Aux alentours de -1623
First native settlement
Some archaeological digs carried out during the construction of the Port-Charles complex and its marina (near Speightstown) prove that the first humans to visit and settle in Barbados would have arrived at this time from present-day Venezuela, aboard their canoes. Their traces are extremely stealthy. This was the first wave of indigenous peoples to arrive here.
IVe siècle - XVIe siècle
Arrival of the Taïnos and Kalinagos
Around 350, other Amerindians arrived in Barbados. First came the Tainos, also known as the Arawaks, a people with a mastery of agriculture. Around 1200, the Kalinagos (Caribs), with their more warlike reputation, invaded the island. These two peoples spread throughout the Caribbean, but with the arrival of the Europeans, disease and slave raids all but exterminated them. While the Tainos disappeared completely, the Kalinagos managed to survive on Dominica.
Ichirouganaim ("the land of white teeth", in reference to the coral reefs) is the name the Tainos gave to the island of Barbados.
1536
Arrival of the Portuguese and disappearance of the Amerindians
The first Europeans to arrive in Barbados were the Portuguese, and more specifically the explorer Pedro A. Campos. Campos, whose ship, en route to Brazil, stumbled upon the island by chance. It was he who gave Barbados its current name. He christened it Os Barbados, "the bearded ones", probably because the aerial roots of the fig trees resemble... beards.
A few years later, the Amerindian population left the island en masse. Harassment by Spanish raiders in search of slaves, and land rendered barren by excessive planting of food crops were among the reasons for this flight to other islands.
1625-1639
Beginning of British colonization
On May 14, 1625, the first British ship, theOlive Blossom, docked in Barbados. The commander, John Powell, took possession of the island on behalf of King James I of England (James I Stuart). At the time, the island was virtually uninhabited.
Two years later, on February 17, 1627, the first colony, led by John Powell's younger brother Henry, was established on the site of present-day Holetown. In homage to King James, it was christened Jamestown. This first small group consisted of 80 settlers and a dozen hired hands.
Initially, Barbados was a proprietary colony, a kind of private property resulting from territorial concessions granted by the king to lords in order to develop its potential. Most of the profits generated by the work of the first settlers went to Sir William Courten, the lord proprietor of Barbados. In return, the lord proprietor paid a salary and financed the colony and its needs. Following some obscure maneuvering, the title was transferred to James Hay, Earl of Carlisle, a close friend of the King. He immediately chose Henry Powell as governor. The bay where Bridgetown is located today bears his name, Carlisle Bay.
In 1639, Henry Powell, in a gesture of appeasement to colonists who were not all happy with his appointment, established the House of Assembly, which still exists today and is the lower house of the Barbadian parliament.
1640-1660
The Cromwellian era
In 1649, King Charles I was executed, exporting to Barbados the civil war that had been raging in France since 1642. The island's policy of neutrality had succeeded in keeping the peace until the king's death. Unlike other colonies, Barbados leaned towards royalty. Relieving Phillip Bell (the governor who had divided Barbados into 11 parishes, an administrative division that still exists today), Francis Willoughby entered service, sent by the2nd Earl of Carlisle. This staunch royalist stood up to Cromwell's Commonwealth. In 1650, Parliament passed a law prohibiting trade between England and Barbados, as well as the Navigation Act, which stipulated that only English ships could trade with the neighboring Dutch colonies.
In 1651, a parliamentary fleet commanded by Sir George Ayscue landed in Barbados, demanding the island's submission. The Barbadian militia, though numerically inferior, initially resisted. However, faced with a superior military force and the threat of economic paralysis, the island was forced to bow to the authority of the parliamentarians. The Barbados Charter was signed between Willoughby and Ayscue, and the latter became governor of the island. Under Cromwell, many prisoners, including thousands of Irish, were deported to Barbados to work in the sugarcane fields. The white convicts were nicknamed Red Legs or Poor Whites.
Début XVIIe siècle
Sugar cane boom
Thanks to enormous demand in Europe, sugarcane, introduced to Barbados by the Dutch via Brazil, quickly supplanted tobacco, which had become less profitable due to the expansion of its cultivation in Virginia. Within a few decades, almost the entire surface of Barbados was deforested to make way for sugarcane fields.
The boom in sugarcane production led to a growing demand for labor. To meet this need, the British Caribbean colonies, including Barbados, attracted many candidates for colonial adventure. These included engagés, who were promised a sum of money at the end of their contract, as well as deported criminals. As the engagés gained their freedom and the number of plantations increased, the labor shortage became more and more pressing. Faced with this situation, Barbadian landowners increasingly turned to slavery.
1636
Beginning of slavery
In 1636, Governor Henry Hawley issued a decree formalizing slavery in Barbados, a first in the British colonies. This decision paved the way for the massive arrival of African slaves, torn from their lives to be sold like cattle. Slave living conditions were appalling, marked by grueling labor, corporal punishment and total deprivation of freedom. By 1680, the population of black slaves in Barbados was already twice that of whites, illustrating the scale of this inhumane system.
In 1661, the Barbados Slave Code was published, codifying the rights of slave owners and defining the punishments inflicted on slaves for disobedience. This Code served as a model for the other British colonies, including the American ones, and also inspired the French Code Noir.
