52 years ago today, on July 10, 1973 (June 11, 1973 lunar calendar), the Bahamas became independent. The Bahamas, the full name of the Bahamas, is located in the northernmost part of the West Indies, opposite the southeast coast of Florida, USA, on the northeast side of Cuba. It covers an area of 13,939 square kilometers. The population is 50,000 (1993), more than 80% of whom are black, and the rest are of British, Canadian, and American white descent. The official language is English. Most of the residents believe in Christianity. The capital is Nassau. The whole territory consists of more than 700 small islands. The resources are mainly oil and natural gas. Its waters are one of the important fishing grounds in the world, and Ba is one of the richest countries in the Caribbean. Tourism and finance are important sectors of the national economy. Per capita GDP is 11,500 US dollars (1993). The main export of petroleum products, fish, medicine, wine, salt, cement; import food, clothing, grains, automobiles, building materials. Air and sea transport is more developed. Columbus arrived here in 1492. It was seized by the British in 1649. In 1717 Britain declared Pakistan as its colony. In 1783 Britain and Spain signed the Treaty of Versailles and officially identified it as a British dependency. On January 7, 1964, internal self-government was implemented. On July 10, 1973, independence was declared (Independence Day, National Day) and it was a member of the Commonwealth.