<P> Recorded history began on 12 October 1492 , when Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Guanahani , which he renamed San Salvador Island on his first voyage to the New World . The earliest permanent European settlement was in 1648 on Eleuthera . During the 18th century slave trade , many Africans were brought to the Bahamas as labourers . Their descendants now constitute 85 % of the Bahamian population . The Bahamas gained independence from the United Kingdom on July 10 , 1973 . </P>
<P> Recorded history began on 12 October 1492 , when Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Guanahani , which he renamed San Salvador Island on his first voyage to the New World . The earliest permanent European settlement was in 1648 on Eleuthera . During the 18th century slave trade , many Africans were brought to the Bahamas as labourers . Their descendants now constitute 85 % of the Bahamian population . The Bahamas gained independence from the United Kingdom on July 10 , 1973 . </P>
who discovered some islands in the bahamas in 1492
who discovered some islands in the bahamas in 1492
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus