Barbados

Barbados, the most easterly of the Caribbean islands, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies, in the Caribbean area close to North America and north of South America. UK: /bɑ̐r̈beɪdɒs/ bar-BAY-doss; US: /bɑ\r̈be̪do̊s/ bar-BAY-dohss; locally /bɑ\r̈beɪdəs/ bar-BAY-d̙ss. It is located where the Caribbean and South American plates meet. Bridgetown is both its largest and capital city.

Barbados was occupied by the Kalinago people in the thirteenth century, and earlier by various indigenous peoples. In the late fifteenth century, Spanish navigators claimed Barbados for the Crown of Castile. First recorded in 1511 on a map drawn by the Spanish. Between 1532 and 1536, the Portuguese Empire laid claim to the island; they left it in 1620, leaving only the importation of wild boars, which provided a plentiful supply of meat whenever the island was visited.

On May 14, 1625, the English ship Olive Blossom sailed into Barbados, and the men on board assumed control of the island under the monarchy of King James I. After the first permanent inhabitants from England arrived in 1627, Barbados was colonized by the English and then the British.

The colony relied on the labor of African slaves who labored on the island’s plantations during this time to run a plantation economy. Slavery persisted until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 gradually outlawed it throughout the majority of the British Empire.

Barbados took a step toward political independence on November 30, 1966, when it became a distinct entity ruled by Elizabeth II as a Commonwealth nation. Barbados became a republic within the Commonwealth on November 30, 2021, doing away with its monarchy and installing a ceremonial president.

The majority of people in Barbados are of African descent. Barbados is a popular tourist destination in the Caribbean and is often connected with the region, despite being an Atlantic island.

Meaning and Origin

The term “Barbados” originates from two Portuguese terms: os barbados and los barbados, which translate to “the bearded ones” in Spanish. Whether “bearded” refers to the long, hanging roots of the island’s native species of banyan, the bearded fig tree (Ficus citrifolia), the supposedly bearded Kalinago (Island Caribs) who once lived there, or, more whimsically, to the visual impression of a beard created by the sea foam that sprays over the surrounding coral reefs, is unclear. Barbados was identified and shown on a map created in 1519 by Visconte Maggiolo, a Genoese cartographer. Additionally, the Spanish formerly referred to the island of Barbuda in the Leewards as “Las Barbudas” and gave it a nearly similar name.

According to accounts from descendants of Indigenous Arawakan-speaking tribes in other regional areas, Barbados’ original Pre-Columbian name was Ichirouganaim. This could translate to “Red land with white teeth” or “Redstone island with teeth outside (reefs)” or simply “Teeth”.

Locally, Barbados is referred to as “Bim” or by other colloquial terms like “Bimshire” after their home island. Although the origin is unknown, there are a few ideas. “Bim” was a name often used by slaves, according to the National Cultural Foundation of Barbados.

It comes from the Igbo term bém from bé mụ́ meaning “my home, kindred, kind”; the Igbo phoneme in the Igbo spelling is extremely near to /ɪ/. The term may have originated from the very high number of Igbo slaves that came to Barbados in the 18th century from what is now southern Nigeria. The Oxford English Dictionary and Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionaries both list the terms “Bim” and “Bimshire”.

The Rev. N. Greenidge, the father of one of the island’s most well-known scholars, Abel Hendy Jones Greenidge, is said to have proposed that Bimshire was “introduced by an old planter listing it as a county of England” in the Agricultural Reporter on April 25, 1868, which is another possible source for the name “Bim”.

“Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, and Bimshire” were specifically mentioned. Finally, Bim is mentioned as a potential corruption of “Byam,” the name of a Royalist chieftain who opposed the Parliamentarians, in the Daily Argosy (of Demerara, or Guyana) of 1652. According to that report, Byam’s supporters were referred to as “Bims” and this term spread throughout all of Barbados.

Past Events

Geological history

The island erupted from the water around 700,000 years ago when a diapir, or soft rock mass, emerged from the mantle under the island’s current position. Barbados is currently rising at a pace of 30 centimeters per thousand years because of this continuous process. On the island, several interior sea reefs still control the coastal characteristics seen in the cliffs and terraces.

Pre-colonial period

Archaeological evidence points to a possible human colonization or visitation of the island around 1600 BC. More persistent Amerindian habitation of Barbados began in the fourth or seventh century AD with the Saladoid-Barrancoid tribe. Around 800 AD, Arawaks from South America began to settle there. They did so again in the 12th and 13th centuries. No trace of permanent settlement exists, however, the Kalinago, referred to as “Caribs” by the Spanish, visited the island on a regular basis.

