Rhonda Schumacher, age 13, of Biloxi, Miss., for her question:
HOW MANY ISLANDS ARE IN THE BAHAMAS?
Bahamas are a chain of about 3,000 coral islands and reefs that make up an independent country in the West Indies. They extend from about 50 miles off the eastern coast of Florida to the northeastern tip of Cuba, a distance of over 500 miles. Only about 20 of the islands are inhabited. There are actually about 700 islands and islets and about 2,400 cays and rocks.
About four fifths of the Bahamian people live on only two of the islands: New Providence and Grand Bahama. Nassau, the capital and largest city, lies on New Providence.
The tropical beauty and mild climate of the Bahamas have helped make tourism the basis of the country's economy.
Tourism represents about three quarters of the gross national product. About 2 million tourists visit each year. Also, because of favorable tax laws, the Bahamas have become an international banking center.
Christopher Columbus landed first in 1492 on what is now San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. The Bahamas were a British colony from 1717 until 1973, when they gained independence.
Even though Columbus was the first European, the Spanish did not colonize the islands. The first permanent European inhabitants were the British, who settled Eleuthera and New Providence about 1648.
During the early years the settlement was repeatedly attacked by the Spanish. The islands were later a stronghold of buccaneers and pirates, notably the infamous Blackbeard.
After the Revolutionary War in America, many British Loyalists came from the United States and settled in the Bahamas. They brought their slaves and established plantations there. Britain abolished slavery in the Bahamas in 1838.
During the American Civil War, the Bahamas gained prosperity as a base for ships breaking the Union blockade of Confederate sports.
Blacks make up about four fifths of the population of the Bahamas. Many of them are descendants of slaves brought to the islands by the British. The rest of the population consists chiefly of whites and mulattoes, or persons of mixed black and white ancestry. About 90 percent of the Bahamian people can read and write. The law requires children from five to 14 to go to school.
Religious groups in the Bahamas include Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists and Roman Catholics. Some of the people practice voodoo, a name given to the religious belief and practice of magic of certain African tribes.
The Bahamas have a mild climate. Temperatures average about 72 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter and about 85 degrees during the summer. An average of about 45 inches of rain falls annually.