XVIIIe siècle
A flourishing economy
The sugarcane economy continues to grow. Gradually, a process of consolidation took place, with the large plantations absorbing the smaller ones. In fact, wealthy landowners (or their representatives) truly wield political power in Barbados, to the point where it is referred to as a "plantocracy". To build and decorate their homes, the planters spared no expense, importing materials and furniture from Europe.
It was against this backdrop of opulence that the young George Washington arrived in 1751. The future President of the United States, then aged 19, accompanied his half-brother, Lawrence, who was trying to cure himself of tuberculosis. A frequent visitor to the nearby garrison, he developed a taste for a military career.
As the white enlisted men completed their service, they began to leave Barbados for America or Jamaica, as did some of the planters, while the number of slaves continued to rise. The demographic composition of the island was profoundly altered.
1780
A hurricane of unprecedented violence ravages the Lesser Antilles, including Barbados, where more than 4,000 people lose their lives.
1807-1838
Revolts, Bussa's rebellion and the end of slavery
In 1807, the United Kingdom put an end to the slave trade, but not to the practice of slavery. Despite a few revolts, such as Bussa's on April 14, 1816, life on the plantations continued. Bussa, a freeborn enslaved Igbo, and a few companions (including a woman, Nanny Briggs) led a simultaneous rebellion on several plantations on Easter Day. Several hundred people were involved, and it took the local militia and the imperial army two days to put down the rebellion by force of arms. Bussa himself was killed in the fighting. He became one of Barbadia's eleven national heroes.
On August 10, 1831, a Category 3 hurricane hit Barbados hard, leaving behind extensive property damage and some 1,500 dead.
In 1834, slavery was abolished, but freedmen remained subject to an apprenticeship system for four years, before obtaining full freedom in 1838.
1839-1930
Jolts
During the 19th century, sugar cane continued to provide the country with a certain amount of wealth, despite several obstacles: the emancipation of slaves, the liberalization of trade and European competition, which could now manufacture its sugar thanks to sugar beet. As long as planters and wealthy merchants were in power and cheap labor was assured, the system continued to function, but this was not to last much longer. Frustrated by the low wages and poor living conditions, many inhabitants left Barbados, while revolt broke out among those who remained.
1854
A cholera epidemic devastates Bridgetown, killing more than 20,000 people.
1930-1950
The Great Depression and the road to independence
The Great Depression (and with it, the collapse of the sugar trade), combined with the rise of socialism and black identity movements like that of Jamaican Marcus Garvey, ignited the fuse of social protest. The demands? Better living conditions for workers, the legalization of trade unions and a broader right to vote (the right to vote had been limited to men with a high census that excluded a large majority of the population).
Following several demonstrations, Great Britain decided to set up the West Indies Royal Commission, or Moyne Commission, which agreed to many demands, including the legalization of trade unions. In 1942, the census was lowered, enabling a larger proportion of the population to participate in political life. In 1950, universal suffrage was introduced.
1953-1966
Independence
1938 saw the founding of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), under the impetus of pioneering figures such as Grantley Herbert Adams. Adams, who became Prime Minister of Barbados in 1953, left his name to the island's international airport. His successor, Hugh Gordon Cummings, also a member of the BLP, ruled the country from 1958 to 1961.
At the same time, the independence movement gained momentum. A split within the party gave rise to the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in 1955, embodying a more left-wing political vision. In 1961, Barbados took a crucial step towards internal self-government. The DLP, led by Errol Barrow, won the elections.
From 1958 to 1962, Barbados became part of the Federation of the West Indies, bringing together the former British colonies in the region. However, internal divisions weakened the federation, leading to its collapse.
On November 30 1966, Barbados proclaimed its independence, with Errol Barrow as Prime Minister. His statue stands proudly in Independence Square. As a member of the Commonwealth, Barbados recognizes the Queen of England as its Sovereign, represented by Governors-General.
1966-2018
Post-independence
In the years that followed, the Barrow-led government set about asserting itself on the international stage (notably by helping to launch CARICOM, an area of economic and political cooperation) and diversifying the country's economy, which was still largely dependent on sugarcane production.
Despite these obstacles, the country experienced significant growth in the decades that followed. Industry expanded, as did tourism, becoming a crucial economic sector, while education and health services improved considerably.
The 1970s and 1980s were somewhat more difficult, marked by economic and social crises. Nevertheless, the young democracy remained stable, with a succession of DLP and BLP governments. In 1976, Tom Adams (son of Grantley Adams) won the election for the BLP. His more conservative and pro-Western stance meant that Barbados became a platform for the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, aimed at overthrowing the communist government that had come to power in a coup.
In 2018, the BLP won the elections and its leader, Mia Mottley, became the first female Prime Minister.
2020-2021
The establishment of the Republic
The Republican movement in Barbados is not new. Already under Owen Arthur's BLP government, elected in 1994, a referendum on the issue was envisaged for 2008. However, it never took place.
On September 15, 2020, the BLP government, led by Mia Mottley, officially announced Barbados' intention to sever its ties with the British monarchy and become a republic, while remaining a member of the Commonwealth. The date chosen for this historic transition? November 30, 2021, the 55th anniversary of the country's independence.
Dame Sandra Mason, the last Governor-General of Barbados, is nominated as candidate for the presidency of the republic by a vote involving both the ruling party and the opposition. On October 30, 2021, she was elected the first President of Barbados.
Since then, Barbados has continued its transformation.
