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BAHAMAS, The
BAHAMAS, The. Official title Commonwealth of the Bahamas. A Caribbean country and member of the COMMONWEALTH, consisting of 700 islands and 2,000 cays. The islands have a mixture of English, Amerindian, Spanish, and Greek names, as in Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, Bimini, Andros, Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador, Great Exuma, Long Island, Acklins Island, Mayaguana, Great Inagua. Columbus visited the islands 1492. First European settlement 1647, by religious refugees from Bermuda. British colony 1717. Independence 1973. The term Bahamian English refers to a continuum of usage from creole to standard. It has been influenced by migration between the Bahamas and the US and by a tourist industry that caters mainly for Americans. Of all CARIBBEAN ENGLISH varieties, Bahamian English most closely follows AmE.
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Cite this article
TOM McARTHUR. "BAHAMAS, The." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "BAHAMAS, The." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BAHAMASThe.html TOM McARTHUR. "BAHAMAS, The." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BAHAMASThe.html |
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Bahamas, The
Bahamas, The The Commonwealth of the Bahamas since 1973 when the islands gained their independence from the UK. Previously its official name had been the Commonwealth of the Bahama Islands (1969–73). The name is said to mean ‘Shallow Sea’ from the Spanish baja mar although there is some doubt about this; it is probably derived from a much older Lucayan word. Inhabited originally by the Lucayans, one of the Bahama islands (possibly San Salvador Island, Cat Island, or Samana Cay) was where Christopher Columbus† first ‘discovered’ the New World on 12 October 1492. The Spanish did not try to settle, English migrants from Bermuda being the first Europeans to establish a colony in 1649. In 1717 the islands became a British crown colony and remained so until 1973.
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Cite this article
JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Bahamas, The." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Bahamas, The." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-BahamasThe.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Bahamas, The." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-BahamasThe.html |
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Abaco and Cays
Abaco and Cays , island group, c.780 sq mi (2,020 sq km), most northerly of the Bahamas. It includes Great Abaco (the largest), Little Abaco, and the surrounding cays. The low islands, composed mainly of coral limestone, have native pine forests. Fish and sponges are taken from surrounding waters. Great Abaco was settled by Loyalists from New York City in 1783. |
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Cite this article
"Abaco and Cays." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Abaco and Cays." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AbacoNCa.html "Abaco and Cays." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AbacoNCa.html |
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