Bahamas

Where is the Bahamas located?

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, or the Bahamas, is an English-speaking country in the West Indies. An archipelago of 700 islands and islets, the Bahamas is located in the Atlantic Ocean, east of Florida and the United States, north of Cuba and the Caribbean, and west of the British Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, or the Bahamas with its capital Nassau, is an English-speaking country in the West Indies. The Bahamas is a stable, developed country with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. The Bahamas is generally considered to be one of the leading offshore financial centers.

The official language is English, spoken by virtually all of the islanders, although many speak a patois form of Bahamian Creole that should not be confused with Haitian Creole spoken by a large number of immigrants. reside. Spanish and Portuguese are also spoken by immigrant groups.

As a strongly religious country, the number of places of worship per capita in the Bahamas is the highest in the world. The islands each have an overwhelming number of Protestant Christians (more than 80%). Baptists are the largest denomination (about a third), followed by Anglicans and the Roman Catholic church.

What is the history of the Bahamas?

Although Paleo-Indians may have inhabited the area earlier, Taino Indians from Hispaniola and Cuba entered the southern Bahamas around the 7th century AD and became the Lucayans. It is estimated that by the time Colombo was imprisoned here, there were about 40,000 Lucayans.

Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on the island of San Salvador, also known as Watling Island, in the southern part of the Bahamas. Here, Columbus came into contact with the Lucayans and traded goods with them.

The Bahamian Lucayans were brought to Hispaniola as slaves, and within two decades many Lucayan societies ceased to exist, as populations dwindled after enslavement, war, disease, migration, and marriage to the outside.

After the Lucayan population neared extinction, the Bahamas were occupied until English settlers arrived from Bermuda in 1650. The so-called Eleutherian expeditions established settlements on the island. Eleuthera island.

The Bahamas became a British colony in 1718. About 8,000 royal loyalists and their slaves arrived in the Bahamas in the late 1700s from New York, Florida, and the Carolinas.

The British made the island an autonomous government for internal affairs in 1964 and, in 1973, the Bahamas was fully independent but remained a member of the Commonwealth.

Since the 1950s, the Bahamas' economy has flourished in the tourism and financial services sectors. Even so, the country still faces a number of challenges in the region, such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, and violence caused by illegal immigration.

Urban renewal projects have been launched in recent years to help improve the face of already degraded cities on the main islands. Today, the country has the third-highest per capita income in the western hemisphere.

Some believe that the name 'Bahamas' comes from the Spanish word for the "shallow sea", Baja Mar. Others suggest that it comes from the Lucayan word for the Great Island of Bahama, ba-ha-ma ("the great land in the middle").

What is the culture and people of the Bahamas?

Bahamian culture is a mixture of African and European influences. Perhaps the country's most famous musical style is junkanoo. Besides Junkanoo, other indigenous musical forms include rake and scrape, calypso, and a unique form of chant, known internationally through post-Joseph Spence music. Marching bands play an important role in life, playing at funerals, weddings, and other ceremonial events.

On the less developed islands – often referred to as “family islands” – crafts include baskets made from palm leaves. This material, commonly known as "straw", is also used in hats and bags and has become a common souvenir for tourists today.

Sailing races are important social events on many islands. They are usually held over several days with traditional boats, at the same time festivals on the shore are also held.

Some settlers had festivals tied to the region's seasonal or flood traditions, such as "Pineapple Fest" in Gregory Town, Eleuthera, or "Crab Fest" tauh Andros. Other notable traditions include story-telling or the Obeah.

The Bahamas has no real national sport. While British sports such as cricket, football, and rugby are still popular, today American influences are also strong with popular sports such as basketball, baseball, and American football. . There are many Bahamian track and field athletes of international level.

Nearly 85% of the population of the Bahamas is of African ancestry, followed by Cable Sands 12%. Other ethnic minorities include Asians and Hispanics at 3%. Many Bahamians are concentrated on Abaco Island, Spanish Wells, Harbor Island, Long Island, and the Montagu Bay district of New Providence (east of Nassau). There is also a significant number of non-Canadian citizens from the United States and Europe.

