Bahamas Parliament

Discovered by Columbus in 1492, the Bahamas were already regarded as British less than a hundred years later. They were included in Royal Grants in 1629, to the ‘Eleutherian Adventurers’–a company formed in London to colonize the islands–in 1647, and again in 1670 when Charles II vested the Bahamas in 6 Lords Proprietors. Their Charter provided for an elected House of Assembly, and the Constitution, much as it exists to-day, was finally settled in 1729, when the Crown assumed direct control of the Colony. The two bicameral legislatures of the Bahamas and Bermuda are the only surviving examples in the Colonies of the old representative system which existed before Crown Colony government was introduced. The lower House of the Bahamas, the House of Assembly, has 29 members elected for seven years, the normal life of the House. The franchise is limited to males, with a very low property qualification. The upper House, the Legislative Council, consists of 9 members nominated by the Crown. It was created as a separate Council by letters patent in 1841. The Bahamas have representative but not responsible government and the Governor, advised by an Executive Council, has the power of veto and the right to enact certain subsidiary legislation.[1]

Resources

See Also

• Parliament

Notes

1. Wilding, N. and Laundy, P., An Encyclopaedia of Parliament, 4th ed., London: Cassell & Company Ltd., 1972

Further Reading