Barbados

Barbados is an island nation located towards the east of the Caribbean Sea and in the west of the Atlantic Ocean, part of the eastern islands of the Lesser Antilles, with the nations of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines being its closest neighbors. The island is 430 km² (166 square miles), and is primarily low-lying, with some higher areas in the island's interior. It is located 13º north of the Equator and 59º west of the Prime Meridian, about 434.5 km (270 miles) northeast of Venezuela.

Barbados is predominantly composed of coral and limestone. It is tropical with constant tradewinds and contains of some marshes and mangrove swamps. Some parts of the island's interior are also dotted with large sugarcane estates and wide pastures with many good views to the sea.

Barbados

File:Barbados flag large.png 140px Flag of Barbados (In Detail) Coat of Arms (Full size)
National motto: Pride and Industry
Location of Barbados
Official language	English
Capital	Bridgetown
Queen	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Sir Clifford Husbands
Prime Minister	Owen Arthur
Area[  - Total  - % water	Ranked 181st 430 km² Negligible
Population  - Total (2002)  - Density	Ranked 171st 276,607 642/km²
Independence -Date	From the UK November 30, 1966
GDP (PPP)  - Total (2002)  - GDP/head	Ranked 170th 4,000 millions $ 14,457 $
Currency	Barbadian dollar (BBD)
Time zone	UTC -4
National anthem	In Plenty and In Time of Need
National Pledge	Barbados National Pledge
Internet TLD	.bb
Calling Code	1-246

Barbados has one of the highest standards of living and literacy rates in the world and is currently according to the UN's UNDP, the #1 developing country in the world. The island is a major tourist destination.

History

{History of Barbados}} The earliest inhabitants of Barbados were Amerindian nomads. Three waves of migrants moved north toward North America. The first wave was of the Saladoid-Barrancoid group, who were farmers, fishermen, and ceramists that arrived by canoe from South America (Venezuela's Orinoco Valley) around 350 C.E. The Arawak people were the second wave of migrants, arriving from South America around 800 C.E. Arawak settlements on the island include Stroud Point, Chandler Bay, Saint Luke's Gully, and Mapp's Cave. According to accounts by descendants of the aboriginal Arawak tribes on other local islands, the original name for Barbados was Ichirouganaim. In the 13th century, the Caribs arrived from South America in the third wave, displacing both the Arawak and the Salodoid-Barrancoid. For the next few centuries, the Caribs—like the Arawak and the Salodoid-Barrancoid—lived in isolation on the island.

The name "Barbados" comes from a Portuguese explorer named Pedro Campos in 1536, who originally called the island Os Barbados ("The Bearded Ones"), upon seeing the appearance of the island's fig trees, whose long hanging aerial roots he thought resembled beards. Between Campos' sighting in 1536 and 1550, Spanish conquistadors seized many Caribs on Barbados and used them as slave labor on plantations. Other Caribs fled the island, moving elsewhere.

British sailors who landed on Barbados in the 1620s at the site of present-day Holetown on the Caribbean coast found the island uninhabited. From the arrival of the first British settlers in 1627–1628 until independence in 1966, Barbados was under uninterrupted British control. Nevertheless, Barbados always enjoyed a large measure of local autonomy. Its House of Assembly began meeting in 1639. Among the initial important British figures was Sir William Courten.

As the sugar industry developed into the main commercial enterprise, Barbados was divided into large plantation estates which replaced the small holdings of the early British settlers. Some of the displaced farmers relocated to British colonies in North America, most notably South Carolina. To work the plantations, West Africans were transported and enslaved on Barbados and other Caribbean islands. The slave trade ceased in 1804. Thirty years later slavery was abolished in the British empire in 1834. In Barbados and the rest of the British West Indian colonies, full slavery was preceded by an apprenticeship period that lasted six years.

Local politics were dominated by plantation owners and merchants of British descent. It was not until the 1930s that a movement for political rights was begun by the descendants of emancipated slaves. One of the leaders of this movement, Sir Grantley Adams, founded the Barbados Labour Party in 1938.

Progress toward more democratic government for Barbados was made in 1951, when universal adult suffrage was introduced. This was followed by steps toward increased self-government, and in 1961, Barbados achieved internal autonomy.

From 1958 to 1962, Barbados was one of 10 members of the West Indies Federation, and Sir Grantley Adams served as its first and only prime minister. When the federation was terminated, Barbados reverted to its former status as a self-governing colony. Following several attempts to form another federation composed of Barbados and the Leeward and Windward Islands, Barbados negotiated its own independence at a constitutional conference with the United Kingdom in June 1966. After years of peaceful and democratic progress, Barbados became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations on November 30, 1966.

