BAHAMAS ( Commonwealth of The Bahamas )

The Bahamas, known officially as the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country within the Lucayan Archipelago in the West Indies. It is a member of the Commonwealth Realms under the monarchy of Queen Elizabeth II. The archipelagic state consists of fewer than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and Hispaniola Island (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the US 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 km² (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.

The Bahamas were inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taíno people, for many centuries. Columbus was the first European to see the islands, making his first landfall in the 'New World' in 1492. Later, the Spanish shipped the native Lucayans to slavery on Hispaniola, after which the Bahama islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera. 

The Bahamas gained governmental independence in 1973 led by Sir Lynden O. Pindling, with Elizabeth II as its queen.  In terms of gross domestic product per capita, The Bahamas is one of the richest countries in the Americas (following the United States and Canada), with an economy based on tourism and offshore finance. The name Bahamas is most likely derived from either the Taíno ba ha ma ("big upper middle land"), which was a term for the region used by the indigenous people, or possibly from the Spanish baja mar ("shallow water or sea" or "low tide") reflecting the shallow waters of the area. Alternatively, it may originate from Guanahani, a local name of unclear meaning. The word The constitutes an integral part of the short form of the name and is, therefore, capitalised, The Constitution of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the country's fundamental law, capitalises the "T" in "The Bahamas".

The postal history of the Bahamas begins in the 18th century, with the earliest known letters dating from the 1760s. In 1804 a straight-line "BAHAMAS" handstamp came into use. The Royal Mail Line initiated a regular mail service in 1841, and from 1846 used a "Crown Paid" handstamp along with a dated postmark for New Providence. The use of postage stamps began in April 1858 with a consignment of British stamps. These were cancelled "A05" at Nassau. The use of British stamps was brief however; in the following year the Bahamian post office became independent of London, and issued its own stamps beginning 10 June 1859. These stamps featured the "Chalon" portrait of Queen Victoria, along with symbols of the islands (pineapple and conch shell) and the inscription "INTERINSULAR POSTAGE", because at first the stamps were used only locally, with London continuing in charge of external mail until May 1860. The years from 1902 into the 1930s involved the usual profiles of Edward VII and George V. From the 1970s on, the Bahamas issued an assortment of large and colorful stamps aimed at collectors, though not in great numbers.

Registered airmail cover from Bahamas, I was eagerly looking for the barcode label of Bahamas, because they use an extra blue label with Bahamas post logo along with barcode label affixed the envelope. The cover sent on June 29, 2015 and I received on July 18, 2015. Bahamas not issuing many stamps , still their stamps are looks beautiful.

I was in a doubt when sending covers to Bahamas , because many philatelists shared their unsatisfactory experience with Bahamas Post,  especially about the high risk of loss of letters. Still I decided to try my luck. But the result was perfect, all the envelopes back to me with perfect postmarks and as registered mail.The covers posted on 29 June 2015, received on July 20, 2015.