Know about your Barbados
Barbados
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Flag
Coat of arms
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Motto: "Pride and
Industry"
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Anthem: In Plenty and In
Time of Need
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Capital
and largest city
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Bridgetown
13°06′N 59°37′W |
Official languages
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English
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Recognized regional languages
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Bajan Creole
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Ethnic groups
(est. 2010[1])
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·
91% Afro-Barbadian
·
3.5% Multiracial
·
4% White Barbadian
·
1% Indo-Bajans
·
0.5% Other/Unspecified
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Religion
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·
75.6% Christian
·
2.5% Other (incl. Hindu and Muslim)
·
20.6% None
·
1.2% Unspecified[1]
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Demonym(s)
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·
Barbadian
·
Bajan (colloquial)
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Government
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Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
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• Monarch
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Elizabeth II
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• Governor-General
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Sandra Mason
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• Prime Minister
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Mia Mottley
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Legislature
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Parliament
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• Upper house
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Senate
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• Lower house
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House of Assembly
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Independence
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• From the United Kingdom
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30 November 1966
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Area
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• Total
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439 km2 (169 sq mi) (183rd)
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• Water (%)
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Negligible
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Population
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• 2010 census
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277,821[2] (181st)
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• Density
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660/km2 (1,709.4/sq mi) (15th)
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GDP (PPP)
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2019 estimate
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• Total
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$5.398 billion
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• Per capita
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$18,798[3]
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GDP (nominal)
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2019 estimate
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• Total
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$5.207 billion
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• Per capita
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$18,133[3]
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HDI (2017)
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0.800[4]
very high · 58th |
Currency
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Barbadian dollar ($) (BBD)
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Time zone
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UTC−4 (AST)
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Driving side
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left[5]
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Calling code
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+1-246
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ISO 3166 code
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BB
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Internet TLD
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.bb
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Barbados (/bɑːrˈbeɪdɒs/ () or /-doʊs/)
is an island country in
the Lesser Antilles of
the West Indies,
in the Caribbean region
of North America.
It is 34 kilometers (21 miles) in length and up to 23 km (14 mi) in
width, covering an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi).
It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 km
(62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and
the Caribbean Sea;[6] therein,
Barbados is east of the Windwards, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly
at 13°N of
the equator. It is about
168 km (104 mi) east of both the countries of Saint
Lucia and Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines and
180 km (110 mi) south-east of Martinique and
400 km (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad
and Tobago. Barbados is outside the principal Atlantic hurricane
belt. Its capital and largest city are Bridgetown.
Inhabited
by Kalinago people since
the 13th century, and before that by other Amerindians,
Barbados was visited by Spanish navigators in the late 15th century and claimed
for the Spanish Crown.
It first appeared on a Spanish map in 1511.[7] The
Portuguese Empire claimed the island
between 1532 and 1536, but later abandoned it in 1620; with their only remnants
being an introduction of wild boars for a good supply of meat whenever the
the island was visited, and to replenish their water supply. An English ship,
the Olive Blossom arrived in Barbados on May 14, 1625; its men
took possession of it in the name of King
James I. In 1627, the first permanent settlers arrived
from England, and it became an English and
later British colony.[8] As
a wealthy sugar colony, it became an English center of the African
slave trade until that trade was outlawed in 1807,
with final emancipation of slaves in Barbados occurring over years
from 1833.
On November 30,
1966, Barbados became an independent state and Commonwealth
realm with Elizabeth
II as its
queen.[9] It
has a population of 287,010 people, predominantly of African descent. Despite
being classified as an Atlantic island, Barbados is considered to be a part of
the Caribbean, where it is ranked as a leading tourist destination. Of the
tourists, 40% come from the UK, with the US and Canada making up the next large
groups of visitors to the island.[citation
needed]
Contents
·
1Etymology
·
2History
o
2.1Pre-colonial
period
o
2.2European
arrival
o
2.3English
settlement in the 1600s
§ 2.3.1Effects
of the English Civil War
§ 2.3.2The
Sugar Revolution
o
2.418th
and 19th centuries
o
2.520th
century – colonial period
o
2.6Post-independence
era
·
3Geography
and climate
o
3.1Geology
o
3.2Climate
o
3.3Environmental
issues
o
3.4Wildlife
·
4Demographics
o
4.1Ethnic
groups
o
4.2Languages
o
4.3Religion
·
5Government
and politics
o
5.1Political
culture
o
5.2Foreign
relations
§ 5.2.1World
Trade Organization, European Commission, CARIFORUM
§ 5.2.2The
Double Taxation Relief (CARICOM) Treaty 1994
o
5.3Military
o
5.4Administrative
divisions
o
5.5Human
rights
·
6Economy
·
7Health
·
8Education
o
8.1Educational
testing
·
9Culture
o
9.1Cuisine
o
9.2Music
o
9.3Public
holidays
·
10Sports
·
11Transport
Etymology
The name
"Barbados" is from either the Portuguese term Os
Barbados or the Spanish equivalent, Los
Barbados, both meaning "the bearded ones". It is
unclear whether "bearded" refers to the long, hanging roots of the
bearded fig-tree (Ficus
citrifolia), indigenous to the island,
or to the allegedly bearded Caribs who
once inhabited the island, or, more fancifully, to a visual impression of a
beard formed by the sea foam that sprays over the outlying reefs. In 1519, a
map produced by the Genoese mapmaker Visconte
Maggiolo showed and named Barbados in its correct
position. Furthermore, the island of Barbuda in
the Leewards is very
similar in name and was once named "Las Barbudas"
by the Spanish.
The original
the name for Barbados in the Pre-Columbian
the era was Ichirouganaim, according to
accounts by descendants of the indigenous Arawakan-speaking
tribes in other regional areas, with possible translations including "Red
land with white teeth"[10] or
"Redstone island with teeth outside (reefs)"[11] or
simply "Teeth".[12][13][14]
Colloquially,
Barbadians refer to their home island as "Bim" or other nicknames
associated with Barbados, including "Bimshire". The origin is
uncertain, but several theories exist. The National
Cultural Foundation of Barbados says that
"Bim" was a word commonly used by slaves,
and that it derives from the Igbo term bém from bé
mụ́ meaning 'my home, kindred, kind',[15] the
Igbo phoneme [e] in
the Igbo orthography is very close to /ɪ/.[16] The
the name could have arisen due to the relatively large percentage of enslaved Igbo
people from modern-day southeastern Nigeria arriving
in Barbados in the 18th century.[17][18]
The words 'Bim'
and 'Bimshire' are recorded in the Oxford
English Dictionary and Chambers
Twentieth Century Dictionaries. Another
possible source for 'Bim' is reported to be in the Agricultural
Reporter of 25 April 1868, where the Rev. N. Greenidge (father of one
of the island's most famous scholars, Abel
Hendy Jones Greenidge) suggested the
listing of Bimshire as a county of England. Expressly named were
"Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire and Bimshire".[15] Lastly,
in the Daily Argosy (of Demerara, i.e. Guyana) of 1652, there
is a reference to Bim as a possible corruption of 'Byam', the name of a
Royalist leader against the Parliamentarians. That source suggested the
followers of Byam became known as 'Bims' and that this became a word for all
Barbadians.[15]
History
Main
article: History of
Barbados
Pre-colonial period
Archeological
evidence suggests humans may have first settled or visited the island circa
1600 BC.[19][20] More
permanent Amerindian settlement
of Barbados dates to about the 4th to 7th centuries AD, by a group is known as
the Saladoid-Barranco.[21] The
two main groups were the Arawaks from
South America, who became dominant around 800–1200 AD, and the more war-like
the Kalinago (Island
Caribs) who arrived from South America in the 12th–13th
centuries[19]
European arrival
It is uncertain
which European nation arrived first in Barbados, which most likely would have
been at some point in the 15th century or 16th century. One lesser-known source
points to earlier revealed works predating contemporary sources indicating it
could have been the Spanish.[7] Many,
if not most, believe the Portuguese,
en route to Brazil,[22][23] were
the first Europeans to come upon the island. The island was largely ignored by
Europeans, though Spanish slave-raiding is thought to have reduced the native
population, with many fleeing to other islands.[19][24]
English settlement in the 1600s
George
Washington House was visited by George
Washington in 1751, in what is believed to have been his
an only trip outside the present-day United
States.[25]
The first
English ship, which had arrived on May 14, 1625, was captained by John Powell.
The first settlement began on 17 February 1627, near what is now Holetown (formerly
Jamestown),[26] by
a group led by John Powell's younger brother, Henry, consisting of 80 settlers
and 10 English indentured laborers.[27] Some
sources state that some Africans were amongst these first settlers.[19]
The settlement was
established as a proprietary
colony and funded by Sir William
Courten, a City of London merchant
who acquired the title to Barbados and several other islands. So the first
colonists were actually tenants and much of the profits of their labor
returned to Courten and his company.[28] Courten's
the title was later transferred to James Hay, 1st
Earl of Carlisle, in what was called the
"Great Barbados Robbery."[citation
needed] Carlisle
then chose as governor Henry Hawley,
who established the House of
Assembly in 1639, to appease the
planters, who might otherwise have opposed his controversial appointment.[19][29]
In the period
1640–60, the West Indies attracted over two-thirds of the total number of
English emigrants to the Americas.[citation
needed] By
1650 there were 44,000 settlers in the West Indies, as compared to 12,000 on
the Chesapeake and
23,000 in New England.[citation
needed] Most
English arrivals were indentured. After five years of labor, they were given
"freedom dues" of about £10, usually in goods. Before the mid-1630s,
they also received 5 to 10 acres (2 to 4 hectares) of land, but after that time
the island filled and there was no more free land.[citation
needed] During
the Cromwellian era (the 1650s)
this included a large number of prisoners-of-war, vagrants and people who were
illicitly kidnapped, who were forcibly transported to the island and sold as
servants. These last two groups were predominantly Irish, as several thousand
were infamously rounded up by English merchants and sold into servitude in
Barbados and other Caribbean islands during this period.[29][30] Cultivation
of tobacco, cotton, ginger, and indigo was
thus handled primarily by European indentured labor until the start of
the sugar cane industry
in the 1640s and the growing reliance and importation of enslaved Africans.
Life in the
the young colony was not easy, with parish registers from the 1650s show, for the white population, there were four times as many deaths as marriages.[citation
needed] The mainstay of the infant colony's economy was the growth export of tobacco, but
tobacco prices eventually fell in the 1630s as Chesapeake production expanded.[29]
Effects of the English Civil War
Main
articles: English
Revolution in the Colonies and Restoration
(Colonies)
Around the same
time, fighting during the War of the Three
Kingdoms and the Interregnum spilled
over into Barbados and Barbadian territorial waters. The island was not involved
in the war until after the execution of Charles
I, when the island's government fell under the
control of Royalists (ironically the Governor, Philip Bell, remaining loyal
to Parliament while
the Barbadian House of Assembly,
under the influence of Humphrey Walrond, supported Charles
II).[citation
needed] To
try to bring the recalcitrant colony to heel, the Commonwealth
Parliament passed an act on 3 October 1650 prohibiting
trade between England and Barbados, and because the island also traded with
the Netherlands,
further navigation acts were
passed prohibiting any but English vessels trading with Dutch
colonies. These acts were a precursor to the First
Anglo-Dutch War.[citation
needed] The Commonwealth
of England sent an invasion force under the command
of Sir George Ayscue,
which arrived in October 1651. After some skirmishing, the Royalists in the
House of Assembly led by Lord Willoughby surrendered.
