Shopping in Barbados

History

British sailors who landed on Barbados in the 1620s at the site of present-day Holetown on the Caribbean coast found the island uninhabited. As elsewhere in the eastern Caribbean, Arawak Indians may have been annihilated by invading Caribs, who are believed to have subsequently abandoned the island.

From the arrival of the first British settlers in 1627-28 until independence in 1966, Barbados was a self-funding colony under uninterrupted British rule. Nevertheless, Barbados always enjoyed a large measure of local autonomy. Its House of Assembly, which began meeting in 1639, is the third-oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, preceded only by Bermuda's legislature and the Virginia House of Burgesses.

As the sugar industry developed into the main commercial enterprise, Barbados was divided into large plantation estates, which replace the small holdings of the early British settlers. Some of the displaced farmers relocated to British colonies in North America. To work the plantations, slaves were brought from Africa; the slave trade ceased a few years before the abolition of slavery throughout the British empire in 1834.

Plantation owners and merchants of British descent dominated local politics. It was not until the 1930s that the descendants of emancipated slaves began a movement for political rights. One of the leaders of this movement, Sir Grantley Adams, founded the Barbados Labor Party in 1938. Progress toward more democratic government for Barbados was made in 1951, when the first general election under universal adult suffrage occurred. 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 British Commonwealth on November 30, 1966.

Under its constitution, Barbados is a parliamentary democracy modeled on the British system. The governor general represents the monarch. Control of the government rests with the cabinet, headed by the prime minister and responsible to the Parliament.

The bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Assembly and Senate. The 30 members of the House are elected by universal suffrage to 5-year terms. Elections may be called at any time the government wishes to seek a new mandate or if the government suffers a vote of no-confidence in Parliament, with a 5-year maximum duration for Parliament. The Senate's 21 members are appointed by the governor general -- 12 with the advice of the prime minister, two with the advice of the leader of the opposition, and seven at the governor general's discretion to represent segments of the community.

Barbados has an independent judiciary composed of magistrate courts, which are statutorily authorized, and a Supreme Court, which is constitutionally mandated. The Supreme Court consists of the high court and the court of appeals, each with four judges. The Chief Justice serves on both the high court and the court of appeals. The court of last resort is the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council in London, whose decisions are binding on all parties. Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition.

The island is divided into 11 parishes and the city of Bridgetown for administrative purposes. There is no local government. Barbados' defense expenditures account for about 2.5% of the government budget.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Barbadian(s); informally "Bajan(s)."
Population (2004 estimate): 272,700.
Avg. annual growth rate (2004): 0.2%.
Ethnic groups: Black 90%, White 4%, Asian or mixed 6%.
Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%.
Language: English.
Education: Attendance--primary school 100%, secondary school 93%. Adult literacy--99%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (1998)--7.8/1,000. Life expectancy--70.9 yrs. men; 76.12 yrs. women (2002 est.).
Work force (2004, 146,300): tourism, government, manufacturing, construction, mining, agriculture, fishing.
Unemployment (2004): 9.8%.

About 90% of Barbados' population is of African descent, 4% European descent, and 6% Asian or mixed. About 40% of Barbadians are Anglican, and the rest mostly Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, and Moravian. There also are small Jewish and Muslim communities. Barbados' population growth rate has been very low, less than 1% since the 1960s, largely due to family planning efforts and a high emigration rate.

Geography

Area: 431 sq. km. (166 sq. mi.); about three times the size of Washington, DC.
Cities: Capital--Bridgetown.
Terrain: Generally flat, hilly in the interior.
Climate: Tropical.

Economy

GDP (2004): $2.8 billion.
GDP growth rate (2004): 3.4%.
Per capita GDP (2004 est.): $12,000.
Average inflation rate (first half of 2005): 2.4%.
Natural resources: Petroleum, Fishing, quarrying, natural gas.
Agriculture (4% of GDP): Sugar accounts for less than 1% of GDP and 80% of arable land.
Industry: Manufacturing and construction (12% of GDP)--food, beverages, electronic components, textiles, paper, chemicals.
Services: (83% of GDP) Tourism, banking and other financial services, data processing.
Trade (2004): Exports--$278 million. Major markets--U.S. 15%, Trinidad and Tobago 10%, U.K. 10%, and Jamaica 4%. Imports--$1,413 million. Major suppliers--U.S. 36%, Trinidad and Tobago 21%, U.K. 6%, Japan 5%.
Official exchange rate: Barbados dollars (BDS) 2=U.S.$1.

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Curacao	Dominica	Dominican Republic	Grenada	Guadeloupe
Guyana	Haiti	Jamaica	Martinique	Montserrat
Puerto Rico	Saint Kitts And Nevis	Saint Lucia	Saint Vincent And The Grenadines	St.Maarten
St.Martin	Trinidad And Tobago	Turks And Caicos Islands	Virgin Islands (British)

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