Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi) and has a population of about 287,000. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.
The music of Barbados includes distinctive national styles of folk and popular music, including elements of Western classical and religious music. The culture of Barbados is a syncretic mix of African and British elements, and the island's music reflects this mix through song types and styles, instrumentation, dances, and aesthetic principles.
The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbados was regarded as being the most important of all personnel of the Barbados government.
Barbadian may refer to:
The Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) is the national monetary authority responsible for providing advice to the Government of Barbados on banking and other financial and monetary matters. The Central Bank of Barbados, was established by Act of parliament on 2 May 1972. Prior to the establishment of CBB, Barbados' monetary policies were governed through its membership in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority (ECCA). The Central Bank operates as the banknote issuing authority for Barbadian currency.
Barbadian nationality law is regulated by 1966 Constitution of Barbados, as amended; the Barbados Citizenship Act, as amended; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Barbados. Barbadian nationality is typically obtained under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth to a father or in some cases, a mother, with Barbadian nationality. It can also be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. There is currently no program in Barbados for citizenship by investment, though they do have a special work visa program. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the Commonwealth, has traditionally used the words interchangeably.
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.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados is a key Barbadian government agency responsible for regulating, maintaining, and developing Barbados's external relations and the nature of trading with foreign countries. The Ministry is also responsible for the country's representation at the United Nations and advises other Ministries and State authorities when the latter have dealings with foreign governments or institutions. It is based on Culloden Road, in the nation's capital Bridgetown.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the nation of Barbados.
Barbadian Canadian or Bajan Canadian, refers to Canadian citizens of Barbadian descent or Barbados-born people who resides in Canada. According to the 2016 Census 37,780 Canadians claimed full or partial Barbadian ancestry. Barbadian Canadians have the highest median income and the lowest incidence of poverty among Black Canadian groups. Barbadians first start migrating to Nova Scotia in the early 1900s settling largely in the neighbourhood of Whitney Pier in Sydney. In Cape Breton, they established chapters of the United Negro Improvement Association and the African Orthodox Church. As of 2016, over 70% of the Bajan population in Canada resides in Ontario.
Barbadians or Bajans (pronounced 'bay-jun ') are 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 ethnic, religious and national origins; therefore Barbadians do not necessarily equate their ethnicity with their Barbadian nationality.
The monarchy of Barbados was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Barbados from 1966 to 2021. Barbados shared the Sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy being separate and legally distinct. The Barbadian monarch's operational and ceremonial duties were mostly delegated to her representative, the Governor-General of Barbados.
White Barbadians or European Barbadians are Barbadian citizens or residents of European descent. The majority of European Barbadians are descended from English, Portuguese, and Scottish settlers and Irish indentured servants and settlers, who arrived during the British colonial period. Other European groups consisted of the French, Germans, Austrians, Spaniards, Italians, and Russians. In addition, some of those considered to be European Barbadians are of partial European ancestry and vice versa. CIA World Factbook estimates that there are some 20,000 white Barbadians in the country.
Indo-Barbadian or Indo-Bajan, refers to Barbadians of Indian ancestry, including from present-day Bangladesh and Pakistan. Currently, there is a 3,000-strong Indian community in Barbados.
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.
Barbadian British people, Bajan Brits or British Barbadians, are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in the Caribbean island of Barbados. The UK is home to the second largest Barbadian-born migrant population out of all the OECD countries, with the 2001 Census recording 21,601 UK residents born on the Caribbean island, compared to the 53,785 Barbadian-born residents of the United States.
BarbadianAmericans are Americans of Barbados heritage or ancestry. The 2000 Census recorded 53,785 US residents born on the Caribbean island 52,170 of whom were born to non-American parents and 54,509 people who described their ethnicity as Barbadian. The 2010 US Census estimation report stated more than 62,000 Barbadian Americans are resident in the United States, most of whom are in the area of New York City extending from Rhode Island to Delaware. In past years, some also moved to the areas of Chicago, Illinois, and Boston, Massachusetts.
Barbadian–German relations are foreign relations between Barbados and Germany. Barbados is represented in Germany through its embassy in Brussels, (Belgium) and Germany is represented in Barbados from its regional embassy for the Eastern Caribbean in Port of Spain, and an Honorary Consul in Christ Church. Barbados and Germany formally established diplomatic relations on 14 March 1967.
The High Commission of Barbados in London is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Barbados in the United Kingdom. Among the initial diplomatic missions to be established by Barbados after the attainment of independence from Britain, the office was initially located at 28 Cockspur Street where it shared a joint mission with Guyana. In the early 1970s the mission relocated to 6 Upper Belgrave Street, London. Barbados' High Commission remained at that location until the mid 1980s when it moved to its present location at the corner of 1 Great Russell Street in London's Bloomsbury neighbourhood.