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Durlng tM
~ek
ofFebruary 18-23,
Plain
Trutb
Edilor·fn-Chitf Herb<rt W. Arm·
strong conducted a .rtries of public lte·
turu In Nas.rou,
Common~alth
of the
Ba/¡ama lslands. Hundreds of lnttrested
Bahamlan
Plaio Truth
readus were in
auendance.
In conjunctlon wflh hl.t pusonal ap·
pearance in tht ls/ands, Mr. Armstrohg
feltthatthe worldwldt readership
ofPiain
Truth
wouldfind thls up·IO·datt rtport on
-
conditions in tht Bahamas lnltrtst/ng. lt
was wrllttn by Clartnct S. Bass,
Plain
Truth
corrtspondent rtsldlng In San
Juan, Puerto Rico, who frequtntly vLtitz
the Bahamas.
E
mg
jiU!
east and southeasl of south·
ern Florida are seven hundred is–
lands and cays known as the
Bahamas. Sorne lhirty of !bese islands
are mbabited. Wilh
a
history of !bree
hundred years
of
former British rule,
lhey repr=nt lhe thírd oldest parlia·
mentary democracy in the westem bem–
ispbere- al\er Bermuda and Barbados.
Wben Columbus lirsl landed on !he
small island whidl he named San Salva–
dor (also known as Wallin's lsland) on
October 12, 1492, he found a lribe of
people called Arawaks, wbom he named.
Mlndians,"
becaiUC
he lhougbt he bad
reaebed !he East !odies. The Arawaks
were a peaceful people who had come
from the Guianas and Venezuela in
Soulh America by way of the islands of
~
!be
Carj~~.411·
...
Columbus
and
!he Spanish
conquista–
dores
who came later made slaves of the
peaceful Arawau and used them in
lbeir search for gold. Arawaks died by
!he thousands in the mines ofHispanola
and Cuba. Later, wben tho Arawaks
proved too frail for the backbreaking
work, African slaves replaced them.
Today, descendants of African slaves
are the major racial group of !he 200,000
people living on !he islands.
f'rom !he 1520's many English na–
vigators became familiar with the Baba–
mas aod lbeir strategic potenlial for
control of the sea lanes in the general
arca. By the
1600s
tbe British were well
established and were determined to
make !he Babamas
a
oolony. The lirst
permaoent seulemeot in the Bahanias
was founded by a group of English set–
Uers wbo carne from Bermuda in 1647.
Tbey tanded
on
the island of Eleutbera
in
seareb
of religious freedom.
Years of struggle between Engtand,
f'rance, and Spain culminated wilh
England being establisbed as the ruling
power by the late 1700s. But a
JI
of !bese
struggling
powcrs had
10
reckon with
anolher force: pirates. Tbe Babamas
was !he bome of pirares during the late
17th and early 18th centuries. In 1718.
tbeir power was finaUy crushed by
Woodes
Rogers. lbe
first
Royal
Govemor,
wbo established orderly govemment.
From tbat time Englaod oontinued to
rule tbe Bahamas until 1964, when in–
tema! self-govcmment was granted. Bo–
oomiog a oommonwealth in 1969, the
Bahamas achicved full indcpendence in
1973.
Tears ofjoy strcamed down the faces
of many Bahamians al independcnce
celebrations in Nassau, the capital,
whon tbe Union Jack was lowcred for
the last time lo the strains of"God Save
MARCtl 1976
PRIME I#INISTER of the Commonwealth of the Bahama lslal>d6, Lyndltfl O. Pindllng
BAHAMAS
A FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR IN
THE CARIBBEAN
by
Ciarence
S . Basa
tbe Queen" and tbe blaclc, aquamarine.
and gold banner of the Commoowealtb
of the. Bahamas
was
hoisted on !he iUu–
minated flagpole while tbe Royal Police
Band played
lb
e new national antbem.
Since then Bahamians bave bad lbe
opponunity to leam lhat real indepeo·
dcnce must come from bard, selfless
teamwork
if
the naúoo is to grow and
prosper.
Fonunately, the political revolulioo
whieb led to Bahamian independence
was bloodlcss.
Ao
economic revolulioo
is pr=otly under way, and,
so
far, it has
also beco free from violeot eon–
frontalion. Tbis is the way Prime Miois·
ter Lyoden O. Piodling would tilr.e to
see
it remaio. Mr. Pindling said: "Tbe ooly
guarsotee (of nonviolence] we have is to
be abead ofthe limes, to keepjust abead
of !he problems and to etfect appro–
priate solulioos."
Hlstorical Association witb the
Uolted
States
From tbe lime t&at the American oot–
onies won lheir independence in 1776,
!he Babamas has seemed predeslined
10
be economically associated with !he
American nalion. As lbe United Statos
grew in power and stature, tbat associa–
tion grew also.
The American Civil War brought
prosperity to the Bahamas wbich served
as a transfer point for munitioos and
medical supplies being run lhrough lhe
Nortbern blockade of Confederate
pons.
~uon
from the South wu the
main oommodity of exchange.
Again, during the Prohibition era in
lbe Uníted Stales, the Bahamas
pros–
pered from their proximity to tbe main–
land. Tbis lime !bey served as a liquor
supply point for American rum·runners.
Today. tbe prosperity of lhe Bahamas
seems very mueb dependen! oo !he
lbousands of U.S. tour.sts wbo v.sit Ba·
hamas vacalion
spots
eacll year. In faCI,
tourism is the largest sector of !he Baba–
mían economy.
Tbe Bahamian economy
is
inlricately
lied to tbe U.S. economy, aod bence
inJialion
10
tbe U.S. has
caused
eoo–
nomic difficulties
in
the Babamas. Tbis
is not lo say tbat !he only outsidc pros–
sures on !he eoonomy came from !he
United States. The skyrocketing world
price for
oi~
for examplc, played a sig–
ni6cant inJiationary role.
In his discussion of the year 1975
Prime Minister Pindling on
a
radio pro–
gram in Nassau entit.led "Mary's Note–
book," said that the eoooomy "was in as
great
a
difficulty as it had been in twenty
ycars." In
an
effon
10
tty to counteracl
the declining cconomy, thc govemment
look two steps which are inoreasingly
popular among
gov~rnments
of devel·
oping oounlries. 11 establisbed a hotel
oorporation and an agricultura! corpora–
lion. Tbe hotel corporslion manages
!bree hotcls which it purebased in 1974,
and the agricultural corporstion is re–
sponsible for dairy and farming intcrest
purcbased in 1975.
Hó'pe for a. Better Year in 1976
In bis radio interview, Mr. Pindling
expressed hope lhat 1976 would be bet–
lcr because of tbe economic improve–
ment apparent in Norlb America. He
explained: "Some IJlOre money is being
pul into circula!ion ·and surplus money
anywhere in lbe poclcel of the travcler
will
mean a few more tourists for ous–
selves." Mr. Pindling
also
pointed out
lhat
three
or four years of active promo–
tion of the Bahamas in European mar–
kets have begun to pay off.
During 'tbe
fust
few
mon.ths
of 1976,
the Bahamas has prospered from
a
reso–
lulion approved by the United Nalions
General Assembly - lbe resolulioo
equaling "Zionism with racism." When
thousands of Jewisb tourists cancelled
lhei.r reservations in oountries whieb
voted for the General Assembly's biased
resolulion, tbe Babamas - whieb voted
against the resolution - benelited on !he
rebound.
Financial <;mter
Ahhough tourism is stilllbe major in·
dustry ( 1,380,600 visitars in 1975), the
Bahamas has long beco developing as
an importan! financia! center. Eaeb day.
severa! million dollars circulatc by way
of currency cxebanges, investn¡ents, and
trading
Íl\
stocks and gold bars.
Ao
importan! faCIOr in
Ibis
dovelopmeol
is
the long bistory ofpoliticalstabililyunder
British rule. But, perhaps th.c biggest
single factor conlributing to lbe recen!
blossoming,of the Babamas as a linancial
center is the absence of govemmcnt·im–
posed oorporate and personal income tax.
Takiog advantage of
Ibis
rare "tax
haven," many oftheworld's largest banks
and trust companies have establisbed
themselves oo lbc islands. At pr=nt.
lb
ere are about300sueb inslitutionsoper·
ating in th.e Bahamas.
However, outstanding progress in the
areas of tourism aod intemalional
Ji–
nance does not predude the need for the
govemment to develop a viable
eoo–
nomic self-reliance by expanding and
diversifyiog its ecooomy.
Tbe govemment has already started
to develop such. industries as oil refining,
terminaling, cernen! manufacturing, and
severa! ligbt indUSiries. Establisbed in–
dustries include cement makiog and oi.l
refining. The Bahamas Cement Com–
pany, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel Corpo–
ratioo, located at Freeport, Grand
Babama, produces live
millions
barrels
of cement a year. Babamas Oil Refining
Company produces up to 500,000 bar–
reis of oil daily. Mueb of
Ibis
is sent to
the United States lo be used in indus·
trial fumaces aod power plants.
No
Tbreat
of Nationaliutioo
As
is customary in dcvetoping ooun–
tries whieb have to attract foreign indus·
try, the Bahamas govemmenl has
passed legislation making the country
auractive lo forcign investment. Accord–
ing to tbis Jegislation. "anyone who
S
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