The Bahamas comprises of a chain of around 700 islands to the East of Florida, 30 of which are inhabited. Granted to the Spanish by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, the first British settlers arrived in 1648, and in 1718 it became a British crown colony. After the American War of Independence, it was settled by American loyalists and their African slaves. In the nineteenth century, it became a haven for freed slaves. Achieved full independence from Britain in 1973 as a Commonwealth Realm. Current population c. 400,000.