Question about my family history

Question

if someone was born in the bahamas and since the carribban is part of the bahamas is that person considered spanish even if that person's ethicity is black/african decent???

Answer 1

Bahamians have a British cultural tradition, like Jamaicans, Barbadians, etc. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, an independent country,  is part of the British Commonwealth and their National Anthem is "God Save the Queen."  (They recognize Elizabeth II as head of state.)

So far as any Spanish influence...: though Christopher Columbus claimed the Bahamas for Spain in 1493, the Spanish made no efforts toward settling the area.  British colonization of the Bahamas began in 1629. The country has been independent from Great Britain since 1973.

Answer 2

Usually things such as this are left open to how the person identifies.  I say this because when I worked as an investigator investigating discrimination cases, people had to differentiate how they felt they were being discriminated against. For example there was a woman who was Black and Puerto Rican.  I had to ascertain if she was an African women born in Puerto Rico or if she felt she was Puerto Rican and happened to be African-American.

So its a toss-up, hope this helps

Answer 3

The Bahamas are part of the Caribbean, not the other way around.

And no, someone born of African descent would not be considered Spanish. People of African descent born in Alaska aren't Eskimos, either. Huguenots born in Peking are not Chinese. Cherokees born in Paris while their parents are on vacation aren't French.

Answer 4

Where the Bahamas is located is just a physical factor.  What matters for ethicity is the location where the ANCESTORS came from.

In other words... if the ancestors came from Spain.. the person has Spanish ancestry. If the ancestors came from  African, then it is of African ancestry.  If some came from BOTH locations, it is mixed.

The Bahamas just happens to be a place where the ancestors finally wound up. Spain was the country that had ownership (at one time) but that is simply political... not ancestral.

edit  My bad... Bahamas was under British rule.  Need more coffee today.