News
Wrecking in the Bahamas
Feb. 01, 2024
The practice of luring foreign ships to wreck on reefs or shoals with the intent of plundering began with the first settlers.
Fifty Years of Independence, 1973 - 2023
Aug. 05, 2023
On January 11, 1968, Lynden O. Pindling proposed that the British grant the Bahamas total independence. Great Britain would yield all power to the new Government except in external affairs and defense.
B'Rabby, B'Spider An' B' Booky
Jan. 30, 2023
The “old stories” or folklore of the Bahamas mostly concern personified animals in memorable adventures that are variations of American and British tales. In American lore animals are called “Brer.” Bahamian stories have contracted the name to “B.”
Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
Sep. 22, 2022
The Century Magazine introduced the Bahamas to the world in 1887 with the article entitled “A Midwinter’s Resort” with illustrations from Winslow Homer. Winslow Homer (1836-1910) was one of the most famous 19th century American painters, illustrator and printmaker.
Amos Ferguson "Paint by Faith, Not by Sight"
Jun. 14, 2022
Born in Exuma on February 28, 1920, Amos Ferguson was a folk artist known for his brilliantly colored Bible and Bahamian scenes. At fourteen, he moved to Nassau where he worked in furniture refinishing and house painting.
Butlin’s West End Debacle
Apr. 22, 2022
In late 1947, Britain’s holiday camp king Billy Butlin arrived at West End, Grand Bahama aboard a Grumman Goose flying boat in search of a site on which to build a self-contained luxury resort. With the growing popularity of air travel and the proximity to the US, Butlin believed the crystal-clear sea and coral sands...
Father of Bahamian Music
Mar. 31, 2022
Blake Alphonso Higgs (1915 – 1986), better known as "Blind Blake", is considered the Father of Bahamian Music. Born in Matthew Town, Inagua, Higgs was blind from boyhood. Over his lifetime he wrote sixty goombay tunes and recorded four albums.
Maps of the Bahamas
Feb. 28, 2022
Produced as clay tablets in early Babylonia, maps originated as a method to communicate concepts of space and direction. The science of cartography, or map making, evolved with early Greek culture’s advancements of astronomy...
Philatelic History: Our Colorful, Fanciful, Beautiful National Stamps
Jan. 18, 2022
Postage stamps provide a window into the history of the Bahamas. The rule of the nation, its politics, wars, geography, and natural disasters can be followed through the artistic representations on small pieces of gummed paper...
A Lasting Impression: The Importance of the Official Seal On the Hawksbill Creek Agreement
Dec. 06, 2021
Signed on 24 November 1955, the Hawksbill Creek Agreement allowed a city to be created from pine barren and swamp. The red seal, with its matrix, carried the commitment of the British Colonial Government...
