Officially known as the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, The Bahamas is an archipelago east of the United States that achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1973, whose gorgeous weather and beaches make it a popular resort for tourism as well as an idyllic location for films like the Pirates of the Caribbean series (though the majority of said films were shot in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), James Bond (Thunderball, Casino Royale), Jaws: The Revenge, Why Did I Get Married 2 and Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman.
The Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
and The Other Wiki have all the factual data you ought to know about the country. Unfortunately this has not stopped many (mostly residing in continental North America) from mistakenly equating this beautiful chain of islands with Jamaica. The blame for this rests solely on lazy Hollywood casting directors who automatically assume that the Jamaican accent is universal throughout The Caribbean.
On that note, the reaction of educated Bahamians to people equating The Bahamas with the Caribbean in general is to immediately label the offending party as an “ignorant foreigner”.
The Bahamas is the most affluent country in the world with a predominantly-African population. It's also where Christopher Columbus set foot down for the first time.
Famous Bahamians and people of Bahamian descent:
- Esther Rolle's parents were Bahamians who immigrated to the United States shortly before she was born.
- Sidney Poitier was born in Miami to Bahamian parents, and grew up in the Bahamas.
- Diana Sands, whose most famous role is as a costar with the above Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun, was born to a Bahamian father.
- Al Roker was born to a Bahamian father in New York. His third cousin is Lenny Kravitz; their grandparents were cousins who migrated from the Bahamas together.
- Rick Fox's father is Bahamian, and he spent most of his childhood in the Bahamas.
- Michael K. Williams (The Wire) has maternal Bahamian ancestry.
- Persia White grew up in the Bahamas but later moved to the U.S.
- Voice actress Marÿke Hendrikse. Born in Nassau, moved to Toronto when she was two.
- T-Pain (Faheem Rashad Najm) grew up in a Bahamian Muslim family in Tallahassee.
- Tahj, Tia, and Tamera Mowry are of Bahamian descent on their mother's side.
The Bahamas in media:
- Disney's abandoned Treasure Island in the Bahamas plays a small but pivotal role in Abandoned by Disney, and becomes the central location of the fan game Five Nights at Treasure Island. It is based on a real project that Disney developed in the Abaco Islands.
- Rivaling documentaries Fyre and Fyre Fraud chronicle the infamous Fyre Festival, which was held on a "private island that was once owned by Pablo Escobar". In reality, the festival was held on the Great Exuma, which has a couple of settlements, a public airport, and is anything but a private island. And that's just the beginning.
The Bahamian flag
The Bahamian national anthem
Government
- Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- Monarch: Charles III
- Governor-General: Cynthia A. Pratt
- Prime Minister: Philip Davis
Miscellaneous
- Capital and largest city: Nassau
- Population: 385,637
- Area: 13,878 sq km (5,358 sq mi) (155th)
- Currency: Bahamian dollar ($) (BSD)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: BS
- Country calling code: 1 (area code 242)
- Highest point: Mount Alvernia (163 m/207 ft) (199th)
- Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean (-3,646 m/-11,962 ft)
