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Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of North America. It is 34 kilometres in length and up to 23 km (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi). It is in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 km (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, Barbados is the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands, Barbados is east of the Windwards, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 13°N of the equator. It is about 168 km (104 mi) east of both the countries of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and 180 km (110 mi) south-east of Martinique and 400 km (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside the principal Atlantic hurricane belt. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.
Barbados was inhabited by its indigenous peoples – Arawaks and Caribs – prior to the European colonization of the Americas in the 16th century. Barbados was briefly claimed by the Portuguese Empire from 1532 to 1620. The island was English and later a British colony from 1625 until 1966. Since 1966, it has been a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, modelled on the Westminster system, with Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados, as head of state.
Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The City", but the most common reference is simply "Town". As of 2014, its metropolitan population stands at roughly 110,000.
Since the island country's independence in 1966, the economy of Barbados has been transformed from a low-income economy dependent upon sugar production into an upper-middle-income economy based on tourism and the offshore sector. Barbados went into a deep recession in the 1990s after 3 years of steady decline brought on by fundamental macroeconomic imbalances. After a painful re-adjustment process, the economy began to grow again in 1993. Growth rates have averaged between 3%–5% since then. The country's three main economic drivers are: tourism, the international business sector, and foreign direct-investment. These are supported in part by Barbados operating as a service-driven economy and an international business centre.
Communications in Barbados refers to the telephony, internet, postal, radio, and television systems of Barbados. Barbados has long been an informational and communications centre in the Caribbean region. Electricity coverage throughout Barbados is good and reliable. Usage is high and provided by a service monopoly, Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd..
The Governor-General of Barbados is the representative of the Barbadian monarch. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the Governor-General of Barbados is regarded as being the most important of all personnel of the Barbados government.
The country of Barbados is divided into sub-regions known as parishes.
The Barbados national football team, nicknamed Bajan Tridents, is the national association football team of Barbados and is controlled by the Barbados Football Association. It has never qualified for a major international tournament. It came close to qualifying for the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup as it hosted the Caribbean Cup finals that acted as Gold Cup qualifiers, but finished fourth of the four teams. In 2001, it surprised many by making the semifinal round of the 2002 World Cup Qualifiers. In the first game of this round, they pulled off a shock 2–1 win over Costa Rica, but lost their five remaining games. In 2004, Barbados gained a shock 1–1 draw at home to Northern Ireland.
The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. The Parliament is bicameral in composition and is formally made up of: Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados, an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Assembly. Both houses sit in separate chambers in the Parliament Buildings, in the national capital Bridgetown in Saint Michael.
The Barbados national cricket team is the national cricket team of Barbados, organised by the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA). Barbados is a member of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), which is a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in its own right, and Barbadians play internationally for the West Indies cricket team.
Miss Barbados World beauty pageant selects representatives for the Miss World pageant from Barbados.
Barbadians or Bajans, are the people who are identified with the country of Barbados, by being citizens or their descendants in the Barbadian diaspora. The connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Barbadians, several of those connections exist and are collectively the source of their identity. Barbadians are a multi-ethnic and multicultural society of various different ethnic, religious and national origins.
Barbados first competed at the Summer Olympic Games in 1968, and has participated in each Games since then, missing only the 1980 Summer Olympics by participating in the American-led boycott of those games. The country's only Olympic medal to date is a bronze won by sprinter Obadele Thompson in the men's 100 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
The monarch of Barbados is the sovereign and head of state of Barbados. The current Barbadian monarch and head of state, since the independence of Barbados on 30 November 1966, is Queen Elizabeth II. As the sovereign, she is the personal embodiment of the Barbadian Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 15 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled Queen of Barbados and, in this capacity, she, her husband, and other members of the Royal Family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of the Barbadian state. However, the Queen is the only member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role. The Queen lives in the United Kingdom and, while several powers are the sovereign's alone, most of the royal governmental and ceremonial duties in Barbados are carried out by the Queen's representative, the governor-general.
The United States and Barbados have had cordial bilateral relations since Barbados' independence in 1966. The United States has supported the government's efforts to expand the country's economic base and to provide a higher standard of living for its citizens. Barbados is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative. U.S. assistance is channeled primarily through multilateral agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Bridgetown.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Barbados:
A Barbados passport is a travel document issued to citizens of Barbados, in accordance with Citizenship Act from 1978, the Immigration Act from 1997, and the Barbados Constitution, for the purpose of facilitating international travel. It allows the bearer to travel in foreign countries and the Commonwealth of Nations, in accordance with visa requirements, and facilitates the process of securing assistance from Barbados consular officials abroad, if necessary.
Visitors to Barbados must obtain a visa at one of the Barbadian diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries.
The Military ranks of Barbados are the military insignia used by the Barbados Defence Force. Being a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Barbados shares a rank structure similar to that of the United Kingdom.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Barbados is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019. The outbreak was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, declared to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, and recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The case fatality rate for COVID-19 has been much lower than for other coronavirus respiratory infections such as SARS and MERS, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.
References
- ↑ Chamberlain, Mary (2013). Empire and Nation-Building in the Caribbean: Barbados, 1937-66. Studies in Imperialism MUP. Manchester University Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-84779-278-5 . Retrieved June 28, 2016.
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