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- Barbadian culture emerged out of the plantation slavery economy as a distinctive synthesis of English and West African cultural traditions. Regional, race, and class cultural variants exist, but all residents identify with the national culture.
The culture of Barbados is a blend of West African and British cultures present in Barbados. English is the official language of the nation, reflecting centuries of British influence, but the Bajan dialect in which it is spoken is an iconic part of the Barbadian culture.
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Barbadian culture emerged out of the plantation slavery economy as a distinctive synthesis of English and West African cultural traditions. Regional, race, and class cultural variants exist, but all residents identify with the national culture.
- Overview
- British rule
- Barbados since independence
history of Barbados, history of Barbados from prehistoric times to the present.
Little of the island’s prehistory is known, but archaeological investigation indicates that it may have been settled as early as 1600 bce by people from northern South America who later disappeared from the archaeological record. From about 500 to 1500 ce, Arawak and Carib people probably lived on the island, which they called Ichirouganaim. The first contact with Europeans may have occurred in the early 16th century, when Spaniards visited Barbados. Portuguese explorers also touched on the island, which they named Barbados (“Bearded Ones”), either for bearded fig trees or bearded men on the island. The island was depopulated because of repeated slave raids by the Spanish in the 16th century; it is believed that those Indigenous people who avoided enslavement migrated to elsewhere in the region. By the mid-16th century—largely because of the island’s small size, remoteness, and depopulation—European explorers had practically abandoned their claims to it, and Barbados remained effectively without a population.
An English expedition of 1625 assessed the potential of the island, and on February 17, 1627, the ship William and John landed with 80 Englishmen and about 10 Africans. The early period of English settlement was marked by the insecurity resulting from infrequent provision of supplies from Europe and the difficulty in establishing a profitable export crop. This was complicated by bitter squabbles over the claims of rival lords proprietors and over the question of allegiance to either the British crown or Parliament during the constitutional conflicts of the 1640s that led to the English Civil Wars.
As in the earlier cases of Bermuda and Virginia, an assembly made up of owners of at least 10 acres (4 hectares) of freehold land was established in Barbados in 1639. Elections were held annually. There were also a council and a governor who was appointed first by the lord proprietor and, after the 1660s, by the king.
The economy of the early colonial era was marked by a pattern of family farms and by a diversity of products including aloes, fustic (a dye-producing wood), indigo, and, above all, cotton and tobacco. The search for a profitable export crop ended in the 1640s, when Dutch assistance enabled the colonists to convert to sugar production.
The Sugar Revolution, as it is called, had momentous social, economic, and political consequences. The elite in Barbados chose a form of sugar production that yielded the greatest level of profit—but at great social cost. They decided to establish large sugarcane plantations, cultivated by oppressed labourers from West Africa, who were brought to the island and enslaved in accordance with a series of slave laws enacted from 1636 onward. Society in Barbados was composed of three categories of persons: free, indentured, and enslaved. “Race” was a central determinant of status. There were three “racial,” or ethnic, groups—whites, coloureds (those of part-European and part-African parentage or ancestry), and Blacks. Some whites were free and some were indentured; some coloureds were free and some were enslaved; and some Blacks were free and some were enslaved. No whites were enslaved.
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Barbados became independent on November 30, 1966, after joining the ill-fated West Indies Federation (1958–62). By then the economy was expanding and diversifying, mainly as a result of the policies pursued by the governments formed after the planter-merchant elite lost power.
Barbados is a member of the Commonwealth and continues to play a leading role in the establishment of regional cooperation. In 1968 Errol Barrow, who served as prime minister in 1966–76 and 1986–87, helped form the Caribbean Free Trade Association, which became the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) in 1973. The island has also established close ties with countries elsewhere in the less-developed world.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Apr 15, 2023 · The island is home to a rich history and culture, with influences from African, European, and Indigenous traditions that can be seen in everything from the food to the music. Visitors to Barbados can enjoy a wide range of activities, from swimming with sea turtles to exploring historic sites.
Drawing on its English, African and West Indian roots, Barbados has established its own distinctive identity, evidenced in its customs, traditions and values, and passionately expressed through the rich history, exceptional cuisine and artistic talents of its people.
Nov 30, 2021 · As the Barbadian identity shifts and evolves, so do its expressions of culture. Notable artforms like dance, music and theatre, documented through stages of pre- and post-Emancipation, pre-Independence and finally post-Independence, help tell the story of our evolution as a country.
5 days ago · Society in Barbados was composed of three categories of persons: free, indentured, and enslaved. “Race” was a central determinant of status. There were three “racial,” or ethnic, groups—whites, coloureds (those of part-European and part-African parentage or ancestry), and Blacks.
