Bahamas
The Bahamas is comprised of over 700 islands spread across roughly 2.6 thousand square
kilometers of ocean northeast of Cuba and southeast of Florida.1
Christopher Columbus first landed in the Bahamas, on the island of San Salvador. Due
to enslavement, disease, and conflict, the 40,000-strong indigenous population was
wiped out within 25 years.2
The British first settled the Bahamas in 1649. Despite intermittent battles with the
Spanish and pirates, the Bahamas remained a profitable British colony until 1973,
when the islands became a free and sovereign member of the Commonwealth.3
- 1. Explore Our Islands, The Islands of the Bahamas.
- 2. Our History, The Islands of the Bahamas.
- 3. Ibid.
Mentions of this place in the documents
-
Nesbitt, E. J. to Grenville, Richard 29 April 1867, CO 305:30, no. 4286, 366.
-
Kennedy, Arthur to Cardwell, Edward 31 August 1864, CO 305:23, no. 9628, 132.