the Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Founding: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam was formed in 1976.

Origins: From around 200 AD a people called the Lucayans lived on the islands. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 it took the white settlers 25 years to completely wipe out the population of 40,000 natives with their disease and enslavement. With the local population gone, the islands remained abandoned until the mid-1600s when they began to become crowded with carious European attempts at settlements. The early 1700s saw European wars between England, France and Spain come to Bahamian shores and attacks left the country without any government, ripe for the taking by pirates. In 1718 the islands officially came under British rule – but pirates continued to rule on the ground. In the 19th century hundred of enslaved Africans fled the United States and settled in the Bahamas.

Recent History: The Bahamas enjoyed an economic boom in the 1950s & 60s, thanks in part to the US blockade on Cuba.  The country began to self-govern in 1964 but did not become fully independent from England until 1973, however it remained within the Commonwealth of Nations and the sovereign its head of state.