colony · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean
Colony of Barbados
Origins
English settlers financed by the merchant William Courteen landed at Holetown in 1627 on the uninhabited island. Early colonists grew tobacco and cotton with indentured servants, and an elected House of Assembly was established in 1639, one of the oldest legislatures in the Americas.
Rule and society
In the 1640s planters turned to sugar, and Barbados became the model plantation colony, with enslaved Africans soon forming the large majority. The Barbados Slave Code of 1661 influenced other English colonies. After Bussa's rebellion in 1816 and emancipation in 1834-38, a planter elite still dominated. The 1937 riots led to labour reforms under Grantley Adams.
Decline and legacy
Barbados gained universal suffrage in 1951, joined the West Indies Federation in 1958-62 and became the independent state of Barbados on 30 November 1966 under Errol Barrow.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Colony of Barbados was a colony of British Empire1627 CE – 1966 CE
- Colony of Barbados was part of British Windward Islands1833 CE – 1885 CE
- Colony of Barbados was part of West Indies Federation1958 CE – 1962 CE
More states of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Colony of Barbados. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/colony-of-barbados
- MLA
- “Colony of Barbados.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/colony-of-barbados. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Colony of Barbados.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/colony-of-barbados.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Colony of Barbados’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/colony-of-barbados (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