Editing History of the Bahamas (section)

==Independent Bahamas==
{{Moresources|section|date=July 2023}}
[[File:College of the Bahamas, Nassau.JPG|thumb|Entrance to the College of the Bahamas in 2006. Established in 1974, it was later reorganised as the [[University of the Bahamas]]]]
The Bahamas achieved full independence as a [[Commonwealth realm]] within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] on 10 July 1973. [[Sir Milo Butler]] was appointed the first [[Governor-General of the Bahamas]] (the official representative of [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]) shortly after independence. Pindling was prime minister until 1992. He was succeeded by [[Hubert Ingraham]], leader of the [[Free National Movement]], who was prime minister until 2002.

The College of the Bahamas was founded in 1974 and provided the nation's higher or tertiary education. The college was chartered in 2016 as the [[University of the Bahamas]], offering baccalaureate, masters and associate degrees, on three campuses and teaching and research centres throughout the Bahamas.

Based on the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance, the Bahamian economy has prospered since the 1950s. However, there remain significant challenges in areas such as education, health care, housing, international narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration from Haiti.

In the 2002 Bahamian general [[2002 Bahamian general election|election]], the PLP returned to power under [[Perry Christie]].<ref name=DN>Nohlen, D. (2005), ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'' {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}</ref>{{rp|p.82}} Ingraham returned to power from 2007 to 2012, followed by Christie again from 2012 to 2017. With economic growth faltering, Bahamians re-elected the FNM in 2017, with [[Hubert Minnis]] becoming the fourth prime minister.<ref name="Britannica, Bahamas">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/the-Bahamas|title=Encyclopedia Britannica – The Bahamas|access-date= 22 July 2019}}</ref>

In September 2019, [[Hurricane Dorian]] struck the [[Abaco Islands]] and [[Grand Bahama]] at [[Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5|Category 5]] intensity, devastating the northwestern Bahamas. The storm inflicted at least [[United States dollar|US$]]7 billion in damages and killed more than 50 people,<ref name="Bahamas damage">{{Cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2019/09/05/hurricane-dorian-causes-7b-in-property-damage-to-bahamas/|title=Hurricane Dorian causes $7B in property damage to Bahamas|last=Fitz-Gibbon|first=Jorge|date=5 September 2019|access-date=5 September 2019|work=New York Post}}</ref><ref name="Bahamas50deaths">{{cite news |last1=Stelloh |first1=Tim |title=Hurricane Dorian grows deadlier as more fatalities confirmed in Bahamas |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hurricane-dorian-grows-deadlier-more-fatalities-confirmed-bahamas-n1051766 |access-date=10 September 2019 |work=NBC News |date=9 September 2019}}</ref> with 1,300 people still missing.<ref name="missing in Bahamas">{{cite web |last1=Karimi |first1=Faith |last2=Thornton |first2=Chandler |title=1,300 people are listed as missing nearly 2 weeks after Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/12/americas/bahamas-dorian-thousands-missing-thursday/index.html |website=CNN |date=12 September 2019 |access-date=13 September 2019}}</ref>

In September 2021, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis  lost in a snap [[2021 Bahamian general election|election]] as the economy struggles to recover from its deepest crash since at least 1971.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-16/bahamas-votes-in-knife-edge-election-after-16-economic-crash |work=www.bloomberg.com |date=17 September 2021}}</ref> Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won 32 of the 39 seats in the House of Assembly. Free National Movement (FNM), led by Minnis,  took the remaining seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bahamas Election 2021: PLP election victory confirmed {{!}} Loop Caribbean News |url=https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/bahamas-election-2021-plp-election-victory-confirmed |work=Loop News |date=20 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref> On 17 September 2021, the leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) [[Philip Davis (Bahamian politician)|Phillip “Brave” Davis]] was sworn in as the new [[Prime Minister of the Bahamas]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McLeod |first1=Sheri-Kae |title=Phillip Davis Sworn in as Prime Minister of Bahamas |url=https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/phillip-davis-sworn-in-as-prime-minister-of-bahamas/ |work=Caribbean News |date=17 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>