Arrival of Europe

Which European country landed in Barbados initially is unknown, however, it most likely happened in the 15th or 16th century. A lesser-known source suggests it could have been the Spanish based on previously discovered works that predate modern sources. The majority of people think that the Portuguese, who were traveling to Brazil, were the first Europeans to set foot on the island. Although Spanish slave raids are believed to have diminished the local population by driving many of them to neighboring islands, Europeans mainly ignored the island.

English settlement in the 17th century

John Powell was the captain of the first English ship, which landed on May 14, 1625. On February 17, 1627, a company commanded by John Powell’s younger brother Henry settled near what is now Holetown (previously Jamestown, after King James I of England). The expedition consisted of 80 immigrants and 10 English indentured laborers. According to some accounts, some of these early inhabitants were Africans.

Established as a proprietary colony, the settlement was financed by Sir William Courten, a trader from the City of London who obtained the title to other islands, including Barbados. In reality, the initial colonists were renters, and Courten and his business received a large portion of the labor revenues. James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, eventually inherited Courten’s title in what became known as the “Great Barbados Robbery”. To placate the planters who could have objected to his contentious nomination, Carlisle then appointed Henry Powell, who founded the House of Assembly in 1639, as governor.

Of all the English emigrants to the Americas, almost two-thirds went to the West Indies between 1640 and 1660. In 1650, the West Indies had 44,000 settlers, while the Chesapeake had 12,000 and New England had 23,000. The majority of new English newcomers had indentures.

They received “freedom dues” of around £10 after five years of labor, generally in the form of commodities. They also got 5 to 10 acres (2 to 4 hectares) of land before the mid-1630s, but after that, the island filled up and there was no more available land. This comprised a great deal of vagrants, prisoners-of-war, and persons who had been abducted illegally and brought by force to the island where they were sold as servants during the Cromwellian era (1650s).

Due to the notorious round-up of thousands of Irish people by English merchants and their forced labor in Barbados and other Caribbean islands during this time, the practice became known as “Barbacoused,” these latter two groups were primarily Irish. Because of this, until it became impossible to bring in new indentured slaves from England, sugar cultivation was largely managed by European enslaved labor.

According to parish registers from the 1650s, the number of deaths for the white population was four times higher than the number of weddings. Tobacco exports were the foundation of the fledgling colony’s economy, but as the Chesapeake supply increased in the 1630s, tobacco prices began to decline.

Effects of the English Civil War

At around the same period, Barbados and Barbados territorial seas were affected by conflict that broke out during the War of the Three Kingdoms and the Interregnum. The island did not become involved in the war until after Charles I was executed and the Royalists took control of the island’s government (ironically, the Governor, Philip Bell, stayed faithful to Parliament while the Barbadian House of Assembly, influenced by Humphrey Walrond, backed Charles II).

In an attempt to subdue the uncooperative colony, the Commonwealth Parliament enacted legislation on October 3, 1650, outlawing trade between Barbados and England. Additionally, because the island was involved in trade with the Netherlands, additional Navigation Acts were passed, outlawing any vessel other than an English one from engaging in commerce with Dutch colonies.

Anglo-Dutch warfare was preceded by these actions. In October of 1651, an invading army led by Sir George Ayscue was dispatched by the Commonwealth of England. Ayscue eventually had to rely on espionage and diplomacy after surprising a bigger army of Royalists with a smaller force that included Scottish captives.

With the capitulation of the Royalists under Lord Willoughby on January 11, 1652, royalist privateering ceased to be a significant danger. The terms of the capitulation were included in the Charter of Barbados (Treaty of Oistins), which was executed on January 17, 1652, at the Mermaid’s Inn in Oistins.

Irish people in Barbados

A significant portion of the white labor force, beginning with Cromwell, was made up of indentured slaves and individuals who had been forcibly removed from Ireland. Barbados’ Irish servants suffered a great deal of mistreatment, and the island’s planters developed a nasty reputation. Due to the high demand for labor brought about by the sugar industry and the declining appeal of indenture on the island, political prisoners and laborers who were deported to Barbados were abducted as well as forced to travel there against their will.

