Great Britain Influence on Bahamas

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Culture is the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. Culture is the vision of life acquired through the transmission of values from the past. When we talk of a cultured person therefore, we are referring to the process of change that has taken place in him. In other words, a 'cultured man', is a product of culture. This will manifest itself by the way he lives, the way he talks, by what he does and above all by his likes, tastes and attitudes.

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Indeed, it is the level of culture that accounts for the way a man thinks and acts.

In brief, culture is a process of change within man. By this I mean to say that man is a product of culture. The Bahamas culture was influence by many nations, which brought their own facts into our reality. I am here today to talk about the influence Great Britain has on the Bahamian culture.

The influence starts from 1647 and is present up to this very moment. This influence covers the colonial period to the post-independence period. Many areas of the Bahamian lifestyle have been impacted by the British from our laws, parliamentary system, courts, social traditions and educations.

During the American journey for independence from Great Britain between 1783 and 1785, the men and woman fled from America and came to the Bahamas. They were called loyalists because their allegiance was to British Crown. The loyalist settled in various island such as Abaco, New Providence, Eleuthera, Exuma, Cat Island, Long Island, Croocked Island, Acklins, San Salvador and Turks and Caicos Island.

With this the descendants of the Loyalists, Asians and Europeans came into our islands. According to ____ at least ten to fifteen percent of the Bahamian population they made up.

The loyalist had a tremendous impact upon the life and times of the Bahamas. Their arrival in the Bahamas caused population to increase. With the population increasing, many parts of the Bahamas were affected and influence. Some of the influences was the surnames. Some of the surnames that As our culture began to blossom, some of loyalist’s name became noticeable like were Rolle, Farquharson, Williams, Moss, Taylor, Eve, Chrystie, Delancy, Wylly, Russell and Wells. Additionally, loyalists economically introduced farming, fishing and shipbuilding which we used today. These craftsmen settled in the northern Bahamas (Abaco).

With the shipbuilding trade, the island attracted an influx of professionals such as doctors, lawyers, accountants and merchants, which boost the marketable life of the Bahamas. The architectural (Georgian) Style of the Southern United Stated, from which most of the Loyalists came, was introduced to the Bahamians. Public buildings that were completed between 1812 and 1816 were built in the architectural style of Governor Tryons Palace in New Bern, the old capital of North Carolina. Nassua Public Library (built between 1798 and 1799, along the lines of the Old Powder Magazine in Williamsburg, Virginia) Government House, St.

Matthew’s Anglican Church and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. As the culture of the Bahamian continue to blossom, we cannot forget about education. The library was established and drama became a form of entertainment. The British legal system, which is still in use in the Bahamas today, was reinforced. John Wells, a loyalist from Charleston, South Carolina, established the first newspaper, the Bahama Gazette and opened a book and stationery store. The Loyalists strengthened religion and education. By 1795, a School Act was passed. In 1804, a High School Act was passed, thus creating the first high school in the Bahamas.

Politically, the Loyalists were a force with which to reckon. They challenged the status quo and were responsible for the downfall of two Royal Governors-John Maxwell and John Murray, Earl of Dunmore. Representation in the House of Assembly, during the loyalist period, was extended to included Abaco, Exuma, Long Island, Cat Island and Andros. Prior to that, only islands of New Providence, Eleuthera and Habour Island were represented. By 1799, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Rum Cay, Crooked Island, Acklins and Long Cay had representation in the House of Assembly.