Top Barbados Resources

Under its constitution, Barbados is a parliamentary democracy modeled on the British system. The Governor-General represents the Monarch. Control of the government rests with the cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister and responsible to the Parliament.

Barbados has diplomatic missions headed by resident ambassadors or high commissioners in Canada, the U.K., the U.S., and Venezuela, and at the European Union (Brussels) and the UN. It also has resident consuls general in Toronto, Miami, and New York City. Australia, Brazil, Cuba, Canada, Colombia, People's Republic of China, Guatemala, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela have ambassadors or high commissioners resident in Barbados

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.

Some hotels also provide visitors with shuttles to points of interest on the island. Hotel shuttles generally leave right outside of the Hotel's lobby. The island also has an abundance of Taxis-for-hire, visitors staying on the island may find this an expensive option, most hired-taxis will take you to points of interest but they can be expensive, visitors also have the option of car and vehicles rentals in Barbados, presuming they have a valid drivers license from their native country. Many of Barbados' annual visitors are repeat visitors.

From the arrival of the first British settlers in 1627-1628 until independence in 1966, Barbados was under uninterrupted British control. Nevertheless, Barbados always enjoyed a large measure of local autonomy. Its House of Assembly began meeting in 1639.

In the parish of Saint Michael lies Barbados' chief city Bridgetown, which is the nation's capital. Locally Bridgetown is sometimes referred to as "The City" or "B-town". Other towns include Holetown, in the parish of Saint James and Speightstown, in the parish of Saint Peter.

With the slave population approaching three times the white population, many slave owners feared revolts. This led to the Slave Consolidation Act in 1826, which reaffirmed the ban on drums and horns. Christian missionaries also discouraged the performance of African music, which pushed the field underground, where it was passed through secret societies and rituals.

Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has been diversified into the manufacturing and tourism sectors. Offshore finance and information services have become increasingly important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a healthy interest into the island's light manufacturing sector. In the last ten years the Government has been seen as business-friendly and economically sound. Since the late 1990's the island has seen an increasing construction boom, the island began to see new hotels, re-developments, new homes, office complexes, condos, and mansions being developed across the island.

On July 4, 1973, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Jamaica signed a treaty in Trinidad to found the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In May 1974, most of the remaining English-speaking Caribbean states joined CARICOM, which now has 14 members. Barbados also is a member of the Caribbean Development Bank, established in 1970, with headquarters in Bridgetown. The eastern Caribbean's Regional Security System, which associates Barbados with six other island nations, also is headquartered in Barbados. In July 1994, Barbados joined the newly established Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

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.