The conditions of the surrender were incorporated into the Charter
of Barbados (Treaty of Oistins), which was signed at the
Mermaid's Inn, Oistins,
on 17 January 1652.[31]
The Sugar Revolution
The introduction
of sugar cane from Dutch
Brazil in 1640 completely transformed society, the
economy, and the physical landscape. Barbados eventually had one of the world's
biggest sugar industries.[32] One
group instrumental in ensuring the early success of the industry were the Sephardic
Jews, who had originally been expelled from the Iberian
peninsula, to end up in Dutch
Brazil.[32] As
the effects of the new crop increased, so did the shift in the ethnic
composition of Barbados and surrounding islands.[29] The
workable sugar plantation required a large investment and a great deal of heavy
labor. At first, Dutch traders supplied the equipment, financing, and enslaved
Africans, in addition to transporting most of the sugar to Europe.[29][19] In
1644 the population of Barbados was estimated at 30,000, of which about 800
were of African descent, with the remainder mainly of English descent. These
English smallholders were eventually bought out and the island filled up with
large sugar plantations worked by enslaved Africans.[19] By
1660 there was near parity with 27,000 blacks and 26,000 whites. By 1666 at
least 12,000 white smallholders had been bought out, died, or left the island,
many choosing to emigrate to Jamaica or
the American Colonies (notably
the Carolinas).[19] As
a result, Barbados enacted a slave code as
a way of legislatively controlling its black enslaved population.[33] This
inhumane document was later to be copied as far away as Virginia and
became the template for slavery in the United
States.
By 1680 there
were 17 slaves for every indentured servant. By 1700, there were 15,000 free
whites and 50,000 enslaved Africans.[19][29]
18th and 19th centuries
Statue
of Bussa, Bridgetown. Bussa led the largest slave rebellion
in Barbadian history.
The harsh
conditions endured by the slaves resulted in several planned slave rebellions,
the largest of which was Bussa's
rebellion in 1816 which was suppressed by British
troops.[19] Growing
opposition to slavery led to its abolition in the British Empire in 1834.[19] However, the white plantocracy class retained control of the political and economic
situation on the island, with most workers living in relative poverty.[19]
1780 the hurricane killed over 4,000 people on Barbados.[34][35] In
1854, a cholera epidemic
killed over 20,000 inhabitants.[36]
20th century – colonial period
Deep
dissatisfaction with the situation on Barbados led many to emigrate.[19][37] Things
came to a head in the 1930s during the Great
Depression, as Barbadians began demanding better conditions
for workers, the legalization of trade unions and a widening of the franchise,
which at that point was limited to male property owners.[19] As
a result of the increasing unrest, the British sent a commission (The West
Indies Royal Commission or Moyne Commission) in 1938, which recommended
enacting many of the requested reforms on the islands.[19] As
a result, Afro-Barbadians began to play a much more prominent role in the
colony's politics, with universal suffrage being introduced in 1950.[19]
Prominent among
these early activists were Grantley Herbert
Adams, who helped found Barbados
Labour Party (BLP) in 1938.[38] He
became the first Premier of Barbados in 1953, followed by fellow
BLP-founder Hugh Gordon Cummins from
1958–1961. A group of left-leaning politicians who advocated swifter moves to
independence broke off from the BLP and founded the Democratic
Labour Party (DLP) in 1955.[39][40] The
DLP subsequently won 1961 Barbadian
general election and their leader Errol
Barrow became premier.
Full internal
self-government was enacted in 1961.[19] Barbados
joined the short-lived West Indies
Federation from 1958–62, later gaining full independence
on 30 November 1966.[19] Errol
Barrow became the country's first Prime Minister. Barbados opted to remain
within the British Commonwealth,
retaining Queen Elizabeth as monarch,
represented locally by a Governor-General.
Post-independence era
The Barrow the government sought to diversify the economy away from agriculture, seeking to
boost the industry and the tourism sector. Barbados was also at the forefront of
regional integration efforts, spearheading the creation of CARIFTA and CARICOM.[19] The
DLP lost the 1976 Barbadian general
election to the BLP under Tom
Adams. Adams adopted a more conservative and strongly
pro-Western stance, allowing the Americans to use Barbados as the launchpad for
their invasion of Grenada in
1983.[41] Adams
died in office in 1985 and was replaced by Harold
Bernard St. John, however, he lost 1986
Barbadian general election which saw
the return of the DLP under Errol Barrow, who had been highly critical of the
US intervention in Grenada. However, Barrow too died in office and was replaced
by Lloyd Erskine Sandiford who
remained Prime Minister until 1994.
Owen Arthur of
the BLP won the 1994 Barbadian
general election, remaining Prime Minister
until 2008. Arthur was a strong advocate of republicanism, though a planned
referendum to replace Queen Elizabeth as Head of State in 2008 never took
place.[42] The
DLP won the 2008 Barbadian general
election, however the new Prime Minister David
Thompson died in 2010 and was replaced by Freundel
Stuart. The BLP returned to power in
2018 under Mia
Mottley, who became Barbados's first female Prime
Minister.[43]
Geography and climate
Main
article: Geography of
Barbados
A
map of Barbados
Barbados is
situated in the Atlantic Ocean, east of the other West
Indies Islands. Barbados is the easternmost island
in the Lesser Antilles.
It is flat in comparison to its island neighbors to the west, the Windward
Islands. The island rises gently to the central highland
region known as Scotland District, with the high point of the nation being Mount
Hillaby 340 m (1,120 ft) above sea level.[19]
In the parish of Saint
Michael lies Barbados's capital and main city, Bridgetown,
containing 1/3 of the country's population.[19] Other
major towns scattered across the island include Holetown,
in the parish of Saint James; Oistins,
in the parish of Christ Church;
and Speightstown,
in the parish of Saint Peter.
