Christopher Columbus arrived in the Bahamas in 1492. The Spanish named the islands after the calm, clear waters that lap at the tropical shores. The name Bahamas comes from the Spanish ‘Baja Mar’, meaning shallow sea.

In 1647 the British settled in the Islands and the Bahamas became a colony in1783, gaining independence from Britain in 1973.

As the Spanish conquistadors came past the islands in their galleons laden with treasure plundered from Central and South America, the islands soon became a haven for pirates.

Loyalists came to the Islands in the late 18th century, fleeing the American Revolution. Later the Bahamas played a key role during the American Civil War. Confederates were subject to a strict union embargo and smugglers from the Bahamas were able to command impressive prices for weaponry, cotton and sugar.

During the prohibition in the US, the Bahamas was party to more smuggling – distilleries and bars sprang up in the islands and barrels of alcohol were smuggled at night.

Slavery in the Bahamas was abolished in 1834. Many of the inhabitants of the island are descended from freed African slaves.