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When Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World, he did so in the Bahamas (though the exact island he landed on is a still a matter of debate). He didn’t stay long, however, being intent on finding riches that this group of islands didn’t seem to hold.
Perhaps he was looking for the wrong things. These days, the Bahamas is being discovered by a wide range of travelers, and most are quite satisfied with the treasures they find: brilliant turquoise water, sandy beaches, excellent fishing and surroundings that range from swank hotels to secluded coves.
Those making landfall in the islands can choose from two general Bahamas experiences. Visitors looking for the standard resort amenities of golf, water sports, gambling, shopping and nightlife will find them in the major tourist centers of Nassau (New Providence Island) and Freeport/Lucaya (Grand Bahama Island). Those interested in deserted beaches, sailing, less commercial development and a generally slower pace will want to visit some of the many Out Islands, most of which are thinly populated or uninhabited.
Columbus’ arrival made the Bahamas an intersection between the Old and New Worlds, but the islands were being used by Native Americans long before his appearance. It’s believed that the area was first visited by people from Florida and the Yucatan who came to fish in the shallow waters off the islands. By the time Columbus arrived, Lucayan Indians had taken up residence: They survived by fishing and farming, but the appearance of the Europeans spelled disaster for the tribe: They were taken away by Spanish slave traders and forced to work on other islands, an ordeal that soon left most of them dead. Spain never settled the Bahamas, discouraged by the lack of gold, arable land and freshwater.
By the mid 1600s, England claimed the region and British colonists began to settle on the islands. After that, the history of the Bahamas is closely intertwined with that of the U.S. British Loyalists who moved to the islands from New England and the Carolinas after the Revolutionary War, wishing to remain under British rule. Later, slaves from the southern U.S. fled to the Bahamas in order to gain their freedom. During the Civil War, Confederates used the islands as a center for blockade running, and during Prohibition, the islands were a base for rumrunners.
Although Bahamian culture has been heavily influenced by the U.S., it is still very British. (When the Bahamas became independent in 1973, it remained in the British Commonwealth.) The government is a relatively stable multiparty democracy, whose heavy emphasis on education has pushed the literacy rate to more than 90%. The population of the islands is heavily concentrated on New Providence and Grand Bahama Islands—75% of the people live on one or the other. Only about 30 of the other islands are inhabited, but the archipelago includes about 700 islands and 2,000 islets, called cays (pronounced keys). Some are little more than boulders that appear and disappear with the rise and fall of the ocean.
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