While a “steady stream” of Irish servants entered Barbados throughout the 17th century, Cromwellian efforts to pacify Ireland created a “veritable tidal wave” of Irish laborers who were sent to Barbados during the 1650s. Irish indentured servants made up a significant portion of the population throughout the period when white servants were used for plantation labor in Barbados.

The actual number of Irish laborers brought to Barbados is uncertain due to incomplete historical records; estimates have been described as “highly contentious”. It is “quite likely exaggerated” according to one historical source that up to 50,000 Irish people were deported in the 1650s to either Barbados or Virginia.

Historian Richard B. Sheridan has called another estimate that 12,000 Irish convicts had reached Barbados by 1655 “probably exaggerated”. Historian Thomas Bartlett states that it is “generally accepted” that around 40,000 Irish people arrived in the West Indies as voluntary indentured workers and that another 10,000 or so left Ireland voluntarily as unindentured immigrants.

The sugar revolution

The arrival of sugar cane from Dutch Brazil in 1640 brought about a radical transformation in the physical environment, the economy, and civilization. Eventually, Barbados boasted one of the largest sugar industries globally. The Sephardic Jews, who were initially driven from the Iberian peninsula and eventually settled in Dutch Brazil, were one community that played a significant role in guaranteeing the industry’s early success.

The new crop’s impacts led to a shift in the ethnic makeup of Barbados and the neighboring islands. Both substantial capital and a lot of hard labor were needed to establish a sustainable sugar plantation. Initially, Dutch traders transported the majority of the sugar to Europe as well as providing the tools, capital, and African slaves.

Barbados was reported to have had 30,000 people living there in 1644, of which roughly 800 had African origin and the remaining were English. After these English smallholders were finally bought out, massive sugar plantations using African slaves began to spring up all over the island.

There were almost equal numbers of Black and White inhabitants by 1660—27,000 Black and 26,000 White. By 1666, at least 12,000 white smallholders had either left the island, been bought out, or died, with many opting to go to Jamaica or the American colonies, particularly the Carolinas. As a result, in order to legally regulate its Black slaves people, Barbados passed a slave code. The wording of the statute influenced laws in other colonies.

There were 20,000 free White people and 46,000 African slaves in 1680; by 1724, that number had dropped to 18,000 free White people and 55,000 African slaves.

18th and 19th centuries

Due to their terrible living circumstances, slaves plotted many uprisings; the biggest of them was Bussa’s in 1816, which the colonial authorities put down quickly. A second slave uprising occurred on Easter Day in 1819. The uprising ended in bloodshed, with heads being hung on stakes. However, even England was startled by the repression’s severity, which bolstered the abolitionist campaign. The British Empire abolished slavery in 1833 as a result of growing anti-slavery sentiment. The majority of laborers on the island lived in relative poverty while the plantocracy elite continued to hold political and economic sway.

In Barbados, the storm of 1780 claimed the lives of about 4,000 people. A cholera pandemic in 1854 claimed the lives of around 20,000 people.

20th century before independence

Many left Barbados due to deep displeasure with the conditions there. The Great Depression in the 1930s brought things to a breaking point when Barbados started calling for improved working conditions, the legalization of trade unions, and an expansion of the franchise, which was then restricted to male landowners.

The British dispatched the West Indies Royal group, often known as the Moyne Commission, in 1938 in response to the growing discontent. The group recommended that many of the sought reforms be implemented on the islands. As a result, Afro-Barbadians started to influence colonial politics significantly, and in 1950, universal suffrage was established.

Among these pioneers was Grantley Herbert Adams, who was instrumental in the founding of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in 1938. In 1953, he was appointed as the first Premier of Barbados; Hugh Gordon Cummins, another BLP founder, succeeded him as Premier from 1958 to 1961. In 1955, a group of parliamentarians with a left-leaning and an advocate for quicker steps toward independence broke away from the BLP to form the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). Following their victory in the 1961 Barbados general election, Errol Barrow, the head of the DLP, was appointed premier.

1961 saw the implementation of complete internal self-government. From 1958 to 1962, Barbados was a member of the short-lived British West Indies Federation. On November 30, 1966, Barbados attained complete independence. Errol Barrow was appointed as the nation’s inaugural prime minister. Barbados made the decision to stay a part of the Commonwealth.

As a result of Barbados’ political independence, the United Kingdom government lost its right of sovereignty over the island nation; Elizabeth II now ruled as Barbados’ queen. A governor-general then served as the monarch’s local representative.

