This islands nation located within the Archipelago was originally inhabited by the indigenous Arawakan Taino people. In 1494, Christopher Columbus under the Spanish took the islands and later enslavement and disease disseminated the native population. Later in 1648, the English arrived and claimed the islands and administered the islands from New Providence. After the War of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies, the British resettled loyalists and their enslaved people in the Bahamas.

Over ten thousand enslaved West & Central Africans were purchased during the transatlantic slave trade and transported to the Bahamas prior to 1807. Many died during the voyages and on the plantations and livestock pens in the islands. British Parliament abolished slavery on August 1, 1834 and full emancipation was granted on August 1, 1838 after the apprenticeship period.

In 1973, the Bahamas gained independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and later joined the Commonwealth of Nations.

The Bahamas is consisted of several islands. They are New Providence, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Rum Cay, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Ragged Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Exuma, Berry Islands, Mayaguana, Bimini Islands, Great Abaco, Great Inagua, and Andros.

This guide offers a selection of resources and strategies for the Bahamas local history and genealogy research. These include the print and digital collections of the Library of Congress, as well as external repositories and web sites key to finding forebears in the island nation.