Independence Day in 2025

When is Bahamas Independence Day?

Bahamian Independence Day is celebrated on July 10th.

If July 10th falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be a public holiday.

This public holiday marks independence from the United Kingdom in 1973 and is the National Day of The Bahamas.

History of Bahamas Independence Day

Though there is some dispute as to the actual location, The Bahamas is the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492.

The Bahamas became a British Crown colony in 1718 as a result of the British trying to suppress piracy in the region. Following the American war of independence, many British loyalists moved to The Bahamas, bolstering its British connections.

Moves toward independence didn't start until after the end of the second world war, with local political parties only forming in the 1950s. A new constitution giving more local autonomy came into effect in 1964. In 1967, The Bahamas achieved majority rule for the first time.

The British House of Lords voted to give The Bahamas its independence on 22 June 1973.

On July 10th 1973, The Bahamas was officially declared an independent nation when the documents relating to independence were delivered to Prime Minister Lynden Pindling by Prince Charles.

The Bahamas joined the Commonwealth of Nations on July 10th 1973.