Geology
Barbados lies on
the boundary of the South American and
the Caribbean Plates.[44] The subduction of
the South American plate beneath the Caribbean plate scrapes sediment from the
South American plate and deposits it above the subduction zone forming an accretionary
prism. The rate of this depositing of the material allows
Barbados to rise at a rate of about 25 mm (1 in) per 1,000 years.[45] This
subduction means geologically the
island is composed of coral roughly
90 m (300 ft) thick, where reefs formed above the sediment. The land
slopes in a series of "terraces" in the west and go into an incline
in the east. A large proportion of the island is circled by coral
reefs.[19]
The erosion of
limestone in the northeast of the island, in the Scotland District, has
resulted in the formation of various caves and gullies.
On the Atlantic east coast
of the island coastal landforms,
including stacks, have been created due to the limestone composition of the area.
Also notable in the island is the rocky cape known as Pico
Teneriffe[46] or
Pico de Tenerife, which is named after the fact that the island of Tenerife in Spain is
the first land east of Barbados according to the belief of the locals.
Climate
Bathsheba,
Saint Joseph
Crane
Beach is situated on the southeast coast
The country
generally experiences two seasons, one of which includes noticeably higher
rainfall. Known as the "wet season",
this period runs from June to December. By contrast, the "dry
season" runs from December to May. Annual
precipitation ranges between 1,000 and 2,300 mm (40 and 90 in). From
December to May the average temperatures range from 21 to 31 °C (70 to
88 °F), while between June and November, they range from 23 to 31 °C
(73 to 88 °F).[47]
On the Köppen
climate classification scale,
much of Barbados is regarded as a tropical
monsoon climate (Am). However, breezes
of 12 to 16 km/h (7 to 10 mph) abound throughout the year and give
Barbados a climate which
is moderately tropical.
Infrequent
natural hazards include earthquakes, landslips,
and hurricanes.
Barbados is often spared the worst effects of the region's tropical
storms and hurricanes during
the rainy season. Its location in the south-east of the Caribbean region puts
the country just outside the principal hurricane
strike zone. On average, a major hurricane strikes about once
every 26 years. The last significant hit from a hurricane to cause severe
damage to Barbados was Hurricane Janet in
1955; in 2010 the island was struck by Hurricane
Tomas, but this caused only minor damage across the
country.[48]
Environmental issues
Barbados,
seen from the International Space Station.
Barbados is
susceptible to environmental pressures. As one of the world's most densely
populated isles, the government worked during
the 1990s[49] to
aggressively integrate the growing south coast of the island into the
Bridgetown Sewage Treatment Plant to reduce contamination of offshore coral
reefs.[50][51] As
of the first decade of the 21st century, a second treatment plant has been
proposed along the island's west coast. Being so densely populated, Barbados
has made great efforts to protect its underground aquifers.[52]
As a
coral-limestone island, Barbados is highly permeable to the seepage of surface
water into the earth. The government has placed great emphasis on protecting
the catchment areas that lead directly into the huge network of underground
aquifers and streams.[52] On
occasion, illegal squatters have breached these areas, and the government has
removed squatters to preserve the cleanliness of the underground springs which
provide the island's drinking water.[53]
The government
has placed a huge emphasis on keeping Barbados clean to protect
the environment and preserving offshore coral reefs that surround the island.
Many initiatives to mitigate human pressures on the coastal regions of Barbados
and seas come from the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU).[54][55] Barbados
has nearly 90 kilometres (56 miles) of coral reefs just offshore and two
protected marine parks have been established off the west coast.[56] Overfishing
is another threat which faces Barbados.[57]
Although on the
opposite side of the Atlantic, and some 4,800 kilometres (3,000 miles) west of
Africa, Barbados is one of many places in the American continent that
experience heightened levels of mineral dust from
the Sahara Desert.[58] Some
particularly intense dust episodes have been blamed partly for the impacts on
the health of coral reefs[59] surrounding
Barbados or asthmatic episodes,[60] but
evidence has not wholly supported the former such claim.[61]
Wildlife
Barbados is host
to four species of nesting turtles (green turtles, loggerheads, hawksbill
turtles, and leatherbacks)
and has the second-largest hawksbill turtle-breeding population in the
Caribbean.[62] The
driving of vehicles on beaches can crush nests buried in the sand and such
activity is discouraged in nesting areas.[63]
Barbados is also
the host to the green monkey.
The green monkey is found in West Africa from Senegal to the Volta River. It
has been introduced to the Cape Verde islands off north-western Africa, and the
West Indian islands of Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Martin, and Barbados. It was
introduced to the West Indies in the late 17th century when slave trade ships
travelled to the Caribbean from West Africa.
Demographics
Main
articles: Demographics of
Barbados and Barbadian
people
A
bus stop in Barbados.
People
shopping in the capital of Bridgetown.
2010 a national census conducted by the Barbados Statistical Service reported a
resident population of 277,821, of whom 133,018 were male and 144,803 were
female.[64]
The life
expectancy for Barbados residents as of 2019 is 79 years. The average life
expectancy is 78 years for males and 83 years for females (2019).[1] Barbados
and Japan have the highest per capita occurrences of centenarians in
the world.[65]
The crude birth
rate is 12.23 births per 1,000 people, and the crude death rate is 8.39 deaths
per 1,000 people. The infant mortality rate is 11.63 infant deaths per 1,000
live births.
Ethnic groups
Close to 90% of
all Barbadians (also known colloquially as "Bajan") are of Afro-Caribbean descent
("Afro-Bajans")
and mixed descent. The remainder of the population includes groups of Europeans
("Anglo-Bajans" / "Euro-Bajans") mainly from the United
Kingdom and Ireland, and Asians, predominantly Chinese and Indians (both Hindu
and Muslim). Other groups in Barbados include people from the United Kingdom, The United States, and Canada. Barbadians who return after years of residence in the The United States and children born in America to Bajan parents are called
"Bajan Yankees", a term considered derogatory by some.[66] Generally,
Bajans recognize and accept all "children of the island" as Bajans,
and refer to each other as such.
