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85-756: Dr. John W. Harris, a Wofford College professor, founded the National Honorary Beta Club as a co-educational high school academic honors program. His idea was to created an organization like Phi Beta Kappa, Kiwanis, and Rotary for high school students. With the permission of principals and superintendents, Harris presented his plan to local high school literary societies and their sponsors. Its charter members were twelve students were initiated in December 1932 at Clover High School in Clover, South Carolina . Its charter members included: The National Honorary Beta Club

170-652: A disaffected faction of the PLP to form a new party, the Free National Movement (FNM), a centre-right party which aimed to counter the growing power of Pindling's PLP. The United Kingdom Government gave the Bahamas its independence by an Order in Council dated 20 June 1973. The Order came into force on 10 July 1973, on which date Prince Charles delivered the official documents to Prime Minister Lynden Pindling . This date

255-565: A local name of unclear meaning. First attested on the c. 1523 Turin Map, Bahama originally referred to Grand Bahama alone but was used inclusively in English by 1670. Toponymist Isaac Taylor argues that the name was derived from Bimani ( Bimini ), which Spaniards in Haiti identified with Palombe , a legendary place where John Mandeville 's Travels said there was a fountain of youth . The Bahamas

340-510: A political force in the capital. European Americans were outnumbered by the African-American slaves they brought with them, and ethnic Europeans remained a minority in the territory. The Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished slave trading to British possessions, including the Bahamas. The United Kingdom pressured other slave-trading countries to also abolish slave-trading, and gave the Royal Navy

425-428: A self-contained environment (93% of students live on campus). The Village apartment-style housing for the senior class was a 2008 "Dorm of Distinction" as chosen by University Business Magazine . Students participate in various service, pre-professional, religious, social, and other student organizations. Student publications at the college started with a literary magazine first published in 1889. The student newspaper,

510-481: A total land area of 10,010 km (3,860 sq mi). Nassau , capital city of the Bahamas, lies on the island of New Providence ; the other main inhabited islands are Grand Bahama , Eleuthera , Cat Island , Rum Cay , Long Island , San Salvador Island , Ragged Island , Acklins , Crooked Island , Exuma , Berry Islands , Mayaguana , the Bimini islands, Great Abaco and Great Inagua . The largest island

595-554: A variety of areas including 27 majors. The college also offers pre-professional programs in teacher education (secondary certification), dentistry, medicine, law, ministry, engineering, and veterinary science. The college's Army ROTC program was established in 1919. The Interim program is designed to provide students with opportunities to gain new experiences outside the realm of traditional academics and allows students to become involved in departments outside their academic majors. Interims generally fall into one of four categories. In

680-661: A variety of student service organizations on campus, including the Bonner Scholars, and ONE. Around half the student body is said to participate in Greek life. In each of the years from 1901 through 1904, two women graduated from Wofford. In 1964, Wofford became the first private college in South Carolina to desegregate voluntarily with the admission of Albert Gray. The Bahamas The Bahamas ( / b ə ˈ h ɑː m ə z / bə- HAH -məz ), officially

765-496: Is Andros . All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft). The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia (formerly Como Hill) on Cat Island at 64 m (210 ft). The country contains three terrestrial ecoregions: Bahamian dry forests , Bahamian pine mosaic , and Bahamian mangroves . It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.35/10, ranking it 44th globally out of 172 countries. In

850-511: Is a national arboretum . Wofford was founded with a bequest of $ 100,000 from Benjamin Wofford , a Methodist minister and Spartanburg native who sought to create a college for "literary, classical, and scientific education in my native district of Spartanburg." The college's Main Building is the oldest structure on campus and was designed by the noted Charleston architect Edward C. Jones . In 1941,

935-557: Is derived from the Lucayan name Bahama ('large upper middle island'), used by the Indigenous Taíno people for the island of Grand Bahama . Tourist guides often state that the name comes from the Spanish baja mar ('shallow sea'). Wolfgang Ahrens of York University argues that this is a folk etymology . Alternatively, Bahama may have been derived from Guanahaní ,

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1020-581: Is now celebrated as the country's Independence Day . It joined the Commonwealth of Nations on the same day. Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first governor-general of the Bahamas (the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II ) shortly after independence. Shortly after independence, the Bahamas joined the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on 22 August 1973, and later

