Bahamas

Bahamas, nation of some 700 subtropical islands and more than 2,000 islets, or cays, extending about 600 mi (970 km) from the coast of Florida, southeast toward Haiti. Nassau is the capital. The economy is based on tourism, fishing, and the export of wood products, cement, salt, and crayfish. Colonized by Britain in the 1640s, the islands became an independent state in the British Commonwealth in 1973. The Bahamas are a tax haven.

See also: Nassau.