The Bahamas - A slice of commonwealth Britain in paradise

The commonwealth of the Bahamas is in the Westa set for many books and films on the subject.
Indies. The country is made up of an archipelago inThe pirates even disrupted the area's government at
the Atlantic Ocean. This means that it is comprised ofone point by declaring an anarchic 'Privateer's Republic'
a series of islands, which connect to the mainland,and ransacking Charlestown, which would later
thus the pluralized name.become Nassau. The islands had been through the
The Bahamas was a British colony from 1718 andhands of the Spanish and they had all but destroyed
later became an independent country in 1973, whilethe native population of Arawak Indians. The British
remaining a part of the Commonwealth of Nations.stopped a lot of the trouble when they made the
They retain Queen Elizabeth II as their monarch andislands a British Crown Colony.
still sing God Save the Queen as a national anthem.The islands are mostly Christian, with a heavy leaning
The main language is English though some speaktowards the Protestant church, other denominations
variants of English, Spanish and Portuguese.being present but in minority. A very small minority
The capital city is Nassau, which is located on thepractise Obeah and Voodoo, both similar to each
island New Providence, though Andros Island is theother, as spiritualistic folk beliefs.
largest in the group. The city was a haven for theThe Prime Minister of the Bahamas is Perry Gladstone
pirates that sailed the Caribbean, including the famousChristie, born 1944, and third Prime Minister of the
Blackbeard, and was fought over by several nations,nation. Christie has earned awards for his efforts in
notably Spain and England. The whole region wasurban renewal and community policing, though has
notorious in legend for pirate activity, and is used asalso been in scandal surrounding his political tactics.