The official language is English, spoken by virtually all of the islanders, although many speak a patois form of Bahamian Creole that should not be confused with Haitian Creole spoken by a large number of immigrants. reside. Spanish and Portuguese are also spoken by immigrant groups.

As a strongly religious country, the number of places of worship per capita in the Bahamas is the highest in the world. The islands each have an overwhelming number of Protestant Christians (more than 80%). Baptists are the largest denomination (about a third), followed by the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic church.

Some people, especially on the southern and eastern islands, follow Obeah, a spiritual religion similar to Voodoo. Though famous throughout the Bahamas, Obeah was shunned by many. Voodoo also has followers, but mostly within immigrant communities from Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.

Things to do when traveling to the Bahamas

Swimming at Gold Rock Beach in Lucayan National Park

Gold Rock Beach is the place marked in the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean. Beach with wild trees imbued with wild nature. Looking from the sand, visitors can imagine themselves as lost in the desert island in the movie about pirates.

Most visitors are free to visit the beaches in the Bahamas after paying the Lucayan National Park entrance fee of 5 USD. There are also many other wonderful beaches around Harbor and Stocking Island in the national park. Be sure to enjoy all the food services, bars, and restaurants around the beach.

Atlantis Bahamas Resort

Dubbed one of the most luxurious resorts in the world, Atlantis owns casinos, golf courses, restaurants with luxury apartments.

Atlantis welcomes international visitors with Aquaventure water park with a total area of ​​​​nearly 58 hectares. Just fully exploring this luxurious resort, visitors are tired enough with many rich activities here.

In addition to the facilities of 11 private pools in the resort complex, Atlantis owns many large white sand beaches and blue water to serve tourists.

Diving

This is a sport everyone should experience when coming to the Bahamas. Under the sea, there is an extremely rich flora and fauna. In addition to the coral floor, beautiful shimmering underwater caves, this is also home to rare sea creatures such as stingrays, sea turtles, dolphins, sharks...

In particular, only at the beaches around the Bahamas can you transform into the characters in Pirates of the Caribbean when freely exploring the ancient ships sunk on the seabed. The cost of diving including equipment rental ranges from 100-150 USD/person for the whole morning or afternoon. Find out reasonable prices at famous companies such as Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas, Sunn Odyssey Divers…

Experience sailing, swimming with wild pigs

International travelers describe their sailing excursions as fantastic. Renting a boat to explore the whole archipelago allows visitors to experience all the activities under the sea such as snorkeling, spearfishing, swimming with wild pigs… Not only that, but many tours take you to separate small islands. create. The price to buy a sailing tour is quite "expensive", so prepare the funds before going. Many companies can charge up to 2,600 USD/day for groups of 6 people. The adorable wild boar swimming all over the beach is what makes the Bahamas even more famous as the island of pigs.

Visit private paradise islands

Try to visit at least one island during your stay in the Bahamas. In addition to swimming with dolphins, visitors also have the opportunity to admire the ghost ship The Flying Dutchman famous in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean.

Another great option is to explore CocoCay Island to experience many water sports such as diving, skateboarding, kayaking. Do not forget to rent a boat/canoe to explore all the natural beauty around the island.

Visit Queen's Staircase

This staircase is a historical landmark built in the 18th century with many elaborate limestone carvings by the slaves of that period. This work has 66 stairs to help shorten the distance to many other famous landmarks for visitors.

Standing on the stairs, you can feel the cool water from the beautiful man-made waterfall here. This historic landmark is located on the island of Nassau in the Bahamas. This is the most populous area and also the place where international tourists visit and explore the most.

Bahamas related products are available on Printerval.com

Printerval.com has a wide range of products with very unique theme designs from world artists. Products printed with motifs related to the Bahamas for those who love this country.

Products are diverse from T-shirts, Hoodies, Tanktops, in addition to decorative products such as Cups, Flags... And the products are also diverse from size, color to quality, to help you there are more choices.

Printerval always ensures to bring you the best products and experience. Printerval.com's staff is always there to help when you need it or have a problem.

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