978-1-4222-3316-0

(Opposite) Port Lucaya Marketplace is a colorful collection of shops and restaurants on Grand Bahama Island. (Right) A group of Bahamian children gather on a porch. 4

Urban Islanders and Family Islanders

THE POPULATION OF the Bahamas is made up of a mix of races, including blacks, whites, Asians, and Hispanics. In addition to differences in race and ethnicity, Bahamians are divided socially and economically by their status as either “urban islanders” or “family islanders.” About 90 percent of Bahamians are black. Most are descended from slaves brought from North and South Carolina after the American Revolution. The ancestors of these slaves were primarily members of the Ibo, Mandingo, or Yoruba tribes and lived originally in West Africa. Not all blacks who immigrated to the Bahamas came as slaves, however. Some came as freemen. These black freemen often owned their own black slaves. Others were runaway slaves, intent on finding independence and freedom.

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