British Bahamas

British Crown Colony of the Bahamas
Flag of the Crown Colony of the Bahamas
Motto: Expulsis piratis, Restituta commercia (Pirates repulsed, Commerce Restored)
19th century map of the Crown Colony of the Bahamas
Capital	Nassau
Official languages	English Bahamian Creole Native Languages
Religion	Puritanism Anglicanism
Demonym(s)	Bahamian
Government	Crown Colony
Establishment	1648 CE
Preceded by Succeeded by Early English Settlers Taíno People Lucayan People Pirate Republic Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Today part of	The Bahamas

The British Bahamas were a British colony that existed from 1648 until 1973, when it became an independent nation.^[1] It is also referred to as the British Administered Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, or the Crown Colony of the Bahamas. The colony changed hands between private settlers, English lords, and the British Crown of the United Kingdom during the 325 years it was a colony.^[1] The Bahamas territory is an archipelago of approximately 700 islands and 30 reefs located in the Atlantic Ocean in the region of the Caribbean. The nation was dissolved in 1973 during Bahamian independence.