windsor Park and Haynes Oval.

The only other sporting event that began before cricket was horse racing, which started in 1796. The most popular spectator sports are those imported from United States such as basketball,[75]American football[76] and baseball[77] rather than Great Britain due to the country's close proximity to the United States. Unlike their other Caribbean counterparts, cricket has proven to be more popular.

Dexter Cambridge, Rick Fox and Ian Lockhart are a few Bahamians who joined Bahamian Mychal Thompson of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA ranks,[78] and Buddy Hield is expected to join this group in 2016.[79] Over the years American football has become much more popular than association football, though not implemented in the high school system yet. Leagues for teens and adults have been developed by the Bahamas American Football Federation.[80] However association football, commonly known as 'soccer' in the country, is still a very popular sport amongst high school pupils. Leagues are governed by the Bahamas Football Association. Recently the Bahamian government has been working closely with Tottenham Hotspur of London to promote the sport in the country as well as promoting the Bahamas in the European market. In 2013 'Spurs' became the first Premier League club to play an exhibition match in the Bahamas to face the Jamaica national football team. Joe Lewis the owner of the Tottenham Hotspur club is based in the Bahamas.[81]

Other popular sports are swimming,[82]tennis[83] and boxing[84] where Bahamians have enjoyed some level of success at the international level. Other sports such as golf,[85]rugby league,[86]rugby union[87] and beach soccer[88] are considered growing sports. Athletics commonly known as track and field in the country is the most successful sport by far amongst Bahamians. Bahamians have a strong tradition in the sprints and jumps. Track and field is probably the most popular spectator sport in the country next to basketball due to their success over the years. Triathlons are gaining popularity in Nassau and the Family Islands.

Bahamians have gone on to win numerous track and field medals at the Olympic Games, IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games. Frank Rutherford is the first athletics olympic medalist for the country. He won a bronze medal for triple jump during the 1992 Summer Olympics.[89]Pauline Davis-Thompson, Debbie Ferguson, Chandra Sturrup, Savatheda Fynes and Eldece Clarke-Lewis teamed up for the first athletics Olympic Gold medal for the country when they won the 4 100 m relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics. They are affectionately known as the "Golden Girls".[90]Tonique Williams-Darling became the first athletics individual Olympic gold medalist when she won the 400m sprint in 2004 Summer Olympics.[91] In 2007, with the disqualification of Marion Jones, Pauline Davis-Thompson was advanced to the gold medal position in the 200 metres at the 2000 Olympics, predating William-Darling.

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The Bahamas - Wikipedia

At least 276 people have been killed so far in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said, with the death toll expected to rise.

As the death toll rises and crucial infrastructure crumbles, hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

Mourad Wahba, the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative for Haiti, described Matthew as the "largest humanitarian event" since the earthquake.

Four people died in the Dominican Republic, the country's government said. Authorities there did not provide details about how they died.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a teenage boy died in a landslide as he was cleaning a drain behind his house, the National Emergency Management Office said. He died Wednesday after storms from Matthew passed.

Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Haiti on Tuesday but the details of its devastating impact are slowly coming to light.

At least 1,580 homes have been flooded in the country, and about 3,215 families have been affected by the severe storm, the country's Civil Protection Agency said.

More than 300,000 people are in shelters across the country, the United Nations said.

Aid agencies are finding that the impact has been far greater than expected.

Ariane Quentier, spokeswoman for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, said: "What we are realizing, as we are going further ... is that there's been a lot of devastation and a lot of damage and probably a lot more than what we had initially assessed."

This means the initial aid already sent to the country's worst-affecetd areas in the west and south have fallen short of the need. Evacuation centers are overwhelmed and communities and workers have been forces to set up more and more makeshift shelters with what resources they have.

Haitian pastor Louis St. Germain said the storm sheared a wall off his house and tore roofs off many buildings in the area.

"The river has overflowed all around us," St. Germain said. "It's terrible ... a total disaster."

Southern Haiti was hit especially hard, where winds of 125 mph (200 kph) destroyed homes, flooded villages and cut off the island from the rest of the country.

National Route 2, which connects Port-au-Prince with Haiti's southern peninsula, broke apart when the bridge collapsed, the country's civil protection agency said.

In the wake of the storm, the Electoral Commission postponed the country's presidential election, which had been scheduled for Sunday. A new date has not been set.

Tim Callaghan, assistance response team leader for the US Agency for International Development in Haiti, told CNN that much of the damage in Haiti's hardest hit areas -- the southwestern cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie -- appeared to be structural, and not the result of heavy rainfall.

"The urgent need we're focusing on right now is food, safe drinking water and ... things like plastic sheeting, hygiene kits and so forth," he said.

"We're in the most critical phase to support people."

Dominique Fevry-Gilliand, a spokeswoman for Oxfam Canada, said up to 80% of homes in the most affected areas were destroyed. There was also extensive damage to crops along swaths of southern Haiti.

"Most likely, in the next couple of weeks and months, one of the things they will have to deal with in that region is hunger," she said.

Haiti was only just beginning the "development" phase to rebuild infrastructure following the 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of the country, said Ines Brill, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies representative for Haiti.

"This is an emergency after an emergency, which makes things more complex than a typical disaster," she told CNN.

The powerful hurricane passed over the Bahamas capital, Nassau, on Thursday afternoon.

While no injuries had been reported early on Friday morning, houses had suffered flood and wind damage and a number of roads were impassable due to collapsed trees and poles.

The country's national emergency agency was telling people to stay indoors until an assessment could be made of the damage.

"One of the main roadways in front of Sandals (resort) has been blocked off by debris and fallen trees," Nassau resident Denzil Sirra told CNN, adding his house had not been damaged.

"A lot of debris and fallen trees and damaged shrubs. No electricity right now. Still have running water."

Officials said the hurricane caused flooding in southern and eastern coastal communities and structural damage to a number of resorts in Nassau.

CNN meteorologists said storm surges in the Bahamas reached as high as 15 feet, along with intense rains and damaging winds.

Hundreds of people had the roofs blown off their homes as Hurricane Matthew swept across the country, Cuban state media reported, while photos from the seaside town of Baracoa showed devastation in the severe storm's wake.

More than 30 houses were washed away by the hurricane in the northeastern Cuban town, the site where Christopher Columbus first landed in the Americas, a resident in the town said.

No fatalities were reported as of Thursday evening, local time, as the seafront area of the town had been evacuated ahead of Matthew's arrival.

"I cannot emphasize enough that everyone in our state must prepare now for a direct hit," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. "Having a plan in place could mean the difference between life and death."

Patrick Oppmann reported from Cuba; Ray Sanchez, Holly Yan and Max Blau reported from Atlanta. CNN's Deborah Bloom, Alexander Leininger, Alison Daye, Natalie Gallon and journalist Yvetot Gouin contributed.

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Hurricane Matthew kills 269; tears through Haiti, Bahamas ...