Modern Bahamas

Modern Bahamas

On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas. This was the first landfall in the Americas. Although the Spanish didn't settle there, by 1508, they had enslaved 40,000 of the natives. After 1629, the British colonized the Bahamas. The shallow seas were ideal for pirates in the 17th Century as for smuggling today. There still continues to be high unemployment. [BA] {UA}