•HRES 397 IH 
Whereas British settlement began in 1648 with the arrival of 
English Puritans led by Captain William Sayle, known as 
‘‘Eleutheran Adventurers’’, who sought religious freedom; 
Whereas the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau, was established 
around 1670 as a commercial port, and experienced sev-
eral decades of conflict between Spanish, French, and 
British military forces, as well as privateers and pirates; 
Whereas by 1718, the King of England appointed Captain 
Woodes Rogers to serve as the first Royal Governor and 
restore order in the Bahamas, now a crown colony; 
Whereas following the American War of Independence, the 
British issued land grants to American Loyalists who 
went into exile in the Bahamas, bringing with them 
slaves and forcing the Spanish to retreat from the region; 
Whereas the majority of Bahamians today trace back their 
roots to the thousands of West Africans who were 
enslaved and brought to the islands in order to work on 
cotton plantations by those loyal to the British Crown; 
Whereas Britain abolished its slave trade in 1807, and reset-
tled thousands of liberated Africans from foreign slave 
ships as free persons in the Bahamas; 
Whereas in the early 1820s, hundreds of American slaves and 
Black Seminoles escaped from Florida, with many of 
them settling on Andros Island in the Bahamas; 
Whereas Britain officially abolished slavery throughout most 
of the British Empire in 1834, thereby ending plantation 
life in the Bahamas and giving rise to a nation of sea-
farers; 
Whereas the Hotel and Steam Ship Service Act of 1898 
marked the beginning of a vibrant tourism industry for 
the Bahamas, providing the government support needed 
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•HRES 397 IH 
for the construction of hotels and subsidized steamship 
service; 
Whereas in 1964, Bahamians were granted self-rule, and in 
1969 became members of the Commonwealth of Nations; 
Whereas in December 1972, the Government of the Bahamas 
headed by Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Lynden Pindling 
and the Opposition headed by Sir Kendal Isaacs led a 
delegation to London to discuss the Independence Con-
stitution; 
Whereas, on April 2, 1973, the Minister of Home Affairs, the 
Hon. R.F. Anthony Roberts, announced in the House of 
Assembly that the Bahamas had a new flag, and in the 
same year Timothy Gibson’s ‘‘March On, Bahamaland’’ 
was adopted as the country’s national anthem; 
Whereas, on July 10, 1973, the Bahamas became a free and 
sovereign country, ending 325 years of peaceful British 
rule; and 
Whereas Bahamians typically commemorate their independ-
ence with a week-long celebration beginning on July 3, 
consisting of a number of ‘‘Junkanoo’’ street parades, 
fireworks, political speeches, and other events: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) joins the people of the Bahamas and the 
Bahamian diaspora worldwide in commemorating 
the 40th anniversary of the independence of the Ba-
hamas; 
(2) recognizes that the United States and the 
Bahamas are united by a shared history, common 
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•HRES 397 IH 
values, and a commitment to democracy and human 
rights; and 
(3) encourages both nations to continue 
strengthening their friendship and bilateral partner-
ship, especially in promoting greater security, eco-
nomic development, and people-to-people exchanges, 
expanding opportunities for the next generation of 
leaders, addressing the effects of climate change, 
and advancing gender equality throughout the Carib-
bean region. 
Æ 
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