The British settled the island of Barbados in 1627 at the presentday site of Holetown. These settlers began to produce tobacco and cotton for export back to England, but failed to make a living with these crops. Sugar was soon to become the produce that remained the island's major export for centuries. The British colony was granted its independence in 1966, but maintains close ties with the former colonial power.

About Barbados | Barbados History | Barbados Culture

Recent archaeological discoveries indicate that the island of Barbados was originally settled by the Arawak tribe arriving from Venezuela using long dugout canoes. A dangerous ocean current from the north coast of Venzuela would have brought the tribe to the Caribbean islands. The Arawak have left few traces of their existence on Barbados, and are thought to have been eliminated by the Carib tribe of cannibals around 1200 A.D.

Captain Henry Powell and a group of settlers settled at what is now Holetown, were influential in developing early British settlements in Barbados. As the sugar industry developed into the main commercial enterprise, Barbados was divided into large plantation estates which replaced the small holdings of the early British settlers. Sugar cane dominated Barbados' economic growth, and the island's cash crop was at the top of the sugar industry until 1720. To work the plantations, persecuted Catholics from Ireland and tribal peoples of Africa were used as slaves. This slave trade continued until a few years before the abolition of slavery throughout the British empire in 1834.

Since shortly after its settlement, the colony of Barbados has maintained an elected parliament under the British Governor-General, who is the representative of the Crown of England. At first only landholders were permitted to vote, but this was replaced with an income based requirement that allowed plantation owners and wealthy merchants to dominate the island for most of its history. In 1942, this restriction was removed and in 1951 universal adult suffrage was adopted.

On November 30, 1966, Barbados was granted independence from Britain. The new country remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and Queen Victoria remains the official head of state, represented by a Governor-General. The actual government of Barbados is the Assemby that was first formed int 1639 by the early settlers. Each of the eleven parishes elects two representatives to the Assembly, which selects the Prime Minister that is the Head of Government.