The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is located to the north of Cuba in the Atlantic Ocean, it is an independent country, speaking the English language and is made up of a large number of islands, cays and rocks spread over an area of over 5,000 square miles. Thought to have been first settled by the Taino people in the seventh century, the Bahamas has a large population by the time Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World. As Spaniards arrived in the Bahamas they took most of the native population into slavery, and those remaining died of disease, this caused the islands to become depopulated and they were not permanently resettled until the 17th century when a group of travellers arrived from Bermuda, they were known as the Eleutherian Travellers and settled on an island which they called Eleuthera (meaning freedom). After the islands became home to some notorious pirates, they were made a Britsh Crown colony in the early 18th century. Bahamas Map.
August 24, 2009
August 21, 2009
Bermuda – The Early Years
A British Overseas Territory located in the North Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda (Somers Islands) was originally discovered by a Spaniard (Juan de Bermudez) in 1503. Later used by the Spanish and Portuguese for re-stocking passing ships, the islands were not permanently settled due to rumours of spirits in what became known as the Isle of Devils, treacherous surrounding reefs also contributed to the islands remaining unpopulated. In 1543 a group of Portuguese sailors spent some months in Bermuda, after their ship was damaged on rocks. The British did not arrive until some time later and even then by accident, as a fleet of ships under Sir George Somers, were broken up in a storm off Bermuda, as they headed for Jamestown, Virginia. The survivors colonised the island and claimed it for the English Crown, St George’s was settled in 1612 and subsequently became the first capital of Bermuda. Bermuda Map.
Bermuda Braces Itself for Hurricane Bill
Bermuda is currently on alert as the powerful Hurricane Bill approaches, the Category 3 storm was predicted to pass through open waters between Bermuda and the USA some time on Saturday. On Thursday the “eye” of the storm was 500 miles south of Bermuda. The hurricane is expected to regain Category 4 status on Friday, though is will probably weaken through Saturday. This first storm of the Atlantic season caused Bermuda to issue a tropical storm alert on Thursday, and is on hurricane watch, bracing itself for possible devastation.