Top Barbados Resources

The Barbadian people will tell you that there is so much more to see and do in Barbados than just what you see in the brochure.

Whether its a holiday, on business, or for a short break Barbados is increasing in popularity amongst us Brits - and rightly so!

Thats why its important to get your travel plans sorted out properly, and in our opinion, flight, holiday and hotel specialists Opodo offer the best service online - but you can find that out for yourself here...

Barbados is divided into eleven parishes: Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, and Saint Thomas.

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.

Traditional African music continued in spite of legal restrictions, including the use of drums and rattles, and declamatory and improvised call and response vocals. Much African music was used in Obeah, an African religion found throughout the island. By the beginning of the 19th century, slaves provided most of the musical accompaniment for plantation festivities, such as the Harvest Home, while the white elites participate in dignity balls.

Business links and investment flows have become substantial, as of 2003 the island saw from Canada CAN$25 Billion in investment holdings, placing it as one of Canada's top five destinations of Canadian Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Canadian Outward Foreign Direct Investment to the World (http://www.asiapacificbusiness.ca/data/trade/general_dataset5_toworld.cfm). Businessman Eugene Melnyk of Toronto in Ontario, Canada is said to be Barbados' richest permanent resident.

The ruling BLP was decisively returned to power in January 1999 elections, winning 26 seats in the Parliament with the DLP only winning two seats. The Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, who also serves as Minister of Finance, has given a high priority to economic development. The main opposition party, the DLP, is led by David Thompson.

The bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Assembly and Senate. The 28 members of the House are elected by universal suffrage to 5-year terms. Elections may be called at any time the government wishes to seek a new mandate or if the government suffers a vote of no-confidence in Parliament. The Senate's 21 members are appointed by the governor general--12 with the advice of the prime minister, two with the advice of the leader of the opposition, and seven at the governor general's discretion.

Barbados is home to spouge music, which is played on guitars, mandolins and drums, but is best known as a second home for Trinidadian calypso and soca, as well as a reggae/soca fusion called ragga-soca. The 1974 revival of the Crop Over Festival, which features the Pic-O-De-Crop Calypso Competition, revitalized and organized the Barbadian calypso scene. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Barbadian artists like Spice, Gabby and Red Plastic Bag became popular in Trinidad and elsehwere, leading the way for a more fully-developed Barbadian sound (often characterized by Eddy Grant's Ring Bang pan-Caribbean fusion rhythm that arose around 1994) and was popularized by groups like Square One and krosfyah. Barbados is, along with Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and the Virgin Islands, one of the few centers for Caribbean jazz.