Post-independence era

The Barrow administration aimed to increase manufacturing and the tourist sector in order to diversify the economy away from agriculture. Barbados was also a driving force behind the formation of CARIFTA and CARICOM, two other initiatives aimed at regional integration. In the 1976 Barbados general election, the BLP led by Tom Adams defeated the DLP. Adams took a more conservative and vehemently pro-Western stand, which enabled the Americans to invade Grenada in 1983 using Barbados as a launching platform.

Following Adams’s death in office in 1985, Harold Bernard St. John was elected to the position; however, St. John was not successful in the 1986 Barbados general election, and Errol Barrow, the leader of the DLP, who had been a vocal opponent of US action in Grenada, returned to lead the party.

Following Barrow’s death in office, Lloyd Erskine Sandiford took over as prime minister and served as such until 1994.

Following his victory in the 1994 Barbados general election, Owen Arthur of the BLP served as prime minister until 2008. Though there was supposed to be a 2008 vote to remove Queen Elizabeth as head of state, Arthur was a staunch supporter of republicanism.

After the DLP won the 2008 general election in Barbados, Freundel Stuart took over as prime minister after David Thompson passed away in 2010. Under the leadership of Mia Mottley, the first female prime minister of Barbados, the BLP came back to power in 2018.

Transition to republic

On September 15, 2020, the Barbados government declared that it planned to abolish the Barbadian monarchy and replace it with an electoral college-elected president by November 30, 2021, the country’s 55th anniversary of independence. After that, Barbados would no longer be a Commonwealth realm, but it might continue to be a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, alongside countries like Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana.

The Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2021 was brought to the Barbados Parliament on September 20, 2021, a little more than a year after the changeover was announced. The Bill, which was passed on October 6, amended the Barbados Constitution by creating the position of president in lieu of Elizabeth II, the island’s monarch.

The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition jointly nominated Sandra Mason, the current Governor-General of Barbados, on October 12, 2021, as a candidate for the office of first President of Barbados. Mason was elected on October 20. Mason began serving on November 30, 2021. At the request of the Barbados government, Prince Charles, the heir apparent to the Barbadian throne at the time, attended the swearing-in event in Bridgetown.

Congratulating President Mason and the people of Barbados, Queen Elizabeth wrote: “As you celebrate this momentous day, I send you and all Barbadians my warmest good wishes for your happiness, peace, and prosperity in the future.”

According to a University of the West Indies study performed between October 23, 2021, and November 10, 2021, 34% of participants supported the idea of becoming a republic, while 30% had no opinion. Remarkably, the survey yielded no general majority, with 24% expressing no choice and the remaining 12% being against the overthrow of Queen Elizabeth.

In order to review the Barbados Constitution, Jeffrey Gibson, who was acting as acting president of Barbados at the time, established and swore in a Constitutional Review Commission on June 20, 2022.

The committee was given a 15-month deadline to do its job, which included creating a constitution and interacting with the people about the new republic. As a result, the CRC held several public gatherings, talks, and Twitter Spaces to interact with the public. The final report was turned in on June 30, 2024, but it was indicated in August 2023 that it would be postponed.

Climate and Geographical Conditions

East of the other West Indies Islands in the Atlantic Ocean is the island of Barbados. The Lesser Antilles’ easternmost island is Barbados. It has a length of 34 km (21 miles) and a width of up to 23 km (14 mi), with a total area of 439 km2 (169 sq mi).[80] It is located at 168 kilometers (104 miles) to the east of Martinique, 180 kilometers (110 miles) to the southeast of Saint Lucia, and 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the northeast of Trinidad and Tobago. Compared to the Windward Islands, its neighbors to the west, it is flat.

The island climbs gradually to the Scotland District, an area of central highlands, with Mount Hillaby, at 340 meters (1,120 feet) above sea level, as its highest point.

Bridgetown, the capital and largest city of Barbados is located in the parish of Saint Michael and is home to one-third of the nation’s population. There are a few more significant towns strewn around the island, such as Speightstown in the parish of Saint Peter, Oistins in the parish of Christ Church, and Holetown in the parish of Saint James.

Earth Science

Barbados is located where the Caribbean and South American plates meet. An accretionary prism is formed when material from the South American plate is scraped and deposited above the subduction zone by the South American plate subducting beneath the Caribbean plate.