The biggest
communities outside the Afro-Caribbean community are:
1. The Indo-Guyanese,
an important part of the economy due to the increase of immigrants from partner
country Guyana. There are
reports of a growing Indo-Bajans diaspora
originating from Guyana and India starting
around 1990. Predominantly from southern India, they are growing in size but
are smaller than the equivalent communities in Trinidad and Guyana.[67][19] The
Muslim Barbadians of Indian origin are large of Gujarati ancestry.
Many small businesses in Barbados are run and operated by Muslim-Indian Bajans.[68][69]
2. Euro-Bajans
(5% of the population)[1] have
settled in Barbados since the 17th century, originating from England, Ireland,
Portugal, and Scotland.
In 1643, there were 37,200 whites in Barbados (86% of the population).[70] More
commonly they are known as "White Bajans".
Euro-Bajans introduced folk music, such as Irish
music and Highland music, and certain place names,
such as "Scotland", a hilly region in central Barbados. Among White
Barbadians there exists an underclass known as Redlegs;
mostly the descendants of Irish indentured
laborers and prisoners imported to the island.[71] Many
additionally moved on to become the earliest settlers of modern-day North and South
Carolina in the United States. Today the Redlegs only
number around 400.[72]
3. Chinese-Barbadians
are a small portion of Barbados's wider Asian population.[19] Most
if not all first arrived in the 1940s from Hong Kong during the Second
World War.[citation
needed] Many
Chinese-Bajans have the surnames Chin, Chynn or Lee, although other surnames
prevail in certain areas of the island.[citation
needed] Chinese
food and culture is becoming part of the everyday Bajan culture.
4. Lebanese
and Syrians form the island's Arab Barbadian
community,[19] which
is overwhelmingly Christian Arab. The Muslim Arab minority among Arab Barbadian
make up a small percentage of the overall minority Muslim Barbadian population.
The majority of the Lebanese and Syrians arrived in Barbados through trade
opportunities. Their numbers are falling due to emigration to other countries.[citation
needed]
5. Jews arrived
in Barbados just after the first settlers in 1627. Bridgetown is the home
of Nidhe Israel Synagogue,
one of the oldest Jewish synagogues in the Americas, dating from 1654, though
the current structure was erected in 1833 replacing one ruined by the hurricane
of 1831.[73] Tombstones
in the neighboring cemetery date from the 1630s. Now under the care of the
Barbados National Trust, the site was deserted in 1929 but was saved and
restored by the Jewish community beginning in 1986.
Languages
English is
the official language of
Barbados, and is used for communications, administration, and public services
all over the island. In its capacity as the official language of the country,
the standard of English tends to conform to the vocabulary, pronunciations,
spellings, and conventions akin to, but not exactly the same as, those of British
English.
An English-based a creole language, referred to locally as Bajan,
is spoken by most Barbadians in everyday life, especially in informal settings.[19] In
its full-fledged form, Bajan sounds markedly different from the Standard
English heard on the island. The degree of intelligibility between Bajan and
general English, for the general English speaker, depends on the level of
creolized vocabulary and idioms. A Bajan speaker may be completely
unintelligible to an English speaker from another country.
Religion
Main
article: Religion in
Barbados
Cathedral
Church of Saint Michael and All Angels,
Bridgetown
Religion in Barbados (2000)[74]
Anglican
(40.50%)
Pentecostal (16.69%)
No
religion (atheism, agnosticism, etc) (17.30%)
Other (7.36%)
Seventh
Day Adventist (5.49%)
Methodist
(5.07%)
Baptist (4.79%)
Roman Catholic (4.18%)
Not
Stated (3.28%)
Church
of God (1.99%)
Jehovah's
witnesses (1.96%)
Moravian (1.34%)
Rastafarian
(1.14%)
Muslim
(0.66%)
Brethren
(0.64%)
Salvation
Army (0.42%)
Hindu
(0.34%)
Most Barbadians
of African and European descent are Christians (95%), the largest denomination
being Anglican (40%).[19] Other
Christian denominations with significant followings in Barbados are the Catholic
Church (administered by Roman
Catholic Diocese of Bridgetown), Pentecostals, Jehovah's
Witnesses, the Seventh-day
Adventist Church and Spiritual
Baptists.[19] The Church
of England was the official state religion until its
legal disestablishment by the Parliament of Barbados following independence.[75]
Other religions
in Barbados include Hinduism, Islam, Bahá'í,[76] Judaism.[19]
Government and politics
The Barbados
parliament building in Bridgetown.
Main
articles: Government of
Barbados and Politics
of Barbados
Barbados has
been an independent country since 30 November 1966.[77] It
functions as a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary
democracy modelled on the British Westminster
system. The Queen
of Barbados, Elizabeth II,
is head of state and
is represented locally by the Governor-General
of Barbados—presently Sandra
Mason. Both are advised on matters of the Barbadian
state by the Prime Minister of Barbados,
who is head of government.
There are 30 representatives within the House
of Assembly.
The Constitution
of Barbados is the supreme law of the nation.[78] The
Attorney General heads the independent
judiciary. New Acts are passed by the Barbadian Parliament
and require royal assent by
the governor-general to become law.
During the 1990s
at the suggestion of Trinidad and
Tobago's Patrick Manning,
Barbados attempted a political union with
Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
The project stalled after the then prime minister of Barbados, Lloyd
Erskine Sandiford, became ill and his Democratic
Labour Party lost the next general election.[79][80] Barbados
continues to share close ties with Trinidad and Tobago and with Guyana,
claiming the highest number of Guyanese immigrants after the United States,
Canada and the United Kingdom.
Political culture
Barbados
functions as a two-party system.
