BARBADOS
Barbados is the easternmost island of the West Indies. It lies east of Saint Vincent and the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. The island is 34 km (21 mi) long and 23 km (14 mi) wide at its widest part, and has a total area of 430 sq km (166 sq mi).
Barbados is generally flat along the coast and hilly in the interior. Mount Hillaby, the highest point, rises to 340 m (1,115 ft). Coral deposits form the surface of the island and are underlaid by sedimentary rock. Barbados has no natural deepwater harbors and is largely surrounded by beautiful coral reefs. It makes a perfect destination for scuba divers with its rare exotic beauty. The climate is tropical, tempered by sea breezes; the mean annual temperature is about 26° C (about 79° F). A rainy season prevails from June to December, with average annual rainfall varying from 1,000 mm (about 40 in) on the coast to 2,300 mm (about 90 in) on the central ridge. Hurricanes occasionally strike the island. Wildlife includes hares, monkeys, mongooses, tree frogs, and various species of birds.
The population of Barbados (2000 estimate) was 259,248. The average population density of 603 persons per sq km (1,562 per sq mi) was notably high considering the predominantly rural agricultural character of the island. The annual growth rate of the population during the 1970s and 1980s was kept below 1 percent by out-migration. By the beginning of the 21st century, the population of Barbados had stabilized. The capital, largest city, and only seaport is Bridgetown, with a population (1994) of 7,500.
PLACES OF INTEREST
Morgan Lewis Mill
Location: St.Andrew
History: Morgan Lewis is one of the only two intact and restored sugar mills in the Caribbean. The other is at Betty's Hope Estate on one of our sister islands, Antigua.
Maintained by the Barbados National Trust, the mill includes an exhibit of the equipment used to produce sugar at the time when the industry was run by windpower generated from mills such as this one.
Architectural Features: The rubble walls are comprised of boulders held together with a mixture of egg-white and coral dust (there was no cement when this plantation house was built!).
St. Nicholas Abbey
St. Nicholas Abbey, located in the parish of St. Peter, was built in 1660 and is one of only three genuine Jacobean mansions in the Western Hemisphere. Barbados is home to two of these mansions ... St. Nicholas Abbey and Drax Hall.
Distinguishing features of this magnificent, well-preserved mansion are: curved Dutch gables, chimney stacks and coral stone finials, a Chinese Chippendale staircase and fine antiques and china. A rare 1930s film of sugar plantation life can also be viewed.
St. Nicholas Abbey is not without its tale of tragedy! The house appears to have been built by Colonel Benjamin Berringer. His neighbour, friend and business partner was John (later Sir John) Yeamans. When Yeamans began to pay attention to Mrs. Berringer, a feud erupted between Yeamans and Colonel Berringer, culminating in a duel in which Berringer was killed. Soon afterwards, Sir John married Mrs. Berringer and claimed the Abbey. A court ruling later returned the property to Berringer's children and the property was named after Berringer's grand-daughter who married George Nicholas.
Meanwhile, Sir John and Berringer's widow left Barbados in 1669 and helped found the colony that is South Carolina, USA, with Sir John eventually becoming Governor of that settlement in 1672. When he died two years later, his widow married again ... for the third time!
Sam Lord's Castle
Located in the parish of St.Philip, Sam Lord's Castle is a beautiful Georgian mansion built in 1820 by the notorious buccaneer Samuel Hall Lord.
Legend has it that Sam Lord acquired his wealth by plundering ships, which he lured onto the reefs off the coast, by hanging lanterns in the coconut trees. Captains mistook these lights for Bridgetown and wrecked their ships on the reefs. (See a video of the Legend of Sam Lords Castle!)
The Castle contains priceless antiques of furniture, paintings, silver and china - some the original possessions of Sam Lord himself.
The Emancipation Statue
The Emancipation Statue seen here is the work of Barbados' best known sculptor Karl Broodhagen and symbolises the breaking of the chains of slavery at Emancipation.
Slavery, abolished in 1834, was followed by a 4-year apprenticeship period where free men continued to work a 45-hour week without pay in exchange for living in the tiny huts provided by the plantation owners.
Freedom from slavery was celebrated in 1838 at the end of the apprentice period with over 70,000 Barbadians of African descent taking to the streets with the Barbados folk song:
"Lick an Lock-up Done Wid, Hurray fuh Jin-Jin (Queen Victoria). De Queen come from England to set we free Now Lick an Lock-up Done Wid, Hurray fuh Jin-Jin "
Many Barbadians refer to the statue as Bussa, the name of a slave who helped inspire a revolt against slavery in Barbados in 1816.
Andromeda Gardens
The Andromeda Botanical Garden, found in the parish of St.Joseph, is a six-acre garden containing several varieties of orchids, palms, ferns, heliconia, hibiscus, bougainvillea, begonias and cacti. The beautiful and exotic flowers and trees are complemented by a lovely stream which bisects the land and forms enchanting pools and waterfalls.
The name Andromeda is derived from the mythical Greek goddess who was chained to a rock.
Work on the Garden was started in 1954 by Mrs. Iris Bannochie, a local horticulturist. At her death, Mrs. Bannochie bequeathed Andromeda to the Barbados National Trust, which now runs the Garden.
Harrison’s Caves
The Caves are located near the geographical centre of Barbados, in the parish of St. Thomas and are a natural phenomenon affording an experience unique in the tropical world: a trip aboard a special tramthrough the exciting subterranean stream passages!
First mentioned in historical documents in 1795, the caves were virtually forgotten for nearly two centuries until Barbadian Tony Mason and Danish speliologist Ole Sorensen "rediscovered" them in 1976.
In 1981, Harrison's Cave was officially opened to the public as a "show" cave, giving visitors an opportunity to view a variety of natural features unique to the geophysical structure of Barbados.
Now Barbados' number one attraction, Harrison's Cave truly is a unique experience.