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Bahamas

Bahamas: Political System

The Bahamas has been a sovereign state and a parliamentary-democratic monarchy in the Commonwealth since 1973. The formal head of state is therefore the British Queen or the British King, who is represented by a Governor General.

The traditional closeness to the Anglo-Saxon view of the world and politics is also reflected in the country's constitution. The parliament, which consists of the House of Representatives with 40 members and the Senate with 16 seats, is the legislative power. There is a majority vote like in the former mother country Great Britain. The governor general appoints nine of the 16 senators at the suggestion of the prime minister, who must take into account the respective majorities in the House of Representatives and the opposition, four at the suggestion of the opposition leader and three by the governor according to his own law.

According to Digopaul.com, the official name of the country is:

National anthem

The national anthem of the Bahamas was composed by Timothy Gibson and introduced in 1973 after independence. In English it reads:

In English

National flag

The national flag (national flag) of the Bahamas was adopted on July 10, 1973. Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the colors are interpreted as follows:

- Blue symbolizes the ocean (Caribbean)

- Yellow stands for the beaches

- Black in the form of a triangle stands for unity

Bahamas: Known People

Politicians and rulers

• Georg I Hanover (1660-1727) 1714-1727
• Georg II Hanover (1727-1760) 1683-1760
• George III Hanover (1738-1820) 1760-1820
• George IV Hanover (1762-1830) 1820-1830
• Wilhelm IV Hanover (1765-1837) 1830-1837
• Viktoria I. Hanover (1819-1901) 1837-1901
• Eduard VII Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1841-1910) 1901-1910
• George V (1910-1936) 1864-1936
• Edward VIII (1894-1972) 1936
• George VI. (1895-1952) 1936-1952
• Elizabeth II (1926-) since 1952
• Sir Roland Symonette (1898-1980), first Prime Minister (United Bahamian Party) from 1964 to 1967
• Lynden O. Pindling (1930-2000), Prime Minister (Progressive Liberal Party) from 1967 to 1992
• Hubert Ingraham (1947), Prime Minister (Free National Movement) from 1992 to 2002
• Perry Christie (1943), Prime Minister since May 2002 (Progressive Liberal Party)

Writer and poet

• Ernest Hemingway(1899-1961), American novelist, reporter, war correspondent, hunter, deep-sea fisherman, big game hunter and Nobel laureate in literature. He lived in his house on Bimini until his death in 1961. His book "The Old Man and the Sea" about a hopeless fight between an old fisherman and a big fish on the high seas is set in the Caribbean. The book sold five million copies in two days. Hemingway was honored with the Pulitzer Prize. The Caribbean became home to Hemingway in the years after World War II.

Bahamas: animals

There are few native mammals in the Bahamas, with most of the larger animals such as wild asses, wild pigs and horses once brought to the islands.

Manatees

The largest native mammals are the manatees that can be seen along the Grand Bahama canals. The animals are also known as manatees, as they graze the underwater pastures as their main source of food. They are slow, dark brown animals with a characteristic spatulate caudal fin. The manatees have a small head with a very bulging upper lip and are short haired. They are diurnal, sociable, and often live in herds.

Other mammals living here are raccoons, hutias, quite large tree rats, which look more like a beaver than a rat, and bats, most of which inhabit the cave on New Providence.

Reptiles, amphibians

The endangered rock iguanas can be seen in the Exuma Cays National Land & Sea Park. In general, however, iguanas, lizards, geckos and snakes are relatively widespread on the islands. You can often see members of the anole family, the most species-rich group of iguanas. The very slender and often bright green lizards with a noticeably long tail have particularly intense colors that they can change depending on the situation. Because they are excellent climbers, they can mainly be seen on trees and bushes.

The amphibians living here are mainly represented by the very numerous frogs. The 7-10 cm large cuban tree frog is particularly common, striking for its sturdy shape and warty skin and, despite its frequent occurrence in the Bahamas, is on the red list.

The snakes found on the islands are non-poisonous species. These include blind snakes, the Bahamian dwarf boa (Tripodophis canus), the only 80 cm tall Abaco island boa (Chilabothrus exsul)

The bimini boa, which is the largest land-living reptile in the Bahamas, is also one of the most endangered species.

