Barbadian History

The first people to reach Barbados are believed to have been farmers and fishermen who arrived by canoe from South America, in approximately 350 AD. There are also known to have been at least two other subsequent waves of immigration from South America prior to the arrival of Europeans: Arawak people from at approximately 800 AD, and Caribs at around 1200 AD.

The first Europeans to reach the island were the Portuguese, who gave Barbados its name, which means "island of the bearded ones" - although it is not known whether "bearded" referred to island's inhabitants or some aspect of the natural landscape. The Portuguese soon conquered the islands, enslaved the indigenous people, and deported them to work on plantations in other Portuguese colonies.

The first English landing in Barbados took place in 1620, when Captain Cataline made a brief stop to collect water. A permanent landing followed in 1625, led by Captain Henry Powell of the ship Olive Blossom, in the area that is today Holetown. When the English arrived in Barbados, there were no indigenous inhabitants left on the islands, and little trace of them either. One of the few signs that the islands hand been inhabited before was a wooden bridge (which became known as "Indian Bridge"), at the site of what has subsequently become Bridgetown.

For the nearly 350 years, Barbados remained a British colony, finally gaining its independence on November 30th 1966. Barbados remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, although there are proposals to make the country into a republic. Barbados is also a founding member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Here are some books about the history of Barbados:

Note: Our company does NOT provide travel, vacation, hotel, car rental services or associated products or services. Any links (including but not limited to banners, text links, or search forms) to such items on this web site are adverts from third parties. Sorry we can NOT answer questions about these types of products or services.

Unless specifically noted on the page in question, our company is NOT associated with attractions or places of interest that may be described on this website. In such cases, we have often provided links to the official sites where possible, or other third party sites containing useful information, purely as a courtesy and for informational purposes only.

All information about attractions, places of interest, travel destinations, travel services, etc., was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared, but may be change at any time. Readers are advised to check with their travel agent, travel provider, or the attraction operator, for current information.

Copyright © 2007-2024, Answers 2000 Limited

CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE,COMES FROM AMAZON EU S.à r.l. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.

Disclosure: Our company's websites' content (including this website's content) includes advertisements for our own company's websites, products, and services, and for other organization's websites, products, and services. In the case of links to other organization's websites, our company may receive a payment, (1) if you purchase products or services, or (2) if you sign-up for third party offers, after following links from this website. Unless specifically otherwise stated, information about other organization's products and services, is based on information provided by that organization, the product/service vendor, and/or publicly available information - and should not be taken to mean that we have used the product/service in question. Additionally, our company's websites contain some adverts which we are paid to display, but whose content is not selected by us, such as Google AdSense ads. For more detailed information, please see Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures

In Association With Amazon.com
Answers 2000 Limited is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
In Association With Amazon.co.uk
Answers 2000 Limited is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.
As an Amazon Associate, our company earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon, the Amazon logo, Endless, and the Endless logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Our sites use cookies, some of which may already be set on your computer. Use of our site constitutes consent for this. For details, please see Privacy.

Click privacy for information about our company's privacy, data collection and data retention policies, and your rights.

Contact Us Privacy Terms of Use Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures