Visit Barbados

Other side of Main Terminal

Bridgetown --view from ship

Marina beyond pier

Carlisle Bay

Shops on, the pier

Barbados

Location:   13° 10' N, 59° 32' W
Population:   284,000
Capital:   Bridgetown (pop. 80,000)
Length/Width:   21 mi long, 14 mi wide
Area:   166 sq. miles
Avg Temp:   70°F - 86°F
Rainfall:   Coast 50 in,
                   Central Areas - 74 in.
Language:   English
Money:   Barbadian Dollar (BBD)
                 US Dollars accepted
Commerce:   Services 76%
                        Manufacturing 15%
                        Agriculture 10%

                History:

Barbados is the eastern most Caribbean island and is thought to have been originally inhabited by the Amerindians (Arawaks) from Venezuela.

In 1200, the Arawaks were conquered by the Caribs. Spain took over the island in 1492 and enslaved the Caribs, but then left to focus on the larger islands. By the time the Portuguese arrived it was uninhabited. Although the Portuguese were erroneously credited with being the first Europeans to set foot on the island instead of Spain, it was actually the British who first established a colony there in 1627.

They started by cultivateing tobacco and cotton, but by the 1640s they had switched to sugar, which was enormously profitable. Slaves from Africa were brought in to work sugar plantations, and eventually the population became about 90% black. A slave revolt took place in 1816 and was eventually abolished in the British Empire in 1834.

Barbados was the administrative headquarters of the Windward Islands until it became a separate colony in 1885. Barbados was a member of the Federation of the West Indies from 1958 to 1962. Britain granted the colony independence on Nov. 30, 1966, and it became a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. Barbados has been politically stable since then.

Barbados is the wealthiest and most developed country in the Eastern Caribbean and enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in Latin America.

Bridgetown Cruise Terminal

Mein Schiff - German Cruise Ship

Container Yard