Barbados is an island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, about one hundred miles (160 km) east of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The island is sometimes compared to a pear or leg of mutton for its physical shape, and it is measured at about twenty miles (32 km) from northwest to southeast and about fifteen miles (25 km) from east to west at its widest point. The capital and largest town is Bridgetown, which is also the main seaport.
When the British first settled in Barbados in 1627, it was uninhabited. Enslaved Africans worked the sugar plantations established on the island, which initially dominated the Caribbean sugar industry. By 1720, the Leeward Islands and Jamaica surpassed Barbados, once a dominant force within the sugar industry. However, the island’s resilience shone through as it adapted to the changing economic landscape. Slavery was abolished in 1834, yet the Barbadian economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through the 20th century, a testament to the island’s ability to overcome challenges.
The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. Barbados’s geographic position has profoundly influenced its history, culture, and economic life. Although it is usually grouped with the nearby archipelago of the Lesser Antilles, Barbados is not part of it.
The island has a different geologic formation, is less mountainous, and has less plant and animal life variety. As the first Caribbean landfall from Europe and Africa, Barbados has functioned since the late 17th century as a significant link between western Europe (Great Britain), eastern Caribbean territories, and parts of the South American mainland.
Barbados was a British possession from the 17th century until it attained independence in 1966, it has a culture that is a unique blend of British and African influences. Its long association with Britain has left a distinct British imprint on its culture, making it more British than any other Caribbean island. However, elements of the African culture of the majority population have also been prominent, creating a fascinating cultural tapestry. Since independence, cultural nationalism has been fostered as part of nation-building, further enriching this unique blend.
Barbados became a republic in 2021, with the former Governor-General Sandra MASON elected the first president.
