The earliest settlement of Barbados happened by the Amerindians from

Venezuela around 1623 BC. These people traveled via the Dragons Mouth sea
channel at the North of Venezuela which brought them to the Caribbean Sea. In
about 600 AD the Amerindians chose to leave Barbados, but returned in 800 AD.
This is when the first civilization of Amerindians began to form and grow in
Barbados, but they now were known as the Arawaks. The Arawaks were
agriculturally savvy, which is one of the reasons they decided to settle in Barbados,
because it had fertile soil and plenty of area to grow crops. Among the array of
crops they grew were things like corn, cassava, papayas, and guavas. They also
cultivated tobacco and cotton. They were also extremely talented in their ability to
craft tools and domestic products, such as nets, hammocks, and pottery from the
ample amount of clay found on the island. They thrived and lived happy in
Barbados for hundreds of years, until they were conquered by a new group of
Amerindians in 1200 AD.
Unlike the Arawaks, this new tribe, the Caribs, were extremely violent and
cannibalistic. They used a bow and arrow with poison to hunt and would often
attack and kill enemies at night in horrific and gruesome ways. They would literally
smoke and eat the meat of their famous enemies as a form of celebration. The
Caribs lived Barbados for almost 300 years, until 1492 when they were invaded by
the Spanish and captured. They were then shipped off to Spain where they became
slaves. Though the Caribs were taken from the island, the culture still exists in
certain areas, now called the Kaligano. The Spanish granted the Arawaks the right
to return to their home in Barbados. Not long after they conquered Barbados the
Spanish moved on to bigger and better islands, leaving it an unoccupied island.
In 1536 the Portuguese re-discovered the island of Barbados on their way to
Brazil. Upon seeing the fig trees Pedro a Campos named the island Los Barbados,
which means the bearded-ones. The Portuguese didnt stay long and it wasnt until
1625 that the English landed and claimed the land for King James I. In 1639 the
worlds third Parliamentary Democracy was established when colonists created a
House of Assembly. The colonists then began clearing the land so they could use the
land for tobacco, cotton, and sugar plantations. These plantations created a high
demand for servants to work in the fields, which incidentally created a market for
slavery.
When the demand for workers first became an issue, planters would make
agreements with immigrants who wanted to move overseas and they would trade
years of labor for a chance to move somewhere new. Once the demand became too
high for planters to be able to use this method, they began to kidnap people or put
criminals to work, using any abled bodies they could to get the job done. This high
demand was soon met by Dutch merchants who shipped in thousands of slaves
from West Africa. With plenty of workers in the fields and the right machinery for the
job, Barbados was at the top of the sugar industry in the Caribbean until 1720. Even
through hurricanes, plagues, and droughts they continued to thrive and it wasnt
until 1834 that the sugar industry in Barbados took a real hit.

The Emancipation Act was released and it ended the use of slaves and
introduced the idea of apprenticeships. The system they had in place for
apprenticeship allowed for planters to still receive free help in their fields, but now
the people who worked for them were free people and got a place to live free of
charge. In 1838 once slavery was completely abolished many people began to seek
other ways to make their living in Barbados.
For the next 100 years Barbadians worked to improve working conditions on
the island and eventually in 1938 the first labor union was created. In 1961 Errol
Barrow, the Father of Independence was elected to be the leader of the country
and led the island to its independence in 1966. Once Barbados became free of
British rule, Errol Barrow continued as the leader of Barbados as a part of the
Democratic Labor Party.

Works Cited
About Barbados : History of Barbados. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2017,
from http://barbados.org/history1.htm
Callaghan, B. (n.d.). 1492 and Before - Amerindians in Barbados. Retrieved
January 24, 2017, from https://www.totallybarbados.com/articles/aboutbarbados/history/3592-htm/
The History of Barbados. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2017, from
http://www.funbarbados.com/OurIsland/history/