[edit] 20th century

Modern political development began after the Second World War. The first political parties were formed in the 1950s and the British made the islands internally self-governing in 1964, with Sir Roland Symonette of the United Bahamian Party as the first premier.
In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the Progressive Liberal Party became the first black premier of the colony, and in 1968 the title was changed to prime minister. In 1973, The Bahamas became fully independent, but retained membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first Bahamian governor-general (the representative of Queen Elizabeth II) shortly after independence.
Based on the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance, the Bahamian economy has prospered since the 1950s. However, there remain significant challenges in areas such as education, health care, international narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration from Haiti.

[edit] Geography and climate

Main article: Geography of the Bahamas

Wettest tropical cyclones in the Bahamas
Precipitation			Storm	Location
Rank	(mm)	(in)
1	747.5	29.43	Noel 2007	Long Island[10]
2	508.0	20.00	Donna 1960	[11]
3	436.6	17.19	Flora 1963	Duncan Town[12]
4	390.1	15.36	Inez 1966	Nassau Airport[12]
5	337.1	13.27	Fox 1952	New Providence[13]
6	321.1	12.64	Michelle 2001	Nassau[14]
7	309.4	12.18	Erin 1995	Church Grove[15]
8	279.4	10.00	Isidore 1984	Nassau[16]
9	260.0	9.88	Fay 2008	Freeport[17]
10	236.7	9.32	Floyd 1999	Little Harbor Abacos[18]

The Bahamas from space. NASA Aqua satellite image, 2009

The country lies between latitudes 20° and 28°N, and longitudes 72° and 80°W.
The closest island to the United States is Bimini, which is also known as the gateway to The Bahamas. The island of Abaco is to the east of Grand Bahama. The southeasternmost island is Inagua. The largest island is Andros Island. Other inhabited islands include Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Exuma and Mayaguana. Nassau, capital city of The Bahamas, lies on the island of New Providence.
All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft). The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia, formerly called Como Hill, which has an altitude of 63 metres (207 ft) on Cat Island.
To the southeast, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and three more extensive submarine features called Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank, and Navidad Bank, are geographically a continuation of The Bahamas, but not part of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Climate

Main article: Climate of the Bahamas

The climate of the Bahamas is subtropical to tropical, and is moderated significantly by the waters of the Gulf Stream, particularly in winter.^[19] Conversely, this often proves very dangerous in the summer and autumn, when hurricanes pass near or through the islands. Hurricane Andrew hit the northern islands during the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Floyd hit most of the islands during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season.
While there has never been a freeze reported in the Bahamas, the temperature can fall as low as 2–3 °C (35.6–37.4 °F) during Arctic outbreaks that affect nearby Florida. Snow was reported to have mixed with rain in Freeport in January 1977, the same time that it snowed in the Miami area.^[20] The temperature was about 4.5 °C (40.1 °F) at the time.^[21]

[hide]Climate data for Nassau Airport, Bahamas
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F	77.4	77.5	79.7	81.9	84.6	87.3	89.1	89.2	88.3	85.5	81.9	78.6	83.4
Average low °F	62.1	62.4	63.9	66.2	69.8	73.2	74.7	74.8	74.5	72	68	63.9	68.8
Precipitation inches	1.9	1.7	1.6	2.2	4.8	9.5	6.5	8.9	7	7.2	2.3	2.1	55.7
Average high °C	25.2	25.3	26.5	27.7	29.2	30.7	31.7	31.8	31.3	29.7	27.7	25.9	28.56
Average low °C	16.7	16.9	17.7	19.0	21.0	22.9	23.7	23.8	23.6	22.2	20.0	17.7	20.43
Precipitation mm	47.2	40.3	39.8	53.8	116.3	232.9	157.7	215.9	171.4	175.5	56.6	51.8	1,359.2
% Humidity	78	78	76	74	77	79	77	79	81	80	78	78	77.92
Source: World Climate [22]

[edit] Government and politics

Main article: Politics of the Bahamas

Bahamian Parliament, located in downtown Nassau

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham

The Bahamas is a sovereign independent nation. Political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom and the Westminster system. The Bahamas is a parliamentary democracy with two main parties, the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party.
Tourism generates about half of all jobs, but the number of visitors has dropped significantly since the beginning of the global economic downturn during the last quarter of 2008. Banking and international financial services also have contracted, and The Bahamas is one of 34 secrecy jurisdictions that would be subject to the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act introduced in the U.S. Congress.
The Bahamas is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and a Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state (represented by a Governor-General).
Legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament, which consists of a 41-member House of Assembly (the lower house), with members elected from single-member districts, and a 16-member Senate, with members appointed by the governor-general, including nine on the advice of the prime minister, four on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and three on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition. The House of Assembly carries out all major legislative functions. As under the Westminster system, the prime minister may dissolve parliament and call a general election at any time within a five-year term.
The Prime Minister is the head of government and is the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet, selected by the prime minister and drawn from his supporters in the House of Assembly. The current governor-general is Sir Arthur Foulkes and the current Prime Minister is Hubert Ingraham.
The Bahamas has a largely two-party system dominated by the centre-left Progressive Liberal Party and the centre-right Free National Movement. A handful of splinter parties have been unable to win election to parliament. These parties have included the Bahamas Democratic Movement, the Coalition for Democratic Reform and the Bahamian Nationalist Party.
Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Although The Bahamas is not geographically located in the Caribbean, it is a member of the Caribbean Community. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English law.