the history behind barbados
Barbados is an “eastern-most” Caribbean island. The island is less than one million years old. It was created from the collision of Atlantic and Caribbean plates, and volcanic eruption. The island is approximately 300 feet. The history was discovered by ancient artifacts and discoveries. Findings show settlement around 1623 BC. First to arrive on the island were Amerindians who originated from Venezuela. They traveled through a sea channel, Dragon’s mouth, which was a tunnel from Venezuela to Barbados. This was a very dangerous journey for having only open dugout canoes , but that didn’t stop the families and villages. They made their new home along the Barbadian coast, leaving no trace of their travel.
The Arawaks were short, olive skinned people. They would bound their foreheads to slope a point into it and wore white and black body paint for attractiveness. The tribes’ chief, Calques, wore nose made from gold alloys and copper. The Arawaks were agriculture based and grew; peanuts, guavas, corn, “papaws” (papayas), cotton and cassavas. They used cotton for armbands and hammocks. Cassavas was grinded and used as seasoning for cooking. Arawaks fished with nets, harpoons, and hooks.
In the 1200, the Arawaks were captured by the Caribs. The Caribs were a much stronger and taller tribe than the Arawaks. They were very accurate bowmen and used strong poison for their prey. These cultures have pretty much vanished throughout Barbados history. Some of the cultures, now known as the Kalinago, are found in St. Vincent, Dominica, and the Grenades.. The Kalingo territories are the largest population in Dominica.
The Portuguese arrived in Barbados “en route to Brazil”. This was when the island was named Los Barbados, the bearded ones, by Pedro a Campos. Barbados was also named after the fig trees of the island. These fig trees seemed to appear with a beard-like feature.
On May 14, 1625, the first English ship reached the island under the leadership of Captain John Powell.. Barbados was then claimed on King James I’s behalf. Captain Powell later arrived with 800 more settlers and 10 slaves. They arrived in Holetown which is now known as Jamestown. A House of Assembly was established in 1639. This was the third Parliament Democracy ever in the world. In a couple of years, trees and plantlife were removed and replaced by tobacco and cotton plantations. In the 1630s, sugar cane was introduced to the island. The servants relied on the production of sugar, tobacco and cotton. In order to emigrate overseas, white civilians had to sign a contract agreeing to serve a planter for five to seven years. The servants were derived from convicted criminals and kidnapping. Red Legs, descendants of white slaves, remained living in Barbados amongst the black population.
Around the 1700s, a market of West African slaves worked for a potential market and sugar-making machinery by Dutch merchants. This supplied Barbados with forced labor that was required by the African slaves. These slaves originated from: Cameroon, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea and Sierra Leone. A number of slaves did not survive the trip from Africa, but thousands of them made it. The Caribbean Sugar Industry was dominated by the Barbadians. The plantation owners were successful and powerful businessmen. With the countings of natural disasters in the late 1600s, planters received many problems. Disasters such as: the Locust Plague, the Bridgetown fire, major hurricane, drought, and excessive rain tallied up their financial problems.
Even though all of this occurred, the investment of slaves and sugar continued and perceived to have good prospects. The Leeward Islands in Jamaica surpassed the Barbados sugar industry by 1720. Slavery was abolished in 1834. Many of the former slaves took advantage of the available education on the island. The new citizens gained offices, worked in common jobs, or remained in the cane fields. Barbados was, and still remains, an attraction to people because of the beautiful climate and slow pace of life. Past slaves continued to work for 45 hours a week with no pay so they could live in tiny huts on the island for no pay. The end of slavery was celebrated in 1838 with over 70,000 Barbadians of African descent. They all marched the streets singing the Barbadian folk song announcing their freedom(About Barbados).
The Arawaks were short, olive skinned people. They would bound their foreheads to slope a point into it and wore white and black body paint for attractiveness. The tribes’ chief, Calques, wore nose made from gold alloys and copper. The Arawaks were agriculture based and grew; peanuts, guavas, corn, “papaws” (papayas), cotton and cassavas. They used cotton for armbands and hammocks. Cassavas was grinded and used as seasoning for cooking. Arawaks fished with nets, harpoons, and hooks.
In the 1200, the Arawaks were captured by the Caribs. The Caribs were a much stronger and taller tribe than the Arawaks. They were very accurate bowmen and used strong poison for their prey. These cultures have pretty much vanished throughout Barbados history. Some of the cultures, now known as the Kalinago, are found in St. Vincent, Dominica, and the Grenades.. The Kalingo territories are the largest population in Dominica.
The Portuguese arrived in Barbados “en route to Brazil”. This was when the island was named Los Barbados, the bearded ones, by Pedro a Campos. Barbados was also named after the fig trees of the island. These fig trees seemed to appear with a beard-like feature.
On May 14, 1625, the first English ship reached the island under the leadership of Captain John Powell.. Barbados was then claimed on King James I’s behalf. Captain Powell later arrived with 800 more settlers and 10 slaves. They arrived in Holetown which is now known as Jamestown. A House of Assembly was established in 1639. This was the third Parliament Democracy ever in the world. In a couple of years, trees and plantlife were removed and replaced by tobacco and cotton plantations. In the 1630s, sugar cane was introduced to the island. The servants relied on the production of sugar, tobacco and cotton. In order to emigrate overseas, white civilians had to sign a contract agreeing to serve a planter for five to seven years. The servants were derived from convicted criminals and kidnapping. Red Legs, descendants of white slaves, remained living in Barbados amongst the black population.
Around the 1700s, a market of West African slaves worked for a potential market and sugar-making machinery by Dutch merchants. This supplied Barbados with forced labor that was required by the African slaves. These slaves originated from: Cameroon, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea and Sierra Leone. A number of slaves did not survive the trip from Africa, but thousands of them made it. The Caribbean Sugar Industry was dominated by the Barbadians. The plantation owners were successful and powerful businessmen. With the countings of natural disasters in the late 1600s, planters received many problems. Disasters such as: the Locust Plague, the Bridgetown fire, major hurricane, drought, and excessive rain tallied up their financial problems.
Even though all of this occurred, the investment of slaves and sugar continued and perceived to have good prospects. The Leeward Islands in Jamaica surpassed the Barbados sugar industry by 1720. Slavery was abolished in 1834. Many of the former slaves took advantage of the available education on the island. The new citizens gained offices, worked in common jobs, or remained in the cane fields. Barbados was, and still remains, an attraction to people because of the beautiful climate and slow pace of life. Past slaves continued to work for 45 hours a week with no pay so they could live in tiny huts on the island for no pay. The end of slavery was celebrated in 1838 with over 70,000 Barbadians of African descent. They all marched the streets singing the Barbadian folk song announcing their freedom(About Barbados).