At the origin..
The settlement of the Bahamas began in the first millennium with the Lucayans, an Arawak-speaking Taíno people who arrived in the Caribbean between the years 500 and 800. Later, the discovery of the island of San Salvador by Christopher Columbus in 1492 marked the beginning of European interest in these Caribbean lands. The first permanent English colonies were established in the Bahamas in 1647, followed by the American Loyalists who were fleeing the American Revolution. This double wave of emigration brought two categories of settlers to the islands: on the one hand, the farmers who arrived with large families and about a hundred slaves and settled on the outer islands; on the other hand, merchants and soldiers, hostile to any form of racial promiscuity, who settled in Nassau hoping to return to America as soon as the war ended. Then it was the turn of the southerners, who landed after the Civil War. Many of these settlers arrived with their African slaves from the coastal areas of West Africa and the Congo; today the descendants of the planters and their slaves are among the oldest families of the archipelago.
The heredity of slavery
In the villages of the outer islands, you will certainly find that the inhabitants bear the names of the plantations that their ancestors occupied. Thus, some villages today have only one family name shared by all the villagers! In Man o War (Abacos), for example, all the inhabitants are called "Albright", in Spanish Wells (Eleuthera), half of the population is called "Pinder", in Exumas the "Rolle" are omnipresent. Elsewhere, "Saunders", "Malone", "Lowes", "Bethels" and other "Alburys" are as many loyalist surnames that families are proud to bear.
A young, urban population with a low level of diversity
Until very recently, the Bahamas boasted the second highest birth rate in the world. As a result, nearly 60% of the population is now under the age of 30. The Bahamian population is young and very urban. Between the 289,000 residents of Nassau and the 60,000 or so in Freeport, nearly 85% of the population is concentrated in the major cities. In the outer islands, the Abacos, Exumas and Eleuthera are the main centers of population; the southernmost islands are the least populated, and some of them are even becoming depopulated. In total, there are approximately 400,000 inhabitants in the Bahamas.
80% of the population is black, 10% is white of English, Irish, Greek or Lebanese origin, and 10% is mixed race. All traces of the original Amerindian population have disappeared since the early years of Spanish colonization. Inter-community relations are apparently harmonious, although white Bahamians suffer from a superiority complex because of their ancestry, and black foreigners, especially Haitians, are looked upon with some contempt.A mosaic of micro-communities
The Bahamian population is a veritable mosaic of micro-communities, arriving on the island in very distinct waves due to a particular economic activity or specific political turmoil. The communities of descendants of the American Loyalists are proud of their ancestry and claim to be the "truest" Bahamians. They can be found on Eleuthera and Harbour Island, Spanish Wells and Harbour Island, the Abacos, Marsh Harbour, Cherokee Sound, Green Turtle and Treasure Cay. Most of these settlements date from waves of Loyalist and Southern emigration. The white descendants of the early settlers are colloquially referred to as the "Conchy Joes" and are easily identified by their fair skin, blond hair and blue or green eyes. Their accent is significantly different from that of the Black Bahamians. Generally speaking, white Bahamians have high social positions: businessmen, landowners, and shopkeepers
.You may be surprised to discover a traditional Greek Orthodox church on the heights of Nassau. And yet! There is a very active Greek community in this city. Its origins date back to the beginning of the 20th century when sponge fishing was in full swing. After the decline of this activity, the Greeks readily turned to commercial activities and many of them now have duty free
shops.The Cubans are also present, especially in Nassau. Cuban emigration, linked to the political, social and economic problems of the neighbouring island, is relatively recent.
The last notable community is that of Haitians, most of whom emigrate illegally in the hope of finding work and better living conditions. The Bahamian authorities are very strict with them and most often send them back to their country. When they managed to stay, they were mainly employed in heavy work that Bahamians refused to do, such as construction and agriculture. Their integration is further hampered by the language barrier.
Finally, one last community, very present on New Providence in particular, should not be overlooked: that of retired North American residents and retirees, who colonize condominiums and seaside villas. With their high purchasing power, they constitute a significant financial windfall and have a significant influence on the tourism and commercial offer."Broken English and patois
While English remains the official language of the Bahamas, some terms are adapted with inverted letters ("aks" for "ask" for example), giving the Bahamas a real linguistic singularity. This is known as "broken english". Real Bahamians also use a dialect that varies significantly from one island to another, and whose origin dates back to the period when the Loyalists emigrated and the typical speech they brought with them. African slaves, English Puritans and other emigrants also left their influences and contributed to the birth of this Métis dialect.