Barbados is able to rise at a pace of around 25 mm (1 in) per 1,000 years due to the rate at which this material is being deposited. Due to subduction, the island’s geology is made up of coral that is around 300 feet (90 meters) thick, with reefs growing above the silt. The ground rises in the east and falls in a sequence of “terraces” in the west. Reefs around much of the island surround it.

Numerous caverns and gullies have been formed in the Scotland District, northeast of the island, as a consequence of limestone erosion. The limestone nature of the region has resulted in the creation of coastal formations, notably stacks, on the island’s Atlantic east coast.

The rocky promontory known as Pico Teneriffe, or Pico de Tenerife, is another noteworthy feature of the island. Locals believe that the Spanish island of Tenerife is the first landmass to the east of Barbados, thus the name.

Climate

There are often two seasons in the nation, one of which has notably more rainfall. It is referred to as the “wet season” and it lasts from June through December. The “dry season” lasts from December to May, in contrast. The range of annual precipitation is 1,000–2,300 mm (40–90 in). The average temperature is between 21 and 31 °C (70 and 88 °F) from December to May and between 23 and 31 °C (73 and 88 °F) from June to November.

A large portion of Barbados is classified as having a tropical monsoon climate (Am) on the Köppen climate classification scale. Barbados, however, has a climate that is fairly tropical due to the year-round abundance of winds that reach speeds of 12 to 16 km/h (7 to 10 mph).

Hurricanes, landslides, and earthquakes are examples of infrequent natural disasters. Barbados is frequently spared the worst of the region’s storms during the rainy season since it is located outside the Main Development Region for tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic. Approximately every 26 years, a powerful storm makes landfall in Barbados. The last major hurricane to strike Barbados and cause substantial damage was Hurricane Janet in 1955. Hurricane Tomas slammed the island in 2010 but only caused minimal damage nationwide since it was merely a tropical storm at the time of impact.

Environmental Problems

Barbados is vulnerable to the effects of the environment. One of the most populous isles in the world, the government actively integrated the island’s expanding south coast into the Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant in the 1990s in an effort to lessen pollution of offshore coral reefs. A second treatment facility has been proposed along the island’s west coast as of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Barbados is so heavily populated that it has taken extraordinary care to safeguard its subterranean aquifers.

Barbados is an island made of coral and limestone, making surface water seepage into the soil quite likely. Protecting the catchment regions that feed directly into the vast network of subterranean aquifers and streams is a top priority for the government. The government has periodically cleared out unlawful squatters who have invaded these places in an effort to maintain the purity of the subterranean springs that supply the island’s drinking water.

In order to save the environment and the offshore coral reefs that encircle the island, the government has put a strong priority on keeping Barbados clean. The Coastal Zone Management Unit is the source of several programs aimed at reducing human impacts on Barbados’ coastal areas and oceans (CZMU). Nearly 90 kilometers (56 miles) of coral reefs are located immediately offshore in Barbados, and the island’s west coast has been designated as two protected marine parks. Barbados is also threatened by overfishing.

Barbados, located 4,800 kilometers (3,000 miles) west of Africa on the other side of the Atlantic, is one of several locations in North America that suffer from elevated concentrations of mineral dust from the Sahara Desert. Evidence has not entirely substantiated the former assertion, although certain very severe dust events have been held partially responsible for the effects on the health of the coral reefs surrounding Barbados or for asthmatic symptoms.

Barbados has far less access to biocapacity than the global average. Barbados’s biocapacity per person on its territory was 0.17 global hectares in 2016, a significant decrease from the global average of 1.6 global hectares per person. Barbados’ ecological footprint of consumption in 2016 was 0.84 global hectares per person, or biocapacity. This indicates that they use almost five times the biocapacity of Barbados. Barbados is experiencing a biocapacity shortage as a result.

Wildlife

Barbados is home to four different kinds of nesting turtles: hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, and green. It also has the second-largest breeding population of hawksbill turtles in the Caribbean. Driving on beaches is forbidden in regions where nests are located because it has the potential to crush nests hidden in the sand.

Additionally, the green monkey resides in Barbados. From Senegal to the Volta River, in West Africa, is home to the green monkey. It has been brought to the West Indian islands of Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Martin, and Barbados, as well as the Cape Verde islands off the coast of northwest Africa. When slave trade ships from West Africa made their way to the Caribbean in the late 17th century, it was brought to the West Indies. Locals view the green monkey as an inquisitive, mischievous, and often problematic animal.