1105-526: Is one of only two countries whose official names start with the article "the"—the other being The Gambia . The usage likely arose because the name also refers to the islands, a geographical feature that would take a definite article. The first inhabitants of the Bahamas were the Taíno people, who moved into the uninhabited southern islands from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 800s–1000s AD, having migrated there from mainland South America ; they came to be known as

1190-812: Is part of the Lucayan Archipelago , which continues into the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Mouchoir Bank , the Silver Bank , and the Navidad Bank . The Bahamas Platform, which includes the Bahamas, Southern Florida, Northern Cuba, the Turks and Caicos, and the Blake Plateau , formed about 150 Ma , not long after the formation of the North Atlantic. The 6.4 km (4.0 mi) thick limestones , which predominate in

1275-597: Is the Terrier . In the 2010 NCAA Division I graduation success report, 9 of 13 Wofford teams posted GRS scores of 100, the highest available mark. For the past 16 years, the Carolina Panthers have made their summer training camp home at Wofford. The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas (a high school all-star football game) is played at Wofford's Gibbs Stadium. Boss, a Boston Terrier , is the mascot for Wofford's teams. Wofford offers

1360-470: Is the modern-day Bahamas, lies at the northern part of the Greater Antilles region and was believed to have been formed 200 million years ago when they began to separate from the supercontinent Pangaea . The Pleistocene Ice Age around 3 million years ago, had a profound impact on the archipelago's formation. The Bahamas consists of a chain of islands spread out over some 800 km (500 mi) in

1445-552: Is the most widespread. The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy , with King of the Bahamas Charles III as head of state represented locally by a governor-general . Political and legal traditions closely follow those of England and the Westminster system . The Bahamas is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and shares its head of state with some other Commonwealth realms . The prime minister

1530-650: The Enterprise , which went into Bermuda in 1835; and 38 from the Hermosa , which wrecked off Abaco Island in 1840. The most notable case was that of the Creole in 1841: as a result of a slave revolt on board, the leaders ordered the US brig to Nassau. It was carrying 135 slaves from Virginia destined for sale in New Orleans . The Bahamian officials freed the 128 slaves who chose to stay in

1615-542: The Bimini Road ("pavements of Atlantis"), limestone crust , caves due to the lack of rivers, and sea caves . Several blue holes are aligned along the South Andros Fault line. Tidal flats and tidal creeks are common, but the more impressive drainage patterns are formed by troughs and canyons such as Great Bahama Canyon with the evidence of turbidity currents and turbidite deposition. The stratigraphy of

1700-551: The Carolinas in North America. They rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing governors , and administering the country from their base on New Providence. Piracy and attacks from hostile foreign powers were a constant threat. In 1684, Spanish corsair Juan de Alcon raided the capital Charles Town (later renamed Nassau ), and in 1703, a joint Franco-Spanish expedition briefly occupied Nassau during

1785-670: The Commonwealth of The Bahamas , is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean . It contains 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and 88% of its population. The archipelagic country consists of more than 3,000 islands, cays , and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola (split between the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and

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1870-515: The Confederate States . The early decades of the 20th century were ones of hardship for many Bahamians, characterised by a stagnant economy and widespread poverty. Many eked out a living via subsistence agriculture or fishing. In August 1940, the Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII) was appointed Governor of the Bahamas . He arrived in the colony with his wife . Although disheartened at

1955-564: The Cretaceous period, and perhaps as early as the Jurassic ; today the total thickness under the Great Bahama Bank is over 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles). As the limestone was deposited in shallow water, the only way to explain this massive column is to estimate that the entire platform has subsided under its own weight at a rate of roughly 3.6 centimetres (2 inches) per 1,000 years. The Bahamas

2040-641: The Eleutheran Adventurers , settled on the island of Eleuthera . The Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy . After the American Revolutionary War , the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists to the Bahamas; they took enslaved people with them and established plantations on land grants. Enslaved Africans and their descendants constituted

2125-638: The Gulf Stream . This resulted in the drowning of the Blake Plateau, the separation of the Bahamas from Cuba and Florida, the separation of the southeastern Bahamas into separate banks, the creation of the Cay Sal Bank , plus the Little and Great Bahama Banks . Sedimentation from the "carbonate factory" of each bank, or atoll , continues today at the rate of about 20 mm (0.79 in) per kyr . Coral reefs form