Birds

Particularly noteworthy in the Bahamas is the flamingo colony of well over 60,000 birds on the island of Great Inagua in the Inagua National Park. Flamingos form a family of their own and are mainly found throughout Africa, western Asia and southern France. The up to 130 cm tall birds are immediately recognizable by their long and thin neck, by their thin legs and by their thick, downward-curved pink beak with a black tip.

This is used as a sieve when searching for food. The menu includes worms, algae and, above all, small crustaceans.

They are also responsible for the pink plumage of the flamingos. The red dye absorbed with the crabs is stored in the feathers. After all, the more crabs the birds have eaten, the more pink they are.

The famous one-legged standing is used to store heat, as one leg is hidden in the warm plumage and thus less heat loss occurs. This feat is not strenuous for the flamingos (as well as for storks).

There are not nearly as many specimens of any other bird to marvel at, as the Bahamas Amazon, which breeds in limestone caves on the ground, is now threatened with extinction. Other species that can be seen especially in Abaco National Park, one of the most important and lush national parks on the islands, are hummingbirds, woodpeckers, flycatchers, pigeons and mockingbirds.

insects

Probably the largest insect in the Bahamas is the big moth, also known as "Money Bat" or "Bat Moth" (bat moth). According to a legend, it helps those who land on them to great wealth.

In 2006, individual cases of malaria were recorded for the first time, which suggests the presence of the anopheles mosquito.

The land crabs, which belong to the arachnids, are quite widespread here.

Underwater world

In the waters around the islands there are hammer and bull sharks as well as whales, dolphins and seven different species of frogfish as well as a multitude of tropical fish, whereby the diversity of the underwater fauna can best be admired near the coral reefs.

Bahamas: plants

Trees

There are larger pine forests on the islands of Great Abaco, Great Bahama and Andros.

The typical trees of all islands, however, are casuarines, tamarind and plum trees.

There are also the only 1.50 m tall cascarilla trees, cork oaks and various types of palm.

Hardwoods such as mahogany and ebony can also be found on small areas of some northwestern islands.

Crops

Interestingly, the black nightshade, despite its toxicity, has many reports of its food use. However, this is only possible if the berries are fully ripe and if the plant is particularly old, as the toxicity decreases with increasing age of the plant. The bark of the cascarilla tree contains essential oils that are used to flavor alcoholic beverages such as liqueurs and tobacco.

Medicinal plants

The tea made from the dried leaves of the cascarilla tree is said to help with fever and diarrhea, as well as to aid digestion and lower blood pressure.

Poisonous plants

In Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas on the island of New Providence, there are some poisonous plants, especially those from the nightshade family, such as the black nightshade and the golden chalice, are represented.

The angel's trumpet, a very poisonous tree-like shrub up to 5 m high, also grows here.

This plant has softly hairy leaves and flowers between June and January. The pendulous flowers are up to 25 cm long and can be white, yellow, orange or red. All parts of the plant are poisonous because they contain tropane alkaloids. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, flushing of the face, difficulty swallowing, visual disturbances and heart problems.

The sandbox tree from the Wolfsmich family grows up to 40 m tall, with the most striking feature being the trunk covered with short, black thorns. Its milky sap and seeds are poisonous.

The black-brown marbled seeds of the miracle tree, better known as castor, are used to make castor oil.

In contrast to the seeds, this is completely harmless. The seed coats, however, contain a highly toxic protein, which can be fatal even in low doses. You can recognize poisoning by a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, vomiting and nausea.

The 15 m tall manzanillo tree, also known as machineel, is one of the most poisonous trees in the world. It is widespread in the Caribbean and grows mainly along the beaches, where it is also quite useful for windbreakers and sand stabilizers.

It can be recognized by its grayish bark and the bright green leaves.

It is particularly dangerous to stand under the tree when it rains. Its strong toxins, which are mainly contained in the milky sap of the tree, lead to the formation of blisters. It is also dangerous to get the smoke that arises when the wood is burned in the eyes, as it is very likely to lead to blindness. In the past, arrowheads were dipped into the juice to ensure greater hunting success through the poisoning.

More plants

Although the savannah is the typical landscape of many of the islands, there are numerous flowering vascular plants to be admired, of which bougainvilleae, orchids, bromeliads, jasmine and wild grapes are only a small part.

You can also find hibiscus and oleander here

The tamarind tree originally comes from India, the fruits of which are used to make fruit purees, sauces and lemonades.

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