Demographics

According to the Barbados Statistical Service’s 2010 national census, there were 277,821 residents, with 144,803 women and 133,018 men.

By 2020, Barbados citizens should expect to live to be 80 years old. For women, the average life expectancy is 83 years, while for men it is 79 years (2020). The world’s highest rates of centenarians per capita are found in Barbados and Japan.

12.23 births and 8.39 deaths per 1,000 people are the crude birth and death rates, respectively. UNICEF estimates that in 2021 there were 11.057 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births.

Race and ethnicity

Approximately 90% of Barbados, commonly referred to as “Bajans” in colloquial language, are mixed-ancestry and Afro-Caribbean people. Groups of Europeans (referred to as “Anglo-Bajans” or “Euro-Bajans”), primarily from the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Italy, make up the remaining population.

The Russians, French, Austrians, and Spaniards made up the other European groups. Less than 1% of people are Asian, mostly from Hong Kong and India, where they are both Hindu and Muslim. Americans and Canadians are among the other groups in Barbados. “Bajan Yankees” is a phrase that some find disparaging, applied to Barbadians who return to the United States after years of residency and children born to Bajan parents in the United States.

In general, Bajans call one another “children of the island” and acknowledge and embrace one other as fellow Bajans.

The largest groups that do not belong to the Afro-Caribbean community are:

1. The growing number of immigrants from partner nation Guyana has made the Indo-Guyanese a significant economic force. There are tidings of an expanding Indo-Bajan diaspora that began in Guyana and India during 1990. They are mostly from southern India, and while they are becoming larger, they are still smaller than comparable communities in Trinidad and Guyana. The majority of the Muslim Indian-origin Barbados are Gujarati in origin. Muslim-Indian Bajans own and operate a large number of small enterprises in Barbados.
2. Ever since the 17th century, Barbados has been home to Euro-Bajans (5% of the total population) who came from England, Ireland, Portugal, and Scotland. Barbados had 37,200 white residents in 1643, making about 86% of the total population. They are referred to as “White Bajans” more frequently. Folk music from Scotland and Ireland, as well as place names like “Scotland District,” which refers to a mountainous area in the parish of St. Andrew, were brought by the Euro-Bajans. An underclass of White Barbadians known as Redlegs is made up of descendants of Irish indentured laborers and captives shipped to the island, as well as supporters of the Duke of Monmouth following his loss at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Many also went on to become the first Americans to settle in what is now North and South Carolina. There are presently only 400 or so Redlegs.
3. A tiny fraction of Barbados’ larger Asian population consists of Chinese-Barbadians. Chinese cuisine and culture are becoming ingrained in Bajan daily life.
4. The Arab Barbadian community on the island is made up of Syrians and Lebanese.
5. In 1627, Jews came to Barbados shortly after the initial inhabitants. One of the oldest synagogues in the Americas, Nidhe Israel Synagogue, is located in Bridgetown. It was built in 1833 to replace a previous one that was destroyed by a hurricane in 1831. The original synagogue dates back to 1654. In the nearby cemetery, tombstones from the 1630s may be found. The property, which is currently in the custody of the Barbados National Trust, was abandoned in 1929 but was salvaged and rebuilt starting in 1986 by the Jewish community.
6. Romani people were transported from the United Kingdom to Barbados in the seventeenth century to labor as slaves on plantations.

Languages

Barbados uses English as the official language for public services, administration, and communication throughout the whole island. As English is the official language of the nation, it follows standards for vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, and traditions that are similar to, but distinct from, British English. However, Bajan Creole is the language of daily life for the majority of people. Despite lacking a standardized written form, more than 90% of people utilize it.

Religion

In Barbados, Christianity is the most common religion, with Anglicans making up the largest denomination (23.9% of the population in 2019). The Catholic Church (run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgetown), Pentecostals (19.5%), Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Spiritual Baptists are among other Christian faiths that have sizable followings in Barbados.

Up until Barbados’ Parliament legally disestablished it after the island nation gained independence, the Church of England served as the recognized state church. In 2019, 21% of Barbados claimed to be atheists, making the non-religious the second-largest group in the country after Anglicans. The Bahá’í Faith, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism are some of the smaller faiths practiced in Barbados.

With its guarantee of religious freedom for all citizens and its preamble to the constitution including only symbolic references to a higher authority, the state is regarded as secular.

