The Bahamas

Take this book with you on your next trip to the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos Islands or keep it close to hand in your travel library. The Natural History of the Bahamas offers the most comprehensive coverage of the terrestrial and coastal flora and fauna on the islands of the Bahamas archipelago, as well as of the region's natural history and ecology. Readers will gain an appreciation for the importance of conserving the diverse lifeforms on these special Caribbean islands. A detailed introduction to the history, geology, and climate of the islands. Beautifully illustrated, with more than seven hundred color photographs showcasing the diverse plants, fungi, and animals found on the Bahamian Archipelago.

The present work concludes the important and monumental undertaking of Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People, creating the most thorough and comprehensive history yet written of a Caribbean country and its people. In the first volume Michael Craton and Gail Saunders traced the developments of a unique archipelagic nation from aboriginal times to the period just before emancipation. This long-awaited second volume offers a description and interpretation of the social developments of the Bahamas in the years from 1830 to the present. Volume Two divides this period into three chronological sections, dealing first with adjustments to emancipation by former masters and former slaves between 1834 and 1900, followed by a study of the slow process of modernization between 1900 and 1973 that combines a systematic study of the stimulus of social change, a candid examination of current problems, and a penetrating but sympathetic analysis of what makes the Bahamas and Bahamians distinctive in the world. This work is an eminent product of the New Social History, intended for Bahamians, others interested in the Bahamas, and scholars alike. It skillfully interweaves generalizations and regional comparisons with particular examples, drawn from travelers' accounts, autobiographies, private letters, and the imaginative reconstruction of official dispatches and newspaper reports. Lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs and original maps, it stands as a model for forthcoming histories of similar small ex-colonial nations in the region.

This book focuses on the complex issues of tourism development, governance and sustainability in the long-standing popular island destination, The Bahamas, where tourism remains one of the primary fiscal industries. The book achieves this by looking at the impacts of mass tourism development from social, economic and environmental perspectives; panarchy and resilience; assessing sustainability; moving towards a blue economy; impacts of climate change and innovative alternative tourism offerings to ensure sustainable tourism – a welcomed but challenging essential contemporary focus of the tourism industry. It further looks at how development, governance and sustainability come together in the aftermath of a recent natural disaster, hurricane Dorian, which proved to be a strong catalyst for action, innovation and change in The Bahamas. Given the complexity of these key concepts and The Bahamas as an established popular tourism destination archipelago which relies so heavily on the industry, this book offers significant insight for other tourism regions and will therefore be essential reading for upper-level students and academics in the field of Tourism research.

This Selected Issues paper assesses the recent trends in The Bahamas’ offshore financial center (OFC) and their contribution to the real economy. The Bahamas hosts one of the largest OFCs in the world. International banks are the most important institutions in the Bahamian OFC. Despite a sharp contraction in the size of the offshore sector, the direct impact on the real economy appears to have been modest. The direct contribution of offshore banks to the real economy appears to have remained broadly stable, reflecting an orderly adjustment so far. Strong compliance with anti–money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and tax transparency standards should help ensure that this orderly adjustment continues.

The Bahamas showed strong performance owing to its prudent macroeconomic management. Executive Directors welcomed this step, and emphasized the need to strengthen fiscal and international reserve positions, and diversify the economic base to maintain confidence and reduce economic vulnerabilities. They stressed the need to accelerate structural reforms, improve financial supervision and regulation, and to bring the regimes for combating money laundering and terrorism financing. They appreciated The Bahamas's participation in the General Data Dissemination System, and encouraged action to remove inconsistencies that exist in the economic data.

This paper focuses on tax reforms for increased buoyancy in The Bahamas. The Bahamas has a low tax effort owing to limited tax handles and underutilization of available ones. Real property tax collections as percent of GDP have doubled within a decade. In addition to the real property taxes, a graduated stamp duty on the conveyance of immovable property is imposed at fairly steep rates. As a requirement to World Trade Organization membership, the tariff rates will be lowered from their current levels. It is expected that revenue losses from tariff reduction will be compensated by value-added tax revenues.

The vision of one man, Captain Sherman "Red" Crise formed the basis for what was to become the Bahamas Speed Weeks, a series of motor races held on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. They started in the mid 1950s and continued for 13 years, before ending due to a mix of political decisions, ill fortune and a shift in the direction motor racing had taken over that period of time. These years were described by many commentators as the golden age of motor racing, where internationally acclaimed drivers attended the Speed Weeks to mix with the many amateur racers from America who came to enjoy the scenario of sun, parties and racing. For many drivers the social scene was as important as the racing, and in latter years prize money was an extra incentive to turn up. This well researched account tracks the history of the Speed Weeks with its roller-coaster ride throughout its 13 years existence, and includes stunning photos, complete statistics, and more. With a foreword by Denise McCluggage.

THIS BOOK EXPLORES the many complex historical connections between the UNited States of America and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Beginning with an overview of shared early Spanish colonization, the book is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive study of the impact of the sequential development of the United States on events in the emerging Bahamas, placing the heretofore marginalized history of the island nation firmly into the orbit of Atlantic historiographical literature. Among other things, the books sheds light on the role played by the islands in a series of significant events in the U.S. history. These include the American Revolution, in which four of the initial official military actions of the fledgling U.S. Navy comprised repeated invasions of British-controlled Nassau, capital of the Bahamas; the American Civil War during which Nassau became on of the main bases for supply of vital goods and ammunition to the Confederacy; the intrigues of the Volstead Act, which legislated prohibition but also caused the temporary transformation of Bahama ISlands into major transshipment centers for the smuggling of alcoholic beverages to a multitude of prohibition-defiant and "thirsty" Americans; and the significant role placed by Bahamian migrants in the creation of the city of Miami and other areas of south Florida. The author draws on a wealth of tapped and untapped primary sources and presents a new perspective on the "Bahamian experience" that helped to define the self-proclaimed American credo of "Manifest Destiny."