Tag Archives: Study in Barbados

State of Central America (431 km²). Capital: Bridgetown. Population: 274,530 (2012 estimate). Language: English (official), Creole-English. Religion: Protestants 38.2%, Anglicans 23.9%, non-religious / atheists 20.6%, Catholics 3.8%, Muslims 0.7%, Hindus 0.5%, others 12.3%. Currency unit: Barbadian dollar (100 cents). Human Development Index: 0.8 (58th place). Borders: Atlantic ocean. Member of: Commonwealth, Caricom, OAS, UN and WTO, EU associate. According to COUNTRYAAH, Barbados is a nation in North America, the capital city of which is Bridgetown. The latest population of Barbados is 287,386. TRANSPORTHINT: Lists and descriptions of main religions and beliefs in Barbados, including religion demographics and statistics on Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.
History
Uninhabited Barbados was discovered by Europeans in 1536 and colonized by the English since 1627. The parliament, which still exists today, was established in 1639. Sugar cane cultivation began in the 1640s. Large plantations displaced most of the settlers. Slaves abducted from Africa (slavery) soon formed the majority of the population. Until the liberation of slaves (1834) Barbados also served as a transshipment point for the slave trade. In 1951 Barbados was granted universal suffrage, and in 1954 self-government. After the failure of the West Indian Federation (1958-62) Prime Minister Errol Barrow led (* 1920, † 1987; DLP) Barbados gained independence in 1966. The two parties BLP (founded in 1944) and DLP (founded in 1955) have since replaced each other in government. The parliamentary elections in 1994 were won by the then opposition BLP, which also won the 1999 and 2003 elections; Prime Minister from 1994 was Owen S. Arthur (* 1949). After the 2008 elections, D. Thompson (* 1961) became head of government from the DLP. After his sudden death in 2010, he was followed by the previous Deputy Prime Minister Freundel Stuart (* 1949) in office. Under his leadership, the DLP won the elections on February 21, 2013 with a narrow majority. She received 16 of the 30 parliamentary seats. In the parliamentary elections on May 24, 2018, the opposition BLP outclassed the DLP when it won all seats in the House of Representatives. The BLP chairwoman Mia Mottley (* 1965) became the first woman to take over the office of prime minister. Barbados is a founding member of the 1973 Caribbean Community (CARICOM).