republic · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Barbados

1966 CE – present · capital Bridgetown

Easternmost Caribbean island, independent since 1966 and a parliamentary republic since 2021, with one of the region's oldest parliaments.

Origins

English settlers arrived in 1627, and Barbados became the first great sugar and slave society of the English Caribbean, with a House of Assembly dating from 1639. After labour riots in 1937 and the rise of Grantley Adams's Barbados Labour Party, it achieved self-government, and under Errol Barrow of the Democratic Labour Party it became independent on 30 November 1966.

Rule and society

For 55 years Barbados was a Commonwealth realm with the British monarch as head of state. Power alternated peacefully between the Democratic Labour Party and the Barbados Labour Party. Barrow and Tom Adams invested in education and health, and the economy shifted from sugar to tourism and offshore financial services, giving the island one of the highest living standards in the region.

To the present

On 30 November 2021 Barbados became a parliamentary republic, with Sandra Mason as the first president and the singer Rihanna named a national hero. Prime Minister Mia Mottley, in office since 2018, has promoted the Bridgetown Initiative on climate finance.

Lineage

Colony of Barbados 1627 CE – 1966 CEBarbados

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Barbados. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/barbados
MLA
“Barbados.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/barbados. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Barbados.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/barbados.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Barbados’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/barbados (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