Barbados

Barbados
Official languages Capital	English Bridgetown
Area Government	430 km² Parliamentary democracy under constitutional monarchy
Population Religion	291.495 (2016) Christianity
Time zone Currency	UTC-4 Barbadian dollar
Demonym	Barbadian
Monarch	Current Previous

Barbados is a country in the Caribbean. It consists of a single island, which belongs to the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. It is also called Little England or Bimshire. Barbados is the easternmost area of the West Indies; It is located about 175 km east of Saint Vincent. On the South and the west coast are many beaches with fine sand, while the Interior dotted with hills. The beaches are surrounded by coral reefs. There is a tropical climate with an average temperature of 26 °C and abundant precipitation, especially in the Interior. The rainy season lasts from June to November.

Hurricanes are numerous in the area, but by the South Eastern location remains Barbados often outside shot. The official currency is the Barbados dollar (or Barbadian dollars), divided into 100 cents. The main language is Bajan, a Creole language. The official language is English. The name Barbados comes from the Spanish or Portuguese. The first European explorers who arrived there after the island to the common "bearded fig tree" Los Barbados.

History

The map of Barbados

On Barbados, the population mainly of descendants of African slaves and mulattos. The island was formerly inhabited by the Arawak, becoming extinct by European diseases and the harsh conditions under which they had to perform slave labor. As in many other Caribbean countries here were also imported slaves from Africa. The island was visited by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, after which the country was occupied by the British in 1627. The most serious slave rebellion began on 16 April 1816 that Barbados has known, led by Bussa. Slavery was finally abolished in 1838. Barbados was a member of the West Indies Federation (1958-1962) and eventually obtained self-government in 1961. In 1962 the elections were won by the Democratic Labour Party, led by Errol Walton Barrow, who became Prime Minister after the independence on 30 November 1966. Since Freundel Stuart of 2010 is the Labour Party Prime Minister.

Famous people from Barbados

• Rihianna
• Shontelle

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