Happy Independence Day, Bahamas!

In 1918 at the age of 16, my grandfather, Daniel Calvin Moss emigrated from Crooked Island, Bahamas, then a British Colony, to the United States; briefly spending time in South Carolina before permanently settling in the Miami, Florida area. I still have quite a few relatives throughout the Bahamas.

The Bahamas was originally inherited by the Lucayan native Americans, part of the Taino civilization that also lived in the Greater Antilles (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti). They were wiped out by "Christopher Columbus" (Cristoforo Colombo) and the Spaniards, but then the British ran the Spaniards off. The Tainos had converted the islands from forest to arid scrub so with their limestone bedrock, they were not very fertile for agriculture. British would-be plantation owners mostly abandoned the archipelago, leaving the former slaves to largely fend for themselves.

This leads to my favorite period in Bahamian history, the Pirate Republic. From about 1694 to 1719 Nassau was run-as a multiethnic democracy, actually-as a Mos-Eisley style haven for pirates, brigands, smugglers, prostitutes, scoundrels, rebels on the run, and all manner of outcasts and scofflaws until the British sent Woods Rogers to subdue and retake New Providence (the island where Nassau is). After his faithful service to the crown, he was thrown into debtor's prison upon his return to England.

During the US Revolutionary war, The Bahamas was invaded by the Americans, and then in the 1780s, once more by the Spanish before the British retook it, making it available as a home for Tory loyalists fleeing from the US because they supported the crown.

The British ended slavery throughout their realm in 1834 but even before then, both blacks and Seminoles were escaping from Florida to The Bahamas. The Cape Florida lighthouse in what is now Bill Baggs State Park in Florida was built to put a stop to this.

During American Prohibition in the early 20th century, the Bahamas profited greatly as a base for rum smugglers and nearshore partygoers, the closest Bahamian island of Bimini being only 52 miles offshore from Miami. By this time my grandfather was already in the US.

The Bahamas participated in World War 1 & 2 as part of the British Empire, but as the British Empire began to implode post WW2, former colonies began to agitate for their independence. Political parties formed in the Bahamas during the 1950s. In 1962, Jamaica led former British Colonies in declaring independence from the UK, with a domino effect seeing many other island colonies following suit, including The Bahamas, which became an independent nation in the British Commonwealth, alongside countries like Jamaica, Canada & Australia, on July 10, 1973.

Though still part of the British Commonwealth, and a country where people drive on the wrong side of the road (haha), The Bahamas has very close cultural and economic ties to the US. The Bahamian dollar is tied 1:1 to the US dollar, and (I'm pretty sure) Bahamians are the only nationals in The Caribbean or Latin America who don't (in some circumstances) require a visa to visit the US. US College football games are played in The Bahamas, and unlike other commonwealth islands where students go to London to study, Bahamians tend to do advanced studies in the US.

The Bahamas has a border patrol and police but no military. Behind the US & Canada, it is the wealthiest nation per-capita in The Americas.

If you haven't been, definitely make plans to go - and get away from the resorts and the cruise-ship tourist-traps to really experience the local flavor. I'll be glad to provide suggestions and possible connections!