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OUR HISTORY
Barbados remained a colony of England from its initial settlement in 1625 until independence in 1966. It is the only island in the Caribbean never to have changed hands during the bitter British/European battles for colonies. Barbados continues to be a member of the British Commonwealth. |
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There is a statue of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson in Bridgetown (erected 23 March 1813) that predates the statue in England (column built in 1843, statue added in 1849) by 36 years.
The Garrison is the second oldest British Military Garrison in the Western Hemisphere, and the Barbados Regiment is the second oldest British Regiment ever, having been established just 10 years after the Scottish Regiment. |
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Many British place names including: Worthing, Hastings, Queen Victoria Road, Princess Alice Highway, Queen Mary Road, Oxford, Carlton, Rockhampton Road, Dover, Buckingham Road, Plymouth Square, Queen Street, Bristol, Newcastle, Brighton, Kensington, Nelson Street, King George V Memorial Park, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Prince Alfred Street, Yorkshire, Bath, Cambridge, Prince Alfred Street, Prince William Henry Street, Victoria Street, Manchester Middle Street, Liverpool Lane, Lancaster Lane, and Princess Margaret Secondary School.
There are some American place names including Philadelphia Lane, Miami Beach, George Washington House, Washington Avenue, and President Kennedy Drive
Some unusual place names in Barbados include: Macaroni Village, Jericho, Eagle Hall, French Village, Flagstaff, Six Men's Bay, Mile & A Quarter, Sweet Bottom, Jack-in-the-Box Gully, Pie Corner, Half Moon Fort, Horse Hill, Sugar Hill, Coffee Gully, Easy Hall, Indian Ground, Lion Castle, Apes Hill, Lightfoot Lane, Bachelor's Lane, Maiden's Lane, Lakes Folly, Arthur's Seat, Mount Misery.
The Treaty of Oistins was negotiated and signed at The Mermaid Tavern in Oistins in Barbados in 1652. The Barbadian planters of the day had not supported Oliver Cromwell in his policies and he sent a fleet to subdue the upstarts. The Barbadian's repulsed them. Out of this standoff between the Barbadian planters and the Cromwell government in England came the Treaty of Oistins. The treaty contains a clause that reads "That no taxes, customs, imports or excise shall be laid, nor levy made on any of the inhabitants of this island without their consent in a General Assembly." This principle was adopted by the 13 American colonies in 1773 when they dumped 342 chests of tea, on which the British had imposed a tax, into Boston Harbour - an event known as the Boston Tea Party. This concept of 'No Taxation Without Representation' was subsequently included in the American Declaration of Independence in 1775. A careful reading of the two documents would reveal that about half of the Treaty of Oistins has been incorporated into the American Declaration of Independence. |
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The Parliament in Barbados is one of the oldest in the western hemisphere (and the third oldest in the world) dating back to 1639.
Codrington College is the oldest Anglican/Episcopal Theological Seminary established in the western hemisphere built in 1743. Its Palladian buildings, lake and magnificent avenue of cabbage palm trees create a magical setting. The Principal's Lodge dates back to 1670.
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| The Garrison Historical Area in St. Michael with its barracks, guard houses, prison (now a Museum), magazines, hospitals, cemetery and residences was established in 1780 to serve the British Navy and Army in the wars with the French. Much of it can be explored on foot.
Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill is the largest and only complete sugar windmill surviving in the Caribbean. The wind-driven machinery that was used to grind sugarcane in the 18th and 19th centuries is still intact. |
| The St. Nicholas Abbey was built in 1660 and is one of only three genuine Jacobean mansions surviving in the Western hemisphere. It is distinguished by elegant curved Dutch gables, chimney stacks and coral stone finials, a Chinese Chippendale staircase, fine antiques and china. A rare 1930s film of sugar plantation life can be viewed there. |
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| The only visit of George Washington (later President George Washington) outside of North America was to Barbados in 03 November 1751. He spent seven weeks here at Bush Hill House visiting his half-brother Lawrence who was recovering from tuberculosis. The house is presently under renovation as a site of historical significance. |
Harrison 's Cave
A unique phenomenon of nature, Harrison's Cave is an amazing gallery of stalactites hanging from the roof of the cave, and stalagmites that emerge from the ground, with streams of crystal-clear running water that drop from breathtaking waterfalls to form deep emerald pools. |
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| The stalactites and stalagmites were formed over thousands of years and in some places the stalactites have reached down to the stalagmites and a spectacular pillar has been formed. Visitors are driven in electrically operated trams down through the extensive system of caves and at the lowest level point in the cave, visitors are invited to leave the tram and walk alongside a spectacular waterfall which plunges into a deep pool below .... This is truly an "awesome wonder!' |
SPORTS
Barbados with a population of only 265,000 has produced 'greats' in many areas of endeavour including:
Cricket: - Sir Garfield Sobers (Greatest All-Rounder ever to play the game and former world record holder for highest test match score in a single innings); Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde Walcott (three great batsmen also known as the Three W's); Malcolm Marshall (one of the great bowlers of all time and former world record holder for total wickets taken in tests) |
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Draughts/Checkers: - Ronald 'Suki' King - current World Three-Move Restriction Champion.
Track & Field: - Obadele Thompson, Bronze medallist in the 100m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. |
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