Although no written history exists before the late 15th century, the exciting discovery of

drawings, pottery, tools and bones has proved that the islands we now know as The
Bahamas were first inhabited as early as 300 - 400 AD.
The very first people, believed to have arrived from Cuba, were soon followed by Lucayan
Indians, 40,000 of whom were living on the islands when Christopher Columbus set out to
explore the New World and landed on San Salvador in 1492.
Once The Bahamas were on the map, their location close to Florida and well-travelled
shipping channels, meant it wasn't long before they caught the attention of explorers,
settlers, invaders and traders. It was these people above all other, who shaped the
colourful history of The Bahamas and made the country what it is today.

From the late 1600s to the early 1700s, pirates, privateers and buccaneers ruled
the waves around The Bahamas, and the stories of their exploits have been
passed through the generations as carefully as the plundered treasure itself.
For almost 40 years, pirates like Blackbeard, Henry Morgan and Calico Jack Rackham
raided so many Spanish galleons that, in retaliation, Spanish troops destroyed the town in
1695.
Among the pirates that ruled The Bahamas can be found: BLACKBEARD, CALICO JACK,
SIR HENRY MORGAN and ANNE BONNY AND MARY READ .

The Lucayan Indians were the original inhabitants: they lived throughout The Bahamas
between 900 and 1500 A.D.
Christopher Columbus (the first European visitor) made his first landfall in the New World
on San Salvador (called Guanahani by the Lucayan Indians) in 1492.
Charles Town on New Providence Island was burnt to the ground by the Spanish in 1684,
but later rebuilt and renamed Nassau in 1695 in honor of King William III (formerly prince of
Orange-Nassau).
The Bahamas Islands became the free and sovereign Commonwealth of The
Bahamas on 10 July 1973, ending 325 years of British rule (but remains part of the
Commonwealth)
Social problems

One of the most terrible social problems in The Bahamas is teenage pregnancy
which, to the girls lead to school dropout, poverty (mainly is caused to the uneven
distribution of wealth), health issues. Most of the babies born from a teenager mother
usually fail at school.
Another social problem is: crimes, hunger, violence, lack of values, drugs, also
family disruption and racial discrimination.