2210-504: The Lucayan people . An estimated 30,000 Lucayans inhabited the Bahamas at the time of Christopher Columbus ' arrival in 1492. Columbus' first landfall in what was to Europeans a "New World" was on an island he named San Salvador (known to the Lucayans as Guanahani ). While there is a general consensus that this island lay within the Bahamas, precisely which island Columbus landed on is a matter of scholarly debate. Some researchers believe

2295-612: The Old Gold and Black , is published every other week; the yearbook is called The Bohemian . Delta Phi Alpha , the national collegiate German honorary society, was founded at Wofford, as was the National Beta Club, an honorary society prominent in American high schools. In 1941, the college was awarded a chapter of the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa . This was the first chapter at a private college in South Carolina. Wofford has

2380-709: The Spanish attacked Nassau during the War of the Quadruple Alliance . In 1729, a local assembly was established giving a degree of self-governance for British settlers. The reforms had been planned by the previous Governor George Phenney and authorised in July 1728. During the American War of Independence in the late 18th century, the islands became a target for US naval forces. Under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins , US Marines ,

2465-662: The Turks and Caicos Islands , southeast of the U.S. state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys . The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence . The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes the Bahamas' territory as encompassing 470,000 km (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space. The Bahama islands were inhabited by the Arawak and Lucayans , a branch of the Arawakan - speaking Taíno , for many centuries. Christopher Columbus

2550-775: The United Bahamian Party (UBP) representing the English-descended Bahamians (known informally as the "Bay Street Boys") and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) representing the Black-Bahamian majority. In 1958, the first marine protected area in the Bahamas, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was established. A new constitution granting the Bahamas internal autonomy went into effect on 7 January 1964, with Chief Minister Sir Roland Symonette of

2635-562: The United Nations on 18 September 1973. Politically, the first two decades were dominated by Pindling's PLP, who went on to win a string of electoral victories. Allegations of corruption, links with drug cartels and financial malfeasance within the Bahamian government failed to dent Pindling's popularity. Meanwhile, the economy underwent a dramatic growth period fuelled by the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance , significantly raising

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2720-685: The Virgin Islands . In 2024, it had chartered 9,600 clubs in the United States and internationally. Wofford College Wofford College is a private residential liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina , United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still operates on its original campus. The 175-acre (71 ha) campus

2805-545: The War of the Spanish Succession . During proprietary rule, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates , including Blackbeard ( circa 1680–1718). To put an end to the " Pirates' republic " and restore orderly government, Britain made the Bahamas a crown colony in 1718, which they dubbed "the Bahama islands" under the governorship of Woodes Rogers . After a difficult struggle, he succeeded in suppressing piracy. In 1720,

2890-554: The standard of living on the islands. The Bahamas' booming economy led to it becoming a beacon for immigrants, most notably from Haiti . In 1992 , Pindling was unseated by Hubert Ingraham of the FNM. Ingraham went on to win the 1997 Bahamian general election , before being defeated in 2002 , when the PLP returned to power under Perry Christie . Ingraham returned to power from 2007 to 2012, followed by Christie again from 2012 to 2017. With economic growth faltering, Bahamians re-elected

2975-470: The "retaining walls" of these atolls, within which oolites and pellets form. Coral growth was greater through the Tertiary , until the start of the ice ages , and hence those deposits are more abundant below a depth of 36 m (118 ft). In fact, an ancient extinct reef exists half a kilometre seaward of the present one, 30 m (98 ft) below sea level. Oolites form when oceanic water penetrate

3060-547: The Atlantic Ocean, located to the east of Florida in the United States, north of Cuba and Hispaniola and west of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands (with which it forms the Lucayan archipelago ). It lies between latitudes 20° and 28°N , and longitudes 72° and 80°W and straddles the Tropic of Cancer . There are some 700 islands and 2,400 cays in total (of which 30 are inhabited) with

3145-446: The Bahamas forest cover is around 51% of the total land area, equivalent to 509,860 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 509,860 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 0 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 0% of

3230-405: The Bahamas a warm and winterless climate. As with most tropical climates, seasonal rainfall follows the sun, and summer is the wettest season. There is only a 7 °C (13 °F) difference between the warmest month and coolest month in most of the Bahama islands. Every few decades low temperatures can fall below 10 °C (50 °F) for a few hours when a severe cold outbreak comes down from