Politics

Queen Elizabeth II is recognized as Queen of Barbados, and thus head of state, and is represented by a Governor General. In Barbados the Queen is styled "By the Grace of God, Queen of Barbados and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth." The present government is proposing that Barbados become a republic within the Commonwealth, with a ceremonial president replacing the Queen.

Executive power however is in the hands of the prime minister and his cabinet. The prime minister is usually the leader of the winning party in the elections for the House of Assembly, the lower house of parliament, which has 28 seats. Its members are elected every five years. The Senate has 21 members, and its members are appointed by the governor general.

Barbados is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Geography

Map of Barbados

Barbados is a relatively flat island, rising gently to central highland region, the highest point being Mount Hillaby at 336 m (1,100 feet) above sea level. The island is located in a slightly eccentric position in the Atlantic Ocean compared to other Caribbean islands. The climate is tropical, with a rainy season from June to October.

Though one might assume the island deals with severe tropical storms and hurricanes during the rainy season it actually does not. The island gets brushed or hit every 3.09 years and the average number of years between direct hurricane hits is once every 26.6 years.

In the parish of Saint Michael lies Barbados' chief city Bridgetown, which is the nation's capital. Locally Bridgetown is sometimes referred to as "The City" or "B-town", and the most common reference is simply "'Town". Other towns include Holetown, in the parish of Saint James and Speightstown, in the parish of Saint Peter.

The island is 23 km (14 miles) at its widest point, and about 34 km (21 miles) long.

Economy

Historically, the economy of Barbados had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has been diversified into the manufacturing and tourism sectors. Offshore finance and information services have become increasingly important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a healthy interest into the island's light manufacturing sector. In the last ten years the Government has been seen as business-friendly and economically sound. Since the late 1990's the island has seen an increasing construction boom, the island began to see new hotels, redevelopments, new homes, office complexes, condos, and mansions being developed across the island.

The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. Unemployment has been reduced from high levels of around 14 percent in the past to under 10%.

The economy contracted in 2001 and 2002 due to slowdowns in tourism, consumer spending and the impact of the September 11, 2001 attacks, but the economy rebounded in 2003 and showed growth for 2004. Traditional trading partners include Canada, the Caribbean Community (especially Trinidad and Tobago), the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Business links and investment flows have become substantial, as of 2003 the island saw from CAN$25 Billion in investment holdings, making it one of Canada's top five destinations of Canadian foreign investment. A Canadian businessman is said to be Barbados' richest permanent resident.

In 2004 it was announced that Barbados' Kensington Oval will be one of the final venues hosting the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Transportation

Transportation on the island is good, with 'route taxis', called "ZR's" (pronounced "Zed-Rs"), traveling to most points on the island. These small buses can at times be crowded, but will usually take the more scenic routes to destinations. These buses generally depart from the capital Bridgetown or from Speightstown in the northern part of the island.

The island of Barbados has a single major airport, the Sir Grantley Adams International Airport. The airport receives daily flights by several major airlines, from points around the globe, as well as several smaller regional commercial airlines and charters. The airport serves as the main air-transportation hub for the Eastern Caribbean.

Demographics

Close to 90 percent of all Barbadians (also known colloquially as Bajan) are of African descent ("Afro-Bajans"), mostly descendants of the slave labourers on the sugar plantations. The remainder of the population includes groups of Europeans ("Anglo-Bajans" / "Euro-Bajans") sometimes more rudely called Redlegs), Asians, Bajan Hindus and Muslims, and an influential Middle Eastern ("Arab-Bajans") group mainly of Syrian and Lebanese descent.

Other groups in Barbados include people from the United States, Canada, and expatriates from Latin America. Barbadians who return from America after years of residence in the US are called "Bajan Yankees"; this term is considered derogatory by some.

The official language of Barbados is English and while most Barbadians are Protestant Christians, chiefly of the Anglican Church, there are other Protestant, Roman Catholic, Hindu and Muslim minorities. Barbados is currently a chief emigration location from the South American nation of Guyana.

Culture

The influence of the English on Barbados is more noticeable than on other islands in the West Indies. A good example of this is the island's national sport: cricket. Barbados has brought forth several great cricket players, including Garfield Sobers and Frank Worrell.

Citizens are officially called Barbadian, however residents of Barbados colloquially refer to themselves or the products of the country as "Bajan". The term "Bajan", may have come from a localized pronunciation of the word Barbadian which at times can sound more like "Bar-bajan". The term Barbadian, is used less frequently than is "Bajan".

The largest Carnival cultural events which take place in Barbados are the Congaline Festival and Crop Over Festival as known internationally.

As is the case in many of the other Caribbean and Latin American countries, Carnival is an important event for many people on the island, as well as the thousands of tourists that flock to the island to participate in the annual events.

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