The Bahamas are a chain of about 700 islands on the northwestern side of the Caribbean. Being rated one of the most popular vacation spots in the world, the Bahamas are beautifully laid out off of the coast of Florida. Their magnificent limestone caves, and the coral gardens give the islands a fresh and almost untouched feel.
The original inhabitance of the Bahamas were an Indian tribe called the Lucayans who came to the islands around the ninth century. The Lucayans lived off the sea, from fish and harvesting things such as shellfish, conch, and lobster. Little remains of their culture. There is only a few traces of pottery, petroglyphs and words such as hammock and canoe. Christopher Columbus set one of his first landings in the Americas in the late 1400s. African American slaves from Bermuda and North America, came to the Bahamas around the mid 1600s to build up a city which would one day be named the capital, Nassau. With Pirates being the countries main income the Bahamas were very poor by the year 1770 that the government had declared bankruptcy. When the Revolutionary War was over, the people began coming to the Bahamas by the thousands. In the 19th century, their economy was made up of fishing, wrecking, and stealing. The Islands were taken out of poverty by the new people coming to the Bahamas and even Florida with a lot of money to spend. Most of the money that they receive comes from tourism even now. World War 2 brought many people to the islands. After years of non-economical growth, the Bahamas has turned themselves around. The culture of the Bahamas very different than both the modern and old American-influenced cultures. One of the more popular religions is obeah, it is the belief in the living and the spirit world. It is some what related to the Haitian Voodoo and the witchcraft religions of Cuba. Although the major religion in the Bahamas is Christianity.
The origin of music from the Bahamas comes from Junkanoo. Junkanoo started around the 1700s. During the Christmas season most of the slaves were given a few days off from work. During this break, they would celebrate by dancing, singing, playing instruments and dressing up in wild costumes. The few days that the slaves had to let off stress on only lasted for a certain amount of time. When it was over it was back to work at the plantation. Junkanoo was nearly lost after slavery was annihilated. A few islanders kept the yearly tradition going though. You can only experience this celebration of freedom around the Christmas season.
There are hundreds of culture museums that feature many old and new styles of art, music and dance. You can find these museums all over the Bahamas like the "Pompey Museum" in Nassau. You can visit "The Bahamas Historical Society Museum" In Nassau or even go on one of the annual art exhibition like the "Annual Art Exhibition" on The Abaco Islands. You may ask yourself what art is like in the Bahamas. Well it is just as you would picture. Museums full of artifacts, art galleries with very rich and colorful paintings. You can go to the Bahamas all year round and almost every month and of course once a year they have many art festivals which really expresses a lot of Bahamian artists. The best time to come to the Bahamas is around the winter season when a lot of artists put out there work for the holidays. Just walking down the streets you will find many venders carrying paintings, sculptures and even clothing. Art has been popular around the Bahamas since it was discovered. Being on one of the many islands with beautiful surroundings, you have a lot of inspiration just from the environment.
You can travel to the Bahamas by either air or sea. The Bahamas are only about 50 miles from the coast of Florida. As mentioned earlier there is over 700 islands in the Bahamas. Of course this will make it hard for you to make a decision of which island will be best for you. There are about 15 vacation hot spots in the Bahamas. Nassau/Paradise island is one of the most significant islands in the Bahamas. Not only is Nassau the countries capital, but Paradise island is one of the largest resorts in the Bahamas. As many of the islands, The Bahamas makes most of there money off of tourism. Another one of the major islands is The Grand Bahama. Come to the Grand Bahama island if your mainly interested in ocean activities and even shopping. The Grand Bahama island also holds a few famous resorts. There is a group of islands called the family islands. The family islands are the more traditional islands, which try to reflect more on culture and history rather than city and modern life. The family islands is also where some of the Bahamas population lives, besides tourists. There are about 14 other islands, or groups of islands, that would be great vacation spots if your interested in anything from shopping to sailing to sleeping on the white sandy beaches. For further information on these islands you can visit --------------- (<<<<web address link there)