Barbados History

Barbados was originally settled by the Arawak civilization, as were most Caribbean islands, who migrated originally from Venezuela. Around 1200 , the Carib people conquered the Arawaks and remained on the island until the Spanish arrived in 1492. The island was named by portugese explorer Pedro a Campus as Los Barbados, which translates to bearded-ones due to look of the numerous fig trees on the island. The Spanish enslaved the Carib, and brought about the end of their civilization due to small pox and tuberculosis.

Spain lost interest in Barbados, selecting larger Caribbean islands to settle on, and Barbados was abandoned. The first English explorer to arrive in Barbados was Captain Henry Powell in 1625. He claimed the island for King James I. The first settlement came about 2 years later in 1627 when he returned to Barbados with around 80 settlers and 10 slaves. From these humble beginnings, the town of Jamestown was created.

English people with connections and money were given land in Barbados, and this led to a boom of agriculture on the island. Sugar, tobacco, and cotton were grown in abundance with the help of indentured servants. People wishing to relocate could work for a period of 5-7 years for a planter. To help with the demand for laborers, felons, slaves from Africa, and kidnapped victims were all methods used to keep the work going. The sugar industry was plagued by several natural disasters in the 1600's which dampened the sugar plantation profits.

By the late 1700's, Barbados was not the lead producer of sugar anymore in the region. Slavery existed in Barbados from the 1600's until 1834. It was replaced with a 4 year apprenticeship program which allowed the newly freed slaves to live on the plantation, but work their regular jobs for no wages. At the end of this program in 1838, an island-wide celebration took place by the 70,000 freed slaves. Barbados gained full independence in 1966, and maintains ties with the British monarchy by having a Governor General. Barbados is a member of the Commonwealth.

Summary

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