The dominant political parties are the Democratic
Labour Party and the incumbent Barbados
Labour Party. Since Independence on 30 November 1966, the
Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has governed from 1966 to 1976; 1986 to 1994; and
from 2008 to 2018; and the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has also governed from
1976 to 1986; 1994 to 2008; and from 2018 to present. The Democratic Labour
Party government (DLP) held office with the then 1st Premier of Barbados became
Prime Minister of Barbados, Errol Barrow for three successive terms from 4
December 1961 to 2 September 1976; and again from 28 May 1986 until his sudden
death in office on 1 June 1987. The 4th Prime Minister, Sir. Lloyd Sandiford
with the Democratic Labour Party government (DLP) from 1 June 1987 to 20
January 1991; and from 20 January 1991 to 6 September 1994. The Barbados Labour
Party (BLP) held office with the then Prime Minister, Tom Adams from 2
September 1976 to 18 June 1981; and from 18 June 1981 until his sudden death in
office on 11 March 1985. The 3rd Prime Minister, Sir. Harold St. John with the
Barbados Labour Party government (BLP) from 11 March 1985 to 28 May 1986. The
BLP held power from 6 September 1994 to 15 January 2008. The Democratic Labour
Party government (DLP) held power with the then 6th Prime Minister, David
Thompson from 15 January 2008 until his death in office on 23 October 2010. The
7th Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart with the Democratic Labour Party government
(DLP) from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013; and from 21 February 2013 to 24
May 2018 for the general elections for the new BLP. All of Barbados's Prime
Ministers, except Freundel Stuart, held under the Ministry of Finance's
portfolio. The Barbados Labour Party government (BLP) held power with the now
8th Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley from 24 May 2018 to present.
Foreign relations
Main
article: Foreign
relations of Barbados
Barbados follows
a policy of nonalignment and
seeks cooperative relations with all friendly states. Barbados is a full and
participating member of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM), CARICOM
Single Market and Economy (CSME),
and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).[81] Organization
of American States (OAS), Commonwealth
of Nations, and the Caribbean
Court of Justice (CCJ). In 2005 the
Parliament of Barbados voted on a measure replacing the UK's Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council with the
Caribbean Court of Justice based in Port
of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
World Trade Organization, European Commission,
CARIFORUM
Barbados is an
original member (1995) of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and participates actively in its work.
It grants at least MFN treatment to all its trading partners. European
Union relations and cooperation with Barbados are
carried out both on a bilateral and a regional basis. Barbados is party to
the Cotonou Agreement,
through which As of December 2007 it is linked by an Economic
Partnership Agreement with
the European Commission.
The pact involves the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) subgroup of the African,
Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).
CARIFORUM is the only part of the wider ACP-bloc that has concluded the full
regional trade-pact with the European Union.
There are also ongoing EU-Community of
Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
and EU-CARIFORUM dialogues.[82]
Trade policy has
also sought to protect a small number of domestic activities, mostly food
production, from foreign competition, while recognising that most domestic
needs are best met by imports.
The Double Taxation Relief (CARICOM) Treaty 1994
On 6 July 1994,
at the Sherbourne Conference Centre, St. Michael, Barbados, representatives of
eight (8) countries signed the Double Taxation Relief (CARICOM) Treaties 1994.
The countries which were represented were: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize,
Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.[83]
On 19 August
1994 a representative of the Government of Guyana signed a similar treaty.
Military
The Barbados
Defence Force has roughly 600 members. Within it, 12- to
18-year-olds make up the Barbados Cadet Corps. The defence preparations of the
island nation are closely tied to defence treaties with the United Kingdom, the
United States, and the People's Republic of China.[84]
The Royal
Barbados Police Force is the
sole law enforcement agency on the island of Barbados.
Administrative divisions
Main
article: Parishes of
Barbados
Barbados
is divided into 11
parishes:
1. Christ Church
2. Saint Andrew
3. Saint George
4. Saint James
5. Saint John
6. Saint Joseph
7. Saint Lucy
8. Saint Michael
9. Saint Peter
10. Saint Philip
11. Saint Thomas
|
|
St. George and
St. Thomas are in the middle of the country and are the only parishes without
coastlines.
Human rights
See
also: LGBT rights in Barbados
Same-sex sexual
acts (known as buggery or sodomy) are criminalised
in Barbados.[85] The colonial
era law bears a maximum sentence of life in prison;
however, the law is very rarely enforced.[86]
Economy
Main
article: Economy of
Barbados
Sandy
Lane is a leading resort in Barbados's tourism
sector
A
proportional representation of national exports.
Barbados is the
53rd richest country in the world in
terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita,[87] has
a well-developed mixed economy,
and a moderately high standard of
living. According to the World Bank, Barbados is
classified as being in its 66 top high
income economies of the world.[88][failed
verification] Despite
this, a 2012 self-study in conjunction with the Caribbean
Development Bank revealed 20% of
Barbadians live in poverty, and nearly 10% cannot meet their basic daily food
needs.[89]
Historically,
the economy of Barbados had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation
and related activities, but since the late 1970s and early 1980s it has diversified
into the manufacturing and tourism sectors.[19] Offshore
finance and information services have become important foreign exchange
earners, and there is a healthy light manufacturing sector. Since the 1990s the
Barbados Government has been seen as business-friendly and economically sound.[90][citation
needed] The
island saw a construction boom, with the development and redevelopment of
hotels, office complexes, and homes, partly due to the staging of the 2007
Cricket World Cup.[91] This
slowed during the 2008 to 2011 world economic crisis and the recession.[92]
There was a
strong economy between 1999 and 2000 when it contracted in 2001 and 2002 due to
slowdowns in tourism, consumer spending and the impact of the September
11 attacks in the United States and the 7
July 2005 London bombings, but rebounded
in 2003 and has shown growth since 2004.[1] Traditional
trading partners include Canada, the Caribbean
Community (especially Trinidad
and Tobago), the United Kingdom and the United States. Recent
government administrations have continued efforts to reduce unemployment,
encourage foreign direct investment,
and privatise remaining state-owned enterprises. Unemployment was reduced to
10.7% in 2003.[1] However,
it has since increased to 11.9% in second quarter, 2015.[93]
The European
Union is assisting Barbados with a €10 million program of modernisation of the
country's International Business and Financial Services Sector.[94]
Barbados
maintains the third largest stock exchange in
the Caribbean region. As of 2009, officials at the stock exchange were
investigating the possibility of augmenting the local exchange with an
International Securities Market (ISM) venture.[95]
Barbados'
outstanding debt climbed to US$7.5 billion in May 2018, more than 1.7
times higher the country's GDP.