Finance

With a rather good level of life, a well-developed diversified economy, and the 52nd-highest GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita in the world, Barbados is a desirable destination. Barbados is one of 83 countries in the world with high income economies, according to the World Bank. In spite of this, a 2012 self-study conducted in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank found that 20% of Barbados are poor and that 10% are unable to achieve their basic dietary needs.

Barbados’s economy had historically been centered on the production of sugarcane and allied industries, but in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it began to diversify into the manufacturing and tourist industries. Information services and offshore finance have grown to be significant sources of foreign exchange revenue.

An increase in the building of residences, business buildings, and hotels occurred on the island, partly as a result of hosting the 2007 Cricket World Cup. This slowed during the global economic downturn and recession that lasted from 2008 to 2012.

The economy was robust in 1999 and 2000, but in 2001 and 2002 it entered a recession as a result of a decline in consumer spending and tourism, as well as the aftermath of the US attacks on September 11, 2001, and the UK bombings in London on July 7, 2005. After the recession ended in 2003, the economy began to rise again in 2004 and this trend persisted until 2008.

From 2008 to 2013, the economy had another recession before seeing growth from 2014 to 2017. Afterwards, during the global economic crisis that lasted from 2017 to 2019, it fell into another recession. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s both downgraded 23 bonds.

In 2019, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s gave the economy three upgrades, indicating that it was beginning to recover. The economy began to develop from January 1 to March 31, 2020, but it then saw another downturn as a result of the COVID-19 economic slowdown.

Canada, the Caribbean Community (particularly Trinidad and Tobago), the United Kingdom, and the United States are traditional commercial partners. Current administrations have persisted in their attempts to lower unemployment, promote foreign direct investment, and privatize state-owned businesses that are still in existence. In 2003, the unemployment rate dropped to 10.7%. But since then, it has gone up to 11.9% in the second quarter of 2015.

Through a €10 million program, the European Union is helping Barbados modernize its international business and financial services sector.

In the Caribbean, Barbados is home to the third-largest stock market. In 2009, stock exchange authorities were looking at how an International Securities Market (ISM) venture may strengthen the local exchange.

Sovereign default and restructuring

Barbados’s outstanding debt increased to US$7.5 billion by May 2018, which is more than 1.7 times the GDP of the nation. When the government neglected to pay the coupon on Eurobonds with a 2035 maturity, it entered a state of default on its sovereign debt in June 2018. Barbados’ outstanding bond debt was US$4.4 billion.

Restructuring talks between Barbados and a group of creditors, which included the investment firms Eaton Vance Management, Greylock Capital Management, Teachers Advisors, and Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, were completed in October 2019.

The current bond issue will be swapped by creditors for a new debt series with a 2029 maturity. The new bonds have a clause permitting principle deferral and interest capitalization in the case of a natural calamity, along with a principal “haircut” of around 26%.

Health

Barbados has eight polyclinics spread over five parishes in addition to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the island’s primary medical facility. Barbados is home to a number of renowned hospitals and clinics, including FMH Emergency Medical Clinic, Sandy Crest Medical Centre, and Bayview Hospital.

Education

Barbados has an almost perfect literacy rate. Barbados’s major public education system is based on the British system. 6.7% of Barbados’ GDP is allocated by the government to education (2008).

Up to the age of 16, all youth in the nation are required to attend school. Barbados has more than 20 high schools and more than 70 elementary schools spread around the island. Numerous private schools exist, some of which provide International Baccalaureate and Montessori curricula. Less than 5% of all students attend public schools, with the majority of them attending these institutions.

Barbados Community College, Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, Codrington College, Cave Hill campus, and Open Campus of the University of the West Indies are the institutions offering certificate, diploma, and degree-level education in the nation. A number of international medical schools, including the American University of Integrative Sciences, School of Medicine and Ross University School of Medicine, are based in Barbados.

Educational testing

Examination for Admission to Barbados Secondary School: To be assigned to a secondary school, children who turn 11 on September 1st of the year in question must take the test.

Exams for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), which signal the completion of traditional secondary education, are often taken by pupils after five years of secondary school. The CSEC exams are designed for students 16 years of age and over, and they are comparable to the Ordinary Level (O-Levels) exams.

Students who want to continue their study after completing their secondary education take the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE). Most students who take the CAPE exam have earned a CSEC or a similar credential. The British Advanced Levels (A-Levels), which are optional credentials meant for university entry, are comparable to the CAPE.

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