Historical and Geographical Aspects

History 

     Barbados was founded by English settlers in 1627 and holds up to this day, a strong bond with Britain. The official language is English and the major institutions of the country, in several areas, are inspired by the British system. During the next two centuries, the island was an important commercial center of the British colonies in the Caribbean region, the Barbadians were often recruited by the colonial authorities to provide services in other islands, such as police or public servants.

     Despite having been, until independence in 1966, under uninterrupted British control, Barbados always enjoyed relative autonomy. This explains the early establishment of a representative system, embodied in the creation, in 1639, Parliament or "House of Assembly" (House of Assembly), the third oldest in the entire Western Hemisphere.

     In 1640, the culture is initiated sugar. Introducing seedlings and exploitation of the product resulted in two key elements in the formation of the country: the plantation - monoculture farms export-oriented - and slave regime. This circumstance explains the fact that Barbados being ethnically uniform and maintain, even today, high degree of dependence on external markets.

     In 1834, slavery was abolished in Barbados. It was a political decision of the British Crown, and that was not directly linked to the various slave revolts that marked the Barbadian history. This fact was important milestone in the evolution of the concept of "representation" policy, which merges the island, with social justice. Abolition of the date up to the date of Independence, these two concepts have merged and the two political parties that alternate in power, inserted ideas Social Democrats in their political platforms.

     Even a century after abolition, plantation owners and merchants of British descent dominated local politics. Only in 1930 the descendants of emancipated slaves began a movement for political rights. One of the leaders of this movement, Sir Grantley Adams, founded formally in 1938, the Barbados Labour Party ("Barbados Labour Party-BLP"), previously known as "the Barbados Progressive League." In 1951, universal suffrage was introduced for adults and in the same year, dissident Labour Party of Barbados-PTB formed the Democratic Labor Party ("DLP-Democratic Labour Party"). To these steps towards strengthening the "representativeness" was followed, in 1961, the transformation of Barbados in Autonomous Territory. Errol Barrow, the DLP was appointed Premier.

     In 1958, Barbados was mentor of the Federation of the West Indies, which led the effort to circumvent the problem of the relationship of mini-states with the international community. Grantley Adams, Barbados Labour Party, was the first and only Prime Minister of the Federation, who, in 1962, ended up being dissolved.

     On December 30, 1966, Barbados became an independent country and Errol Barrow, the Democratic Labor Party and protagonist of the movement for the independence of the country, assumed the Head of Government as Prime Minister.

Bridgetown
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Geography of Barbados

Territorial Extent: 430 km ².

Location: Central America.

Capital: Bridgetown.

Climate: Tropical.


     Barbados is a relatively flat island, rising in strands of small slope to a central higher Cimeiro whose point is Mount Hillaby, with 336 m of altitude. It lies in a slightly eccentric position in the Atlantic Ocean, when compared with the other Caribbean islands. The climate is tropical, with a rainy season from June to October. The main town is Bridgetown, the capital of the nation.

Barbados map
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