General Information on Barbados

Currency: Barbados Dollar (pegged to the US Dollar at approx. $2 Bbd to $1 US)

Area: 430 sq. km (166 sq. miles) 
21 miles 
long by 14 miles wide

Population: 265,000 (with a population density of 1,595 per square mile)

Location: 13 10 N, 59 32 W. Barbados is the easternmost of the Caribbean islands

Highest Point: Mount Hillaby at 336 metres (1,100 feet)

Capital: Bridgetown

Official Language: English (often mixed with Bajan dialect)

Government: Parliamentary Democracy. Bicameral, with a Senate of 21 members appointed by the governor-general and an Assembly of 28 elected members. The major political parties are the Barbados Labour Party (led by Prime Minister Owen Arthur) and the Democratic Labour Party.

Independence: November 30th, 1966 from the United Kingdom 

Parishes: Barbados is divided into 11 parishes - Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas 

Legal System: English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts

Temperature: 75 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit year-round with cooling trade winds

Approximately 700,000 years ago, tectonic forces slowly elevated a segment of coral seabed to the surface. The coral was then fissured by two powerful upheavals, leaving the island as it is today -- with a 600-foot cliff on the eastern coast and a ridge running down the West Coast. The soil and clay deposits drifted from the Orinico River (in present-day Venezuela) and the volcanic islands of St. Lucia and St. Vincent.

Recent archaeological discoveries indicate the island's first inhabitants arrived almost 4,000 years ago, in circa 1620 BC. Amerindians continued to live on the island over the next 3,000 years. The tribe that made the most impact on the island were the Arawaks. This peaceful tribe of fishermen and farmers escaped the wrath of the more aggressive Caribs who bypassed the island. However, it is believed that the Arawaks were captured by the Spanish who transported them to Hispaniola as slave labour.

When the Portuguese arrived in 1536 they found an abandoned island of trees and numerous wild pigs. It is from this landing that the name Barbados evolved. The Portuguese were fascinated with the roots of the Bearded Fig Tree and thus named the land "Isla de Los Barbados," meaning the "Island of the bearded ones."

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For details on how to rent a mobile phone when on holiday in Barbados, click here