Homo sapiens in the Bahamas!

Hello everyone! 

As we wrap up our week on the Gates Mills campus, I think it’s safe to say that everyone’s mind is spinning with the knowledge we’ve gained and the idea of taking off to the Bahamas so soon. I think the excitement for the trip may be unquantifiable, but to elaborate on the former, you can see by the other entries that we’ve focused a lot on biology, marine life, and nature – most of which we will get to experience firsthand in the Bahamas. We’ve studied species like squid, dog fish sharks, conchs, and sperm whales in great depth, even doing dissections on the first two. We even spent time learning about 52 species of birds and fish native to the Bahamas, so we can feel a sense of belonging and connection to the island when we get there.

        However, another important species to consider are the Homo sapiens, or humans of the island. Getting to know the nature of a place is fundamental to understanding it, but that includes the nature of its people, its culture, and its history. This weekend, we were asked to read, “The Bahamas” by Kenneth C. Buchan, “Some Basics about the Bahamas” (a compilation of information teachers of the Island School put together), and a video called the “Historic Cape Eleuthera Resort & Marina.” Pulling together the information found in these materials, and another article called “The Rediscovery of North America” by Barry Lopez we read before, we were asked to reflect on four essential questions. The goal was to gain a sense of understanding of the island in other perspectives outside of just its native animals, flora, and fauna. The articles and video explore the Bahamas past, painting a picture of when native Lucayans resided on the islands, explaining the time before Columbus and how his arrival altered the course of its history. They demonstrate the power shifts, expose the injustices and suppression of the native people, and narrate the story of how the Bahamas came to be how it is today, with its unique culture and a majority of deeply religious people. They also show us tides (no pun intended) of modern economic growth and collapse, explaining how tourism is so important to the Bahamian people (accounting for 2/3 of the gross domestic product). These materials give us the fundamental knowledge necessary to understanding the local population. The next step will be to meet them on Monday!

The questions we were asked to reflect on were the following:

• What impacts did you learn about from the materials that surprised you?
• What might life in the Bahamas be like today if Columbus had never arrived?
• What might be some reasons that explain why tourism in South Eleuthera collapsed?
• What effect do you think the collapse of the tourism has on the local population?

There was a lot of information in the readings that surprised us. Many of us already knew that Columbus’ arrival was not as worthy of celebration as the fact that we get a day off of school each year in its honor suggests. Yet, the Lopez article that we read communicated the savagery of Columbus and his men’s time in the Bahamas in such a way that in reflections on the readings we wrote for homework, some indicated their surprise at the Spaniards’ avarice and how it “set the tone” for similar behavior in the years afterward. A lot of us were also surprised about just how drastically Columbus’ arrival changed the course of Bahamian history. Helen summed this up well in her reflection, writing about her surprise that, “the animals, plants, and people that inhabit the Bahamas today are so different from the ones Christopher Columbus encountered” in 1492. As Zach pointed out, it’s striking that “85% of the Bahamas’ population are descendants of slaves.” 

Pondering what the Bahamas might be like today if Columbus had never arrived, we concluded that the plants, animals, and people would be very different. As Sarah pointed out in her response, today’s Bahamian population is composed of “slaves stranded there by the end of the slave trade, Loyalists from the U.S., [and] Haitian immigrants” that “combined after Columbus' initial arrival.” The Lucayan people that he and his men exterminated would have a more prominent presence, as would original flora and fauna. Also, the Bahamas would most likely not have the prominent Christian affiliation that it does (the Bahamas has one of the biggest churches per capita ratios in the world!).

On the topic of tourism, we inferred that its collapse can be attributed to the deterioration of the Bahamas’ land and ocean. We reasoned that this has had a very negative effect on the population economically and emotionally. This information has left us interested and excited to see the place for ourselves and to explore and see firsthand how this fascinating history has led to the modern day Bahamas. 

We're so close- we can't wait!

Seysha and Dalia