Bahamas, The
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a country that consists of 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Hait). In 2010 the estimated population was 353,658.
The Bahamas were originally inhabited by the Lucayan, an Arawakan-speaking people. Christopher Columbus' first landfall in the New World was in the Bahamas in 1492. Eventually, English colonists settled in the Bahamas in 1648. The country became independent in 1973.
In terms of ethnic groups, 85% are African Bahamians, 12% are of European descent, and 3% are of Asian or Latin American descent. In 2005 the following religious affiliations were reported: Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, and Other 2%, including Jews, Muslims, Baha'is, Hindus, Rastafarians, and practitioners of Obeah.
Mennonites settled near Blanket Sound on Andros Island, Bahamas, in 1983. San Andros Mennonite Church, established by the Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church, established a commercial farm along with a large auto repair shop, carpentry shop, and a bee farm. The farm sold their fruit and vegetable crops throughout the island.
In 2020 the following Mennonite group was active in the Bahamas.
| Denomination | Congregations in 2009 |
Members in 2009 |
Congregations in 2012 |
Members in 2012 |
Congregations in 2020 |
Members in 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church | 1 | 34 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 34 |
Bibliography
Hacker, Amy and Katherine Russell. "Economics on Andros Island, Bahamas." Web. 28 May 2013. http://www4.samford.edu/schools/artsci/biology/bahamas/economics.html.
Wikipedia. "Andros, Bahamas." Web. 28 May 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andros,_Bahamas.
Wikipedia. "The Bahamas." Web. 28 May 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamas.
| Author(s) | Richard D Thiessen |
|---|---|
| Date Published | April 2020 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Thiessen, Richard D. "Bahamas, The." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2020. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bahamas,_The&oldid=170858.
APA style
Thiessen, Richard D. (April 2020). Bahamas, The. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bahamas,_The&oldid=170858.
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