3315-462: The Bahamas from Florida. Bahamians were even known to recognise the freedom of enslaved people carried by the ships of other nations which reached the Bahamas. Today Black Bahamians make up 90% of the population of 400,516. The country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1973, led by Sir Lynden O. Pindling . It shares its monarch with the other Commonwealth realms . The Bahamas has

3400-516: The Bahamas from outside the British West Indies would be manumitted." This led to a total of nearly 300 enslaved people owned by US nationals being freed from 1830 to 1835. The American slave ships Comet and Encomium used in the United States domestic coastwise slave trade , were wrecked off Abaco Island in December 1830 and February 1834, respectively. When wreckers took the masters, passengers and slaves into Nassau, customs officers seized

3485-479: The Bahamas, date back to the Cretaceous . These limestones would have been deposited in shallow seas, assumed to be a stretched and thinned portion of the North American continental crust . Sediments were forming at about the same rate as the crust below was sinking due to the added weight. Thus, the entire area consisted of a large marine plain with some islands. Then, at about 80 Ma, the area became flooded by

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3570-510: The Bahamas, including 2,000 from New York and at least 1,033 Europeans, 2,214 African descendants, and a few Native American Creeks from East Florida . Most of the refugees resettled from New York had fled from other colonies, including West Florida , which the Spanish captured during the war. The government granted land to the planters to help compensate for losses on the continent. These Loyalists, who included Deveaux and also Lord Dunmore , established plantations on several islands and became

3655-543: The Elementary, Junior, and Senior levels. State conventions are held for member and sponsors in eighteen states.At the conventions, members participate in various academic and talent competitions, including academic tests, performing arts, S.T.E.M. competitions, and visual arts, As of 2005, the National Beta Club has clubs or chapters across the United States and in The Bahamas , Germany , Guam , Puerto Rico , Russia , and

3740-499: The FNM in 2017, with Hubert Minnis becoming the fourth prime minister. In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian struck the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama at Category 5 intensity, devastating the northwestern Bahamas. The storm inflicted at least US$ 7 billion in damages and killed more than 50 people, with 1,300 people missing after two weeks. The COVID-19 pandemic reached the Bahamas on 15 March 2020. In September 2021,

3825-543: The Lewisville High School, and the Woodleaf High School in North Carolina in October 1934, followed by Cary High School and Granite Quarry High School in December 1934. The first club in Georgia was formed at Royston High School in November 1934. Each club had a teacher who serves as its sponsor. Members recruited from the junior and senior classes for outstanding scholarship and good character. The National Beta Club held its first convention in May 1934 in Spartanburg, South Carolina . Its student magazine, The Beta Journal ,

3910-408: The Main Building began in 1852, and the first classes were held in the fall of 1854. The Wofford campus is designated as a national arboretum. During the Civil War , the endowment was invested in Confederate bonds and other securities, which became worthless by the end of the war. In February 2021, Jerry Richardson , alumnus and founding owner of the Carolina Panthers , donated $ 150 million to

3995-433: The National Beta Club awards over $ 300,000 in scholarships to more than 250 twelfth-grade Senior Beta Members. The scholarship are supported in part by donations from corporations and philanthropists. It also present various awards to clubs, alumni, and sponsors. At the local level, clubs participate in community service and celebrate National Beta Week and Founders Day. The Beta Club hosts national conventions each summer for

4080-445: The North American mainland, however there has never been a frost or freeze recorded in the Bahamian Islands. Only once in recorded history has snow been seen in the air anywhere in the Bahamas. This occurred in Freeport on 19 January 1977, when snow mixed with rain was seen in the air for a short time. The Bahamas are often sunny and dry for long periods, and average more than 3,000 hours or 340 days of sunlight annually. Much of

4165-456: The Taíno died from smallpox alone. As a result of these depredations the population of the Bahamas was severely diminished. The English had expressed an interest in the Bahamas as early as 1629. However, it was not until 1648 that the first English settlers arrived on the islands. Known as the Eleutherian Adventurers and led by William Sayle , they migrated from Bermuda seeking greater religious freedom. These English Puritans established

