Around the World: The Bahamas Letterbox Hybrid

This is an easy letterbox hybrid. There is a stamp and pad inside. It is not for trading. Please leave it inside the container.

The Bahamas is the site of Christopher Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. At that time, the islands were inhabited by the Lucayan, an Arawak-speaking Taíno tribe of Native Americans. Although the Spanish never colonized The Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera. The islands of the Bahamas became a pirate haven until the English clamped down on piracy. They then became a British colony in 1718. After the Revolutionary War, thousands of American Loyalists were resettled to The Bahamas. These Loyalists brought their slaves and started plantations in the islands. African slaves then became the majority of the population. When the British abolished slavery in the islands in 1834, freed slaves and Seminoles from Florida escaped to the Bahamas. The descendants of these three populations constitute 90% of the present day population of The Bahamas.

The Bahamas became an independent Commonwealth Realm in 1973 and retains Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State. It is one of the richest nations of the New World, with an economy based on tourism and finance. The name "Bahamas" is probably a colloquialism of the Spanish "Baja Mar", or low sea; reflecting on the shallow depths on which the islands are located.

To locate this Letterbox Hybrid:

At the posted coordinates, turn to a bearing of roughly 126 degrees. You will see a natural object in the distance past the concrete sidewalk. Walk the 550 feet or so to the edge of the park and the natural object, and look low. The Letterbox Hybrid is hidden at the base of one of the objects.

Congrats to pod227 on being FTF!!