In June 2018 the government refused to pay coupon on Eurobonds maturing
in 2035. Outstanding bond debt of Barbados reached US$4.4 billion.[96]
Health
See Health
in Barbados
Education
Main
article: Education in
Barbados
Schoolchildren
in Saint Philip, Barbados.
The
Barbados literacy rate is
ranked close to 100%.[97][19] The
mainstream public education system of Barbados is fashioned after the British
model. The government of Barbados spends 6.7% of its GDP on education (2008).[1]
All young people
in the country must attend school until age 16. Barbados has over 70 primary
schools and over 20 secondary schools throughout the island. There is a number
of private schools, including Montessori and
the International Baccalaureate.
Student enrolment at these schools represents less than 5% of the total
enrolment of the public schools.
Certificate-,
diploma- and degree-level education in the country is provided by the Barbados
Community College, the Samuel
Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, Codrington
College, and the Cave
Hill campus and Open Campus of the University
of the West Indies. Barbados is also home to
several overseas medical schools, such as Ross
University School of Medicine and
the American University of Integrative Sciences, School
of Medicine.
Educational testing
Barbados
Secondary School Entrance Examination: Children who are 11 years old but under
12 years old on 1 September in the year of the examination are required to
write the examination as a means of allocation to secondary school.
Caribbean
Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations are usually taken by
students after five years of secondary school and mark the end of standard
secondary education. The CSEC examinations are equivalent to the Ordinary Level
(O-Levels) examinations and are targeted toward students 16 and older.
Caribbean
Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) are taken by students who have
completed their secondary education and wish to continue their studies.
Students who sit for the CAPE usually possess CSEC or an equivalent
certification. The CAPE is equivalent to the British Advanced Levels (A-Levels),
voluntary qualifications that are intended for university entrance.[98]
Culture
Main
article: Culture of
Barbados
The culture
of Barbados is a blend of West African, Portuguese, Creole, Indian and
British cultures present in Barbados. Citizens are officially called
Barbadians. The term "Bajan" (pronounced BAY-jun) may have come from
a localised pronunciation of the word Barbadian, which at times can sound more
like "Bar-bajan"; or, more likely, from English bay ("bayling"),
Portuguese baiano.
The
largest carnival-like cultural
event that takes place on the island is the Crop
Over festival, which was established in 1974. As
in many other Caribbean and Latin American countries, Crop Over is an important
event for many people on the island, as well as the thousands of tourists that
flock to there to participate in the annual events.[19] The
festival includes musical competitions and other traditional activities, and
features the majority of the island's homegrown calypso and soca
music for the year. The male and female Barbadians
who harvested the most sugarcane are crowned as the King and Queen of the crop.[99] Crop
Over gets under way at the beginning of July and ends with the costumed parade
on Kadooment Day, held on the first Monday of August. New calypso/soca music is
usually released and played more frequently from the beginning of May to
coincide with the start of the festival.[citation
needed]
Cuisine
Main
article: Barbadian
cuisine
Mount
Gay Rum visitors centre
Bajan cuisine is
a mixture of African, Indian, Irish, Creole and British influences.
A typical meal consists of a main dish of meat or fish, normally marinated with
a mixture of herbs and spices, hot side dishes, and one or more salads. The
meal is usually served with one or more sauces.[100] The national
dish of Barbados is Cou-Cou & Flying
Fish with spicy gravy.[101] Another
traditional meal is "Pudding and Souse" a dish of pickled pork with
spiced sweet potatoes.[102] A
wide variety of seafood and meats are also available.
The Mount
Gay Rum visitors centre in Barbados claims to be the
world's oldest remaining rum company, with earliest confirmed deed from
1703. Cockspur Rum and Malibu are
also from the island. Barbados is home to the Banks
Barbados Brewery, which brews Banks Beer,
a pale lager,
as well as Banks Amber Ale.[103] Banks
also brews Tiger Malt, a non-alcoholic malted
beverage. 10 Saints beer is brewed in Speightstown,
St. Peter in Barbados and aged for 90 days in Mount Gay 'Special Reserve' Rum
casks. It was first brewed in 2009 and is available in certain Caricom nations.[104]
Music
Further
information: Music of
Barbados
International pop
star Rihanna,
a native of Barbados.
In music, nine-time
Grammy Award winner Rihanna (born
in Saint Michael) is one of Barbados's best-known artists and one of the best
selling music artists of all
time, selling over 200 million records worldwide. In 2009 she was appointed as
an Honorary Ambassador of Youth and Culture for Barbados by the late Prime
Minister, David Thompson.[105]
Singer-songwriters Rayvon and Shontelle,
the band Cover Drive,
musician Rupee and Mark
Morrison, singer of Top 10 hit "Return
of the Mack" also originate from Barbados. Grandmaster
Flash (born Joseph Saddler in Bridgetown in 1958)
is a hugely influential musician of Barbadian origin, pioneering hip-hop DJing,
cutting, and mixing in
1970s New York. The Merrymen are
a well known Calypso band based in Barbados, performing from the 1960s into the
2010s.