4250-403: The UBP becoming the first Premier. In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the PLP became the first black Premier of the Bahamian colony; in 1968, the title of the position was changed to Prime Minister . In 1968, Pindling announced that the Bahamas would seek full independence. A new constitution giving the Bahamas increased control over its own affairs was adopted in 1968. In 1971, the UBP merged with

4335-425: The US Navy occupied Nassau in 1776, before being evacuated a few days later. In 1782 a Spanish fleet appeared off the coast of Nassau, and the city surrendered without a fight . Later, in April 1783, on a visit made by Prince William of the United Kingdom (later to become King William IV ) to Luis de Unzaga at his residence in the Captaincy General of Havana, they made prisoner exchange agreements and also dealt with

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4420-485: The United States and Beta's colors of black and gold. In 2016, Beta Club introduced J.W. the Boston Terrier , its mascot named after the honor society's founder. Its publication is The Beta Journal. The National Beta Club has three membership divisions: Traditionally, students are awarded membership based on their grades ( GPA ), or test scores and character traits. Each school chooses what items they will look at for their chapter's member qualifications. Annually,

4505-423: The United States argued that the United Kingdom should not treat its domestic ships that came to its colonial ports under duress as part of the international trade. The United States worried that the success of the Creole slaves in gaining freedom would encourage more slave revolts on merchant ships. During the American Civil War of the 1860s, the islands briefly prospered as a focus for blockade runners aiding

4590-446: The action of rainwater, called eolianite . Most islands have ridges ranging from 30 to 45 m (98 to 148 ft), though Cat Island has a ridge 60 m (200 ft) in height. The land between ridges is conducive to the formation of lakes and swamps. Solution weathering of the limestone results in a "Bahamian Karst " topography. This includes potholes , blue holes such as Dean's Blue Hole , sinkholes , beachrock such as

4675-426: The college was awarded a chapter of the honor society Phi Beta Kappa , and the Beta of South Carolina chapter was the first at a private college in South Carolina. The Wofford College Historic District consists of the Main Building, which was designed by Edward C. Jones in the Italianate style, and six two-story brick residences. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Construction of

4760-429: The college's endowment, which, according to Wofford statements, exceeds $ 400 million. The academic year consists of a four-month fall semester, a one-month January term called the Interim, and a four-month spring semester. 136 full-time faculty teach at the college, 92 percent of whom have earned a doctorate or equivalent terminal degree. The FTE faculty-to-student ratio is 1:11. Wofford offers academic majors in

4845-474: The condition of Government House, they "tried to make the best of a bad situation". He did not enjoy the position, and referred to the islands as "a third-class British colony". He opened the small local parliament on 29 October 1940. The couple visited the "Out Islands" that November, on Axel Wenner-Gren 's yacht, which caused controversy; the British Foreign Office strenuously objected because they had been advised by United States intelligence that Wenner-Gren

4930-552: The fifteen members of the pre-existing Landrum High School Literary Society. The club's sponsor was teacher Helen Prince. Other clubs established in South Carolina in 1934 include Simpsonville High School in February; Duncan High School in October; Ellen Woodside School, Elloree High School, Greer High School , Hickory Grove High School, Walhalla High School, and Woodruff High School in November; and Brookland-Cayce High School , Paris School, and Summerton High School in December. Clubs were also established at China Grove High School,

5015-408: The first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleuthera , Greek for free . They later settled New Providence , naming it Sayle's Island. Life proved harder than envisaged however, and many – including Sayle – chose to return to Bermuda. To survive, the remaining settlers salvaged goods from wrecks . In 1670, King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of

5100-411: The first time on October 27, 2017. The Elementary Beta division was launched in 2023. As of the 2023–2023 academic year, there were 509,515 active members in the Senior and Junior divisions and over 7 million alumni. The National Beta Club is the largest independent educational society for youths in the United States. Its headquarters at 151 Beta Club Way in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Harris selected

5185-464: The forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 80% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership , 20% private ownership and 0% with ownership listed as other or unknown. According to the Köppen climate classification , the climate of the Bahamas is mostly tropical savannah climate or Aw , with a hot and wet season and a warm and dry season. The low latitude, warm tropical Gulf Stream , and low elevation give

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5270-425: The fourteenth-largest gross domestic product per capita in the Americas . Its economy is based on tourism and offshore finance. Though the Bahamas is in the Lucayan Archipelago, and not on the Caribbean Sea , it is often considered part of the wider Caribbean region. The Bahamas is a full member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) but is not part of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy . The name Bahamas

