In 1492, Christopher Columus, on his first journey to the New World, arrived at an island somewhere in the Bahama Islands. It is believed that Columbus first landed on an island called Guanahani by its native inhabitants. Columbus renamed that island San Salvador. The interest from the British began in 1629 when Charles I gave Robert Heath, the attorney general of England American Territories including the Bahamas. Heath took no effort in settling the Bahamas. In the 1640s, religious disputes including English colonists in Bermuda started involving the Bahamas. In 16487, Capt. William Sayle, took leadership of an endeavor to find an island where objectors could worship how they wanted. Sometime before October 1648, Sayle and about 70 other prospective settlers, consisting of some religious independents, sailed from Bermuda to the Bahamas. Some of the settlers, including Sayle, ended up returning to Bermuda. In 1670, 6 people acquired grants from Charles II, accepting official responsibility for the civil government of The Bahamas. They didn’t end up taking much interest in the development of the islands, which became a haven for pirates. In 1671, those same people appointed John Wentworth as the first governor. At the beginning of the 18th century, official representations were made for direct crown control. Charles Towne originated in 1660 and was named for Charles II, but its name was changed to Nassau, which is now the capital, after William III came to throne. In 1729, Rodgers issued a proclamation asking for a representative assembly , and from then on, apart from brief interruptions caused by foreign invasion, the government carried on orderly. In 1776, Nassau was captured by the U.S. Navy, who were seeking supplies during the American Revolution. A few days later, Nassau was evacuated. In May of 1782, the colony surrendered in Spain, and although it was restored by Britain, it was recaptured in April 1783 by Col. Andrew Devaux, a commander, before the news of the treaty was received. At the conclusion of the American Revolution, many loyal people resettled in The Bahamas, bringing their slaves with them which increased the population. They developed cotton Plantations and used slave labor, but the abolition of slavery led to their collapse. The Bahamas experienced many slave revolts, leading up to the abolition.

Since 1729, The Bahamas have had substantial control over their affairs. In May 1963, a conference was held in which a new constitution was created for The Bahamas. At that time, it was decided that The Bahamas should have full internal self-government, the governor only having reserved power for foreign affairs, defence, and internal security. In 1953, party politics emerged when the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was formed and The Bahamas created a party of their own, United Bahamian Party (UPD). In 1969, the Commonwealth of the Bahama Islands was named the official name of the Bahamas, but when The Bahamas gained independence, on July 10, 1973, the official name became The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Some major issues the Bahamas faced were the government was involved with drug traffickers and periodic arrival of waves of legal and illegal immigrants from Haiti, which put a stop on social and economic resources. In 2013, The Bahamas began to recover from a period of low growth and high indebtedness, having chosen to delay tax increases in an attempt to simulate recovery. In September 2019, attraction fell to The Bahamas when Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane, destroyed Abaco and the Grand Bahama Island. Many Bahamians died and many were still unaccounted for over a year later. Later, costs of repairs were estimated at about $3.4 billion. The coronavirus hit The Bahamas hard because they are a tourism dependent country, and tourism stopped.