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Though inhabited prior to the 16th century, little is known about Barbadian music prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1536 and then the English in 1627. The Portuguese left little influence, but English culture and music helped shape the island's heritage. Irish and Scottish settlers emigrated in the 17th century, working in the tobacco industry, bringing yet more new music to the island. The middle of the 1700s saw the decline of the tobacco industry and the rise of sugarcane, as well as the introduction of large numbers of African slaves. Modern Barbadian music is thus largely a combination of English and African elements, with Irish, Scottish, and modern American and Caribbean (especially Jamaican) influences as well.

Though mainstream audiences were still listening to R&B and rock, modern jazz retained a small core of followers into the 1960s. The foundation of the Belair Jazz Club in Bridgetown in 1961 helped to keep this scene alive.

Economic growth has led to net increases in employment in the tourism sector, as well as in construction and other services sub-sectors of the economy. The public service remains Barbados' largest single employer. Total labor force has increased from 126,000 in 1993 to 140,0000 persons in 2000, and unemployment has dropped significantly from over 20% in the early 1990s to 9.3% at the end of 2000.

Following independence in 1966, Barbadian calypso became more popular, especially the white band The Merrymen, known for songs like "Brudda Neddy" and "Millie Gone to Brazil". Jackie Opel, a Barbaian singer, also arose, playing a blend of calypso and reggae that evolved into spouge music. Spouge was immensely popular in Barbados from about 1969 to 1973. In 1974, the Crop Over Festival was revived, featuring calypso competitions; as a result, calypso's popularity grew, rapidly overshadowing spouge and other genres, with only dub music achieving equal stature.

British sailors who landed on Barbados in the 1620s at the site of present-day Holetown on the Caribbean coast found the island uninhabited. As elsewhere in the eastern Caribbean, Arawak Indians may have been annihilated by invading Caribs, who are believed to have subsequently abandoned the island.

As political awareness among the black majority on the island spread, so did bebop, a kind of jazz which was associated, in the United States, with social activism and Afrocentrism. The first Barbadian bebop musician from the island was Keith Campbell, a pianist who had learned to play many styles while living in Trinidad during a time when American soldiers were stationed there, providing a ready market for bands that could play American music. Other musicians of this period included Ernie Small, a trumpeter and pianist, and bandleader St. Clare Jackman.

The largest Carnival cultural events which take place in Barbados are the Congaline Festival and Crop Over Festival as known internationally.

As a member of CARICOM, Barbados supported efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council Resolution 940, designed to facilitate the departure of Haiti's de facto authorities from power. The country agreed to contribute personnel to the multinational force, which restored the democratically elected government of Haiti in October 1994.

The island is 23 km(14 mi.) at its widest point, and about 34 km(21 mi.) long.

Barbados is mainly composed of coral-limestone. It is tropical with constant tradewinds and consists of some marshes and mangrove swamps. Some parts of the island's interior are also dotted with large sugarcane estates and wide pastures with many good views to the sea. Barbados is one of the Lesser Antilles and it lies to the east of the main chain of islands, with the nations of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines being its closest neighbours.