Barbados – Part 2 – A Rich History

Barbados is an island nation with a very rich and diverse history. It was originally inhabited by both the Arawak and Carib Indians. In the 1500’s, the Europeans started coming over. There were the Spanish, the Dutch, Dutch Jews, English, Muslims, and of course Africans who were mostly brought over as slaves. Each one of these cultures has left indelible influences on the Barbadan culture of today. Today’s Barbadans are almost exclusively African. They embrace their culture and history and have grown strong because of it. They are proud people. Barbados is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries, or at least so they say. I personally think Grand Cayman is, but maybe that’s just me.

Normally we jump right into the water for diving, but this time, we waited a day since we had such a long travel day. Instead of diving the first day, we took a walking tour through Bridgetown. Our tour guide Karen was a wealth of information and was very interesting. We spent about 3 hours with her, learning all about the Barbados history. The tour was fascinating. We learned so much.

Our tour guide Karen. She was great. Bridgetown is one of 11 parishes on the island, located on the southwestern portion of the island.

Bridgetown is the capital of Barbados. The town, which was founded in 1628 and was originally called Indian Bridge. Bridgetown is where the Parliament Buildings are located, which are open to the public as well, but you have to be dressed appropriately to attend Parliament sessions. That would have been very interesting to attend, but we didn’t have the time or the appropriate clothes to do so. Next time.

Bridgetown is also where a lot of revolutionary protests took place. Today, Bridgetown is a place of remembrance for a lot of the Barbadan historical events and people.

This is Independence Square.

Barbados 1st Governor, Errol Walton Barrow. They call their honored citizens The Right Excellent.

It overlooks the marina. The marina separates the river from the ocean.

The famous bridge, also the namesake of the town. It used to be a drawbridge. Today it is just a walking bridge.

The bridge bears the Barbados Pledge of Allegiance.

This is one of the original docking wheels for the ships, dating back to the 1600’s.

This building was one of the original merchant buildings from the 1600’s that would load sugar cane, molasses and rum directly onto the ships.

These were the loading mechanisms that directly loaded everything onto the ships. In the 1600’s, the water’s edge came right to the buildings. Today, they have extended the streets over the water.

A sad and dark part of Barbados history was the slave trade. Barbados was one of the largest slave trade regions of the time.

But instead of dwelling on their past, they overcame it and moved forward. This sculpture garden honors the famous leaders and people of Barbados, including the singer, the Right Excellent Rhianna.

This is a WWI memorial to the brave men and women who fought for freedom.

This is one of the oldest markets, that still thrives today. There have been very little changes made since it originated in the 1600’s. This is still the most popular way of buying fruits and vegetables today too. Fruit and vegetable stands are everywhere.

The Original Merchant Building, still very much alive and thriving today.

I love the old architecture and all the attention to detail.

This is the 2nd oldest church in the Americas. It is an Anglican or Episcopalian church, as it is known in the U.S., again built in the 1600’s.

The ceiling was designed this way to make people think they were looking into the skies or the Heavens.

This was the 1st synagogue on the island, built by the Dutch Jews. Today it is used as a mosque.

This used to be the assembly spot for the African members of Parliament, located in front of the old synagogue.

And Freedom Square. It is still used as a gathering spot today for rallies, protests and freedom loving functions of all kinds.

Bridgetown is the hub for all things political. The rest of the island is full of history too, but different kinds of history. It was a fascinating and very informative tour. We learned so much about Barbados by taking this tour. I highly recommend it.