5355-418: The islands consists of the Middle Pleistocene Owl's Hole Formation , overlain by the Late Pleistocene Grotto Beach Formation, and then the Holocene Rice Bay Formation. However, these units are not necessarily stacked on top of each other but can be located laterally. The oldest formation, Owl's Hole, is capped by a terra rosa paleosoil , as is the Grotto Beach, unless eroded . The Grotto Beach Formation

5440-614: The islands for the Crown of Castile , before proceeding to explore the larger isles of the Greater Antilles . The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas theoretically divided the new territories between the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal , placing the Bahamas in the Spanish sphere; however they did little to press their claim on the ground. The Spanish did however exploit the native Lucayan peoples, many of whom were enslaved and sent to Hispaniola for use as forced labour. The slaves suffered harsh conditions and most died from contracting diseases to which they had no immunity ; half of

5525-457: The islands. The Creole case has been described as the "most successful slave revolt in U.S. history". These incidents, in which a total of 447 enslaved people belonging to US nationals were freed from 1830 to 1842, increased tension between the United States and the United Kingdom . They had been co-operating in patrols to suppress the international slave trade. However, worried about the stability of its large domestic slave trade and its value,

5610-438: The majority of the population from this period on. The slave trade was abolished by the British in 1807. Although slavery in the Bahamas was not abolished until 1834, the Bahamas became a haven of manumission for African slaves, from outside the British West Indies, in 1818. Africans liberated from illegal slave ships were resettled on the islands by the Royal Navy , while some North American slaves and Seminoles escaped to

5695-421: The most common type, students enrol in faculty-proposed projects on campus. These projects range from participation in theatre to pottery, knitting, and short story writing. Students may elect to enrol in internship projects that are supervised by faculty but involve working off-campus in legal, medical, dental, congressional, corporate, or non-profit settings. Students may propose independent research projects under

5780-424: The name Beta Club because high achievers earned A or B grades; Beta was the Greek letter for B. The Beta Club's original motto was "We Lead, Others Follow. This was replaced in 1942, with "Let Us Lead By Serving Others." Its pillars are Academic Achievement, Character, Leadership, and Service. Its colors are black and gold. The member induction ceremony uses five colored candles: red, white, and blue to symbolize

5865-423: The nation's top ten in the Institute of International Education Open Doors Survey, which is based on comparing the number of students earning credits abroad in a given year to the number of students in the graduating class. Wofford's 2009 score was 93%, compared to the Lincoln Commission national average of 9% of graduates earning credits abroad. The college has had six Fulbright English Teaching assistantships in

5950-526: The natural vegetation is tropical scrub and cactus and succulents are common in landscapes. Tropical storms and hurricanes occasionally impact the Bahamas. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew passed over the northern portions of the islands, and Hurricane Floyd passed near the eastern portions of the islands in 1999. Hurricane Dorian of 2019 passed over the archipelago at destructive Category 5 strength with sustained winds of 298 km/h (185 mph) and wind gusts up to 350 km/h (220 mph), becoming

6035-419: The past four years as well as two Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships . In 2012, Rachel Woodlee was selected as Wofford's sixth Rhodes Scholar . Wofford is tied for 59 of 199 in U.S. News & World Report ' s list of the best national liberal arts colleges. The Wofford Terriers compete in NCAA Division I in the Southern Conference . Wofford's colors are old gold and black . The school mascot

6120-458: The preliminaries of the Treaty of Paris (1783) , in which the recently conquered Bahamas would be exchanged for East Florida , which would still have to conquer the city of St. Augustine, Florida in 1784 by order of Luis de Unzaga; after that, also in 1784, the Bahamas would be declared a British colony. After US independence, the British resettled some 7,300 Loyalists with their African slaves in

6205-559: The right to intercept ships carrying slaves on the high seas. Thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy were resettled in the Bahamas. In the 1820s during the period of the Seminole Wars in Florida, hundreds of North American slaves and African Seminoles escaped from Cape Florida to the Bahamas. They settled mostly on northwest Andros Island , where they developed