Public holidays
Further
information: Public holidays
in Barbados
Date
|
English name
|
Remarks
|
1 January
|
New Year's Day
|
|
21 January
|
Errol Barrow Day
|
A day of recognition for Errol Barrow the Father
of the Nation since 21 January 1989.
|
March or April
|
Good Friday
|
Friday, date varies
|
March or April
|
Easter Monday
|
Monday, date varies
|
28 April
|
National Heroes' Day
|
A day of recognition for Barbados's
national heroes since 28 April 1998.
|
1–7 May
|
Labour Day
|
1st Monday in May, date varies
|
May or June
|
Whit Monday
|
Monday, date varies
|
1 August
|
Emancipation Day
|
The date on which slavery was
abolished on the island since 1 August 1997.
|
1–7 August
|
Kadooment Day
|
1st Monday in August, date varies
|
30 November
|
Independence Day
|
The anniversary of Barbadian
national independence, from the United Kingdom on 30
November 1966.
|
25 December
|
Christmas Day
|
|
26 December.
|
Boxing Day
|
Sports
Main
article: Sport in
Barbados
Kensington
Oval in Bridgetown hosted
the 2007 Cricket World Cup final. Cricket is one of the most followed games in
Barbados and Kensington Oval is often referred to as the "Mecca in
Cricket" due to its significance and contributions to the sport.
A
horse and rider at Garrison Savannah
As in other
Caribbean countries of British colonial heritage, cricket is
very popular on the island. The West Indies
cricket team usually includes several Barbadian players.
In addition to several warm-up matches and six "Super Eight" matches,
the country hosted the final of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Barbados has
produced many great cricketers including Sir
Garfield Sobers, Sir
Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde
Walcott, Sir Everton
Weekes, Gordon Greenidge, Wes
Hall, Charlie Griffith, Joel
Garner, Desmond Haynes and Malcolm
Marshall.
Rugby is
also popular in Barbados as well.
Horse racing takes
place at the Historic Garrison Savannah close
to Bridgetown. Spectators can pay for admission to the stands, or else can
watch races from the public "rail", which encompasses the track.
Basketball is
an increasingly popular sport, played at school or college. Barbados's
national team has shown some unexpected results as in the
past it beat many much larger countries.
Polo is
very popular amongst the rich elite on the island and the "High-Goal"
Apes Hill team is based at the St James's Club.[106] It
is also played at the private Holders Festival ground.
In golf,
the Barbados Open,
played at Royal Westmoreland Golf Club, was an annual stop on the European
Seniors Tour from 2000 to 2009. In December 2006 the WGC-World
Cup took place at the country's Sandy
Lane resort on the Country Club course, an 18-hole
course designed by Tom Fazio.
The Barbados Golf Club is another course on the island. It has hosted the
Barbados Open on several occasions.
Volleyball is
also popular, though volleyball is mainly played indoors.
Tennis is
gaining popularity and Barbados is home to Darian
King, currently ranked 270th in the world and is the
2nd highest ranked player in the Caribbean.
Motorsports also
play a role, with Rally Barbados occurring each summer and being listed on the
FIA NACAM calendar. Also, the Bushy Park
Circuit hosted the Race
of Champions and Global
RallyCross Championship in 2014.
The presence of
the trade winds along with favourable swells make the southern tip of the
island an ideal location for wave sailing (an extreme form of the sport
of windsurfing).
Netball is
also popular with women in Barbados.
Barbadian team
The Flyin' Fish, are the 2009 Segway Polo World
Champions.[107]
Transport
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Main
article: Transport in
Barbados
A
Hino ACME Minibus B 163 in Speightstown, St. Peter, Barbados.
Although
Barbados is about 34 km (21 mi) across at its widest point, a car
journey from Six Cross Roads in St. Philip (south-east) to North Point in St.
Lucy (north-central) can take one and a half hours or longer due to road
conditions. Barbados has half as many registered cars as citizens.
Transport on the
island is relatively convenient with "route
taxis" called "ZRs" (pronounced
"Zed-Rs") travelling to most points on the island. These small buses
can at times be crowded, as passengers are generally never turned down
regardless of the number. They will usually take the more scenic routes to
destinations. They generally depart from the capital Bridgetown or
from Speightstown in
the northern part of the island.
Including the
ZRs, there are three bus systems running seven days a week (though less
frequently on Sundays). There are ZRs, the yellow minibuses and the blue Transport
Board buses. A ride on any of them costs Bds$ 3.5. The
smaller buses from the two privately owned systems ("ZRs" and
"minibuses") can give change; the larger blue buses from the
government-operated Barbados
Transport Board system cannot, but do
give receipts. The Barbados Transport Board buses travel in regular bus routes
and scheduled timetables across Barbados. Schoolchildren in school uniform
including some Secondary schools ride for free on the government buses and for
Bds$ 2.5 on the ZRs. Most routes require a connection in Bridgetown.
Barbados Transport Board's headquarters are located at Kay's House, Roebuck
Street, St. Michael, and the bus depots and terminals are located in the
Fairchild Street Bus Terminal in Fairchild Street and the Princess Alice Bus
Terminal (which was formerly the Lower Green Bus Terminal in Jubilee Gardens,
Bridgetown, St. Michael) in Princess Alice Highway, Bridgetown, St. Michael;
the Speightstown Bus Terminal in Speightstown, St. Peter; the Oistins Bus Depot
in Oistins, Christ Church; and the Mangrove Bus Depot in Mangrove, St. Philip.
Some hotels also
provide visitors with shuttles to points of interest on the island from outside
the hotel lobby. There are several locally owned and operated vehicle rental
agencies in Barbados but there are no multi-national companies.
The island's
lone airport is the Grantley Adams
International Airport. It 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. In the
first decade of the 21st century it underwent a US$100
million upgrade and expansion in February 2003 until completion in August
2005.
There was also a
helicopter shuttle service, which offered air taxi services to a number of
sites around the island, mainly on the West Coast tourist belt. Air and
maritime traffic was regulated by the Barbados
Port Authority. Private Luxury Helicopter
Tours were located in Spencers, Christ Church next to the Barbados Concorde
Experience when it was opened in September 2007 and closed in April 2010. Bajan
Helicopters were opened in April 1989 and closed in late December 2009 because
of the economic crisis and recession facing Barbados.
Credit: Wikipedia
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