Barbados Island

Barbados is the most easterly of the Caribbean islands and home to about 254,000 people. It is only 21 miles long by 14 miles wide, surrounded by coral reefs and white sandy beaches. The island is made of limestone and coral, brought to the surface when the earth's plates collided around one million years ago. Many buildings are built with limestone.

Because of its location and orientation, Barbados enjoys a warm climate that stays between 75 and 90 degrees year-round. The west and south coasts are bordered by beaches of the Caribbean while the east has rugged cliffs on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Bridgetown. Barbados was named by the Portugese who arrived in 1536 to leave hogs as food for future voyages. The word means "the bearded ones" and refers to the now rare bearded fig trees that once covered the island.

Barbados' first inhabitants were Arawak Amerindians from the Orinoco river area of Venezuela who arrived around 1625 BC. Arawak is the native word for cassava-eater, a root vegetable important in their diet. Arawaks were coastal fishers and farmers with settlements in what are now Bridgetown, Heywoods and Chancery Lane.

The more warrior-like Carib Indians overtook the Arawaks around 1200 AD. The Carib's control lasted for nearly 300 years until the Spanish conquered them in 1492. However, the Spanish soon departed to colonize larger Caribbean islands.

The British ship, "Olive Blossom" arrived May 14th, 1625. Two years later, Captain John Powell returned with 80 settlers and 10 slaves to establish an English settlement at Jamestown, now Holetown.

The settlers deforested the land and cultivated tobacco and cotton, brought from Guyana. Sugar-cane was introduced in 1637, beginning nearly 90 years of Barbadian dominance in the sugar industry. West-African slaves and indentured servants from England worked the fields and processed the cane. The British Parliament abolished the slave trade in 1807 but emancipation did not mean real freedom for the slaves and they revolted in 1816. The militia killed hundreds, including their leader, Bussa. The bloody insurrection caused the Barbadian House of Assembly to finally abolish the slave laws in 1834.

Barbados was under British rule until 1966, when it gained full independence. The late leader of the Democratic Labour Party, Errol Walton Barrow, was responsible for drafting the new constitution. Barbados still maintains ties with England with membership in the Commonwealth and its Governor General.

Nearly half a million people visit Barbados each year. One of the most famous historical figures was George Washington who took his ill half-brother here to recuperate in 1751.