6290-470: The ruling Free National Movement lost to the opposition Progressive Liberal Party in a snap election , as the economy struggled to recover from its deepest crash since at least 1971. On 17 September 2021, the chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Phillip "Brave" Davis was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Bahamas to succeed Hubert Minnis. The landmass that makes up what

6375-494: The shallow banks, increasing the temperature about 3 °C (5.4 °F) and the salinity by 0.5 per cent. Cemented ooids are referred to as grapestone. Additionally, giant stromatolites are found off the Exuma Cays . Sea level changes resulted in a drop in sea level, causing wind blown oolite to form sand dunes with distinct cross-bedding . Overlapping dunes form oolitic ridges, which become rapidly lithified through

6460-448: The site to be present-day San Salvador Island (formerly known as Watling's Island), situated in the southeastern Bahamas, whilst an alternative theory holds that Columbus landed to the southeast on Samana Cay , according to calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic writer and editor Joseph Judge , based on Columbus' log. On the landfall island, Columbus made first contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with them, claiming

6545-748: The slaves and British colonial officials freed them, over the protests of the Americans. There were 165 slaves on the Comet and 48 on the Encomium . The United Kingdom finally paid an indemnity to the United States in those two cases in 1855, under the Treaty of Claims of 1853, which settled several compensation cases between the two countries. Slavery was abolished in the British Empire on 1 August 1834. After that British colonial officials freed 78 North American slaves from

6630-491: The strongest tropical cyclone on record to impact the northwestern islands of Grand Bahama and Great Abaco. It was generally believed that the Bahamas were formed approximately 200 million years ago, when Pangaea started to break apart. In current times, it endures as an archipelago containing over 700 islands and cays, fringed around different coral reefs . The limestone that comprises the Banks has been accumulating since at least

6715-601: The supervision of a faculty sponsor. Finally, faculty-led travel projects take groups of students and professors to study in other parts of the United States or in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, or Australia. Recent travel projects have included studies in England and Ireland, South Africa, Peru, Brazil, Belize, Vietnam, China, and Japan. The college's Office of International Programs helps students select from over 200 study abroad programs in 59 countries. Wofford consistently ranks in

6800-595: The village of Red Bays. From eyewitness accounts, 300 escaped in a mass flight in 1823, aided by Bahamians in 27 sloops , with others using canoes for the journey. This was commemorated in 2004 by a large sign at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park . Some of their descendants in Red Bays continue African Seminole traditions in basket making and grave marking. In 1818, the Home Office in London had ruled that "any slave brought to

6885-543: Was a "full-scale riot". Ziegler said that the Duke blamed the trouble on "mischief makers – communists " and "men of Central European Jewish descent, who had secured jobs as a pretext for obtaining a deferment of draft". The Duke resigned from the post on 16 March 1945. Modern political development began after the Second World War . The first political parties were formed in the 1950s, split broadly along ethnic lines, with

6970-655: Was a close friend of the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring of Nazi Germany. The Duke was praised at the time for his efforts to combat poverty on the islands. A 1991 biography by Philip Ziegler, however, described him as contemptuous of the Bahamians and other non-European peoples of the Empire. He was praised for his resolution of civil unrest over low wages in Nassau in June 1942, when there

7055-770: Was established in September 1934. There were 75 clubs in four states by the end of 1935. The Beta Club established a loan program that helped 1,500 members attend college before replacing the program with scholarships. In 1961, the Junior Beta Club was formed for middle school students. The first Junior Beta Club was established at Millsap Elementary in Millsap, Texas in August 1961. The Beta Club held its first national convention in June 1981 in Orlando, Florida . It celebrated Founder's Day for

7140-546: Was registered in Kentucky by J. F. Drake, B.B. Green, and W. B. Storker on December 15, 1932. The purpose of the organization was "the maintenancee of a high standard of scholarship in the classroom and installing the ideals of loyalty, courage, leadership, honesty, and integrity in the high school students." The first Beta Club chapter was established at Landrum High School in Landrum, South Carolina on January 8, 1934, by incorporating

7225-510: Was the first European to see the islands, making his first landfall in the " New World " in 1492 when he landed on the island of San Salvador . Later, the Spanish shipped the native Lucayans to Hispaniola and enslaved them there, after which the Bahama islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, as nearly all native Bahamians had been forcibly removed for enslavement or had died of diseases which Europeans had brought with them from Europe. In 1649, English colonists from Bermuda , known as

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