(Reproduced from the Princess Cruises "Adventures Ashore" port guide)
The island's earliest inhabitants were the Arawak Indians, a peaceful tribe from South America that inhabited many of the Caribbean islands cneturies before European colonization. In 1536, Pedro a Campos, a Portuguese explorer, discovered this 14 by 21 mile haven and named it Barbados, meaning "the bearded ones," for the shaggy exposed roots of the ficus trees that grow here.
Since the island was on the Spanish side of the line of demarcation that separated the Portuguese empire from the Spanish territories, a Campos never asserted a claim to it. The island remained without a sovereign ruler until the English arrived early in the 17th century. Under the leadership of Captain John Powell, the island was claimed for the King of England. Two years later the first colonists arrived and settled in Jamestown, now Holetown, a city just north of modern Bridgetown.
In the late 17th century, Barbados became an island of vast plantations, and thousands of slaves were brought in from Africa to help cultivate the cane fields. Even at this early date, the island was already attracting tourists. It became fashionable to go to Barbados for one's health. In 1751, George Washington accompanied his ill half-brother, Lawrence, to Barbados for a change of air. Unfortunately for George, he contracted the smallpox that marked him for life.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Barbados' economic fortune paralleled the success and decline in the sugar trade. During this time, the island's strategic importance was not overlooked. In fact, the coastline once boasted 26 forts, and the evidence of early British military occupation is still visible on the island.
In 1966, Barbados became an independent nation, administered by a Governor-General appointed by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, and a Prime Minister representing the majority party in the House of Assembly.