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island nation located towards the east of the Caribbean
Sea and the west of the Atlantic Ocean, part of the eastern
islands of the Lesser Antilles, with the nations of Saint
Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines being its closest
neighbors. The island is 430 km2 (166 square miles), and
is primarily low, with some hills in the island's interior.
It is located 13† north of the Equator and 59† west of
the Prime Meridian, about 434.5 km (270 miles) northeast
of Venezuela. |
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Barbados
is mainly composed of coral and limestone. It is tropical
with constant tradewinds and consists of some marshes and
mangrove swamps. Some parts of the island's interior are also
dotted with large sugarcane estates and wide pastures with
many good views to the sea.
The name "Barbados" comes from a Portuguese explorer
named Pedro Campos in 1536, who originally called the island
Os Barbados ("The Bearded Ones"), upon seeing the
appearance of the island's fig trees, whose long hanging aerial
roots he thought resembled beards. Between Campos' sighting
in 1536 and 1550, Spanish conquistadors seized many Caribs
on Barbados and used them as slave labor on plantations. Other
Caribs fled the island, moving elsewhere.
British sailors who landed on Barbados in the 1620s at the
site of present-day Holetown on the Caribbean coast found
the island uninhabited. From the arrival of the first British
settlers in 1627–1628 until independence in 1966, Barbads
was under uninterrupted British control. Nevertheless, Barbdos
always enjoyed a large measure of local autonomy. Its House
of Assembly began meeting in 1639. Among the initial important
British figures was Sir William Courten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados
 The
island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in
1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the
island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy
remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production
through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction
of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led
to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s,
tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in
economic importance.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bb.html
Barbados
is the 'Little England' of the Caribbean, but not so much
so that the locals have given up rotis for kidney pies, or
rum for bitter ale world guide shop thorn tree travel ticker
theme guides on the road postcards. Tourism is big business
on Barbados, and most visitors who come to the island are
looking for that comfortable mix of the familiar peppered
with just enough local flavor to feel 'exotic'. So if you're
looking for a Caribbean island with plenty of amenities, watersports
and nightlife, Brbados fits the bill. Travellers wanting to
explore undeveloped areas and get off the beaten track should
start looking for another island.
www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/caribbean/barbados
Offering special deals on travel
to Barbados every day. View hotels and villas online w/rates
and photos. Contact us today and one of our experts will find
the package for you. Of all the Caribean islands, Barbados
stands out as the jewel in the Caribbean crown. A truly superb
tropical hideaway, is unique and exotic because of the abundance
of diversity that has been packed into this quaint British
common wealth. It's diversity becomes even more evident as
you tour the interior of the island. The refined luxury of
Sandy Lane Estates, Beach, Golf Course and Country Club on
the West Coast can be contrasted with the funky style of St.
Lawrence Gap on the South Coast.
www.travel2barbados.com
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