North America
Barbados
Barbados is the easternmost island in the Lesser Antilles group. It is made up of more than 700 islands, islets and cays (islands on coral reefs). Although Barbados is at maximum 34 kilometres (21 miles) long and 23 kilometres (14 miles) wide, it is home to over 280,000 people, making it one of the world’s most densely populated countries. The coast is fringed with white, sandy beaches and tropical lowlands. Inland, the land rises gently to a rocky central ridge. Offshore, the island is surrounded by coral reefs. Barbados has a hot, tropical climate, with an especially wet season between June and November.
People
Barbados is the most developed island nation in the Caribbean. For centuries, the country was a major exporter of raw sugar. Its present-day population is largely made up of Africans whose enslaved ancestors worked on the island’s sugar plantations. Other Barbadians—often known as Bajans—include immigrants of Indian orgin from Guyana and "White Bajans" from the British Isles. Although English is the official language, most Barbadians speak Bajan Creole in day-to-day life. The language which has its roots in both English and West African languages.
Economy
Today, tourism has become the leading industry: around three-quarters of Barbadians work in services, many of them linked to tourism.
The capital of Barbados, Bridgetown, is home to just under half of the entire population. Many foreign companies have set up branches in Bridgetown, attracted by Barbados’ generous tax laws. Some are banks and insurance firms; others are manufacturing companies who run assembly plants in the city, hiring workers to make electronic goods and clothing.
Consultant: Nicholas Harris
Facts about Barbados
Population 281,998 (2023 estimate)
Area 430 sq km
Highest Point Mount Hillaby 336 m (1102 ft)
Capital Bridgetown, population 98,511
Language English, Bajan Creole
Religions Christian (Protestant) 66%, Christian (Roman Catholic) 4%, others and none 30%
Ethnicity black African/Caribbean 92.4%, white 2.7%, mixed 3.1% East Indian 1.3%, others 0.4%
Currency Barbadian dollar (BBD)
Chief exports medicines, cosmetics, sugar and molasses, rum, chemicals, electrical components
History of Barbados
13th century
Amerindian peoples, including the Arawaks and Caribs, live on the island
1536
Portuguese explorer Pedro a Campos visits the island and names it Os Barbados, meaning "bearded ones"
1540s
Barbados is believed uninhabited, following frequent slave-raiding missions in the early 16th century by the Spanish Empire which cause a sharp decline in the Amerindian population
1627
English settlers, led by Captain Henry Powell, set up sugar plantations on Barbados and bring Africans to work on them as slaves
1650s
Thousands of Irish labourers and servants are forcibly sent to Barbados as convicts following the English invasion of Ireland under Cromwell
1663
Barbados becomes part of the British Empire
1780
Enormous hurricane strikes Barbados, destroying most buildings and killing 4500 people
1816
Slaves revolt in "Bussa's Rebellion", named after Bussa, one of its organizers. British forces suppress the revolt and hundreds of the rebels are executed
1834
Slavery is abolished; 83,000 slaves are freed
1854
An outbreak of cholera kills over 20,000 people
1876
Britain proposes a union between Barbados and the Windward Islands, triggering violent riots in Barbados
1966
Barbados becomes independent with Errol Barrow as prime minister
1967
Barbados joins the United Nations
2018
Mia Mottley becomes prime minister, the first woman to hold the position
2020
Barbados announces its intention to remove Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and become a republic
2021
Dame Sandra Mason is elected president as Barbados becomes a republic (November) within the Commonwealth