51 Things to Know about Barbados for the 51st Independence Day.

 

Barbados Independence Day is right around the corner. As we reflect on 51 years of being an independent nation we wanted to share 51 fun facts about Barbados.

 

1. Barbados has a population of 285,984 people (2017)

 

2. The people of Barbados are officially called Barbadian but more commonly known as Bajans (BAY-jens). Like in the Drake song “Drink like a Bajan, Dance like a Trini.”

 

3. Barbados was named by the Portuguese who first discovered the island in 1536 . They named Barbados after the Bearded Fig Tree found all over the island back then. “Los Barbados” is Portuguese for “The Bearded One”

 

4. The British established a colony in Barbados in 1627 and began growing cotton and tobacco. The sugar industry didn’t begin in Barbados until the 1640s.

5. Unlike other Caribbean islands, Barbados has never been invaded by a foreign power since the British took rule.

 

6. Barbados has the world’s 3rd oldest parliament. It has been in operation since 1639.

 

7. Barbados became independent from England on November 30, 1966.

 

8. Up until Independence Barbados flew the Union Jack flag.

9. Today we fly the Barbados flag. The blue on the flag represents the ocean and the yellow represents the sand, the broken trident represents breaking free from its status as a colony.

 

10. The flag design was chosen from an open competition with thousands of entries, Grantley Prescod’s design was chosen as the flag of Barbados.

 

11. Barbados is 21 miles long and 14 miles wide (166 square miles)

12. The island is divided into 11 parishes.

 

13. Only two parishes do not have a coastline – St. Thomas and St. George

 

14. The capital of Barbados is Bridgetown located in the south west parish of St. Michael.

 

15. The Lord Nelson Statue in Bridgetown was erected 22 March 1812 making it older than the famous Lord Nelson Statue in Trafalgar Square in London.

16. The National Dish of Barbados is Cou Cou and Flying Fish.

 

17. The National Flower is called the Pride of Barbados. The leaf is supposed to help a baby to stop crying.

18. The National Sport of Barbados is Cricket

 

19. Arguably the world greatest cricketer, Sir. Garfield Sobers was born in Barbados. He was Knighted by The Queen and is the only living Barbados National Hero at 81 years old.

 

20. Road tennis was invented in Barbados in the 1930s.

 

21. The Grapefruit originated in Barbados. George Washington referred to it as “The Forbidden Fruit” on his visit to Barbados in 1750.

22. Barbados is the only place outside of the USA that George Washington visited in his lifetime. He even had a house here which still stands today.

23. Many people used to travel to Barbados for its health benefits. It was considered the healthiest place in the world in the 1840s having 1 death per 66 people compared to the world average of 1 death per 35 people.

 

24. Barbados and Japan have the highest per capita occurrences of centenarians in the world.

 

25. Barbados is not in the Caribbean Sea, it is entirely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.

26. Barbados was not formed by volcanic actively like the other Caribbean island but rather by the collision of the Caribbean plate with the Atlantic Plate.

 

27. The southern position of Barbados, at 13 degrees north, puts it just outside the hurricane “Strike Zone”

 

28. The last hurricane to hit Barbados was Janet in 1955.

 

29. Barbados has an average temperature of 28 degrees year-round.

30. There are 2 official seasons in Barbados – The ‘Rainy’ Season (June to November) and The ‘Dry’ Season (December to May)

 

31. Barbados was the first Caribbean Island to have piped water. Ground water is filtered through the limestone into underground caves making it extra pure for drinking.

 

32. Barbados is home to Mount Gay Rum – the rum that invented rum. Mount Gay Rum is the oldest rum brand in the world dating back to 1703. Today the rum is exported to 110 countries in the world.

33. As far as alcohol goes, Barbados has given its citizens a considerable amount of freedom. The legal age for drinking alcohol in the country is 18 years; however, children between 10-17 years are permitted to consume alcohol when accompanied by a parent.

 

34. Barbados was the only tropical destination with a scheduled Concorde flight. One of the retired jets now resides at our airport where you can board and tour the Concorde.

35. Barbados is the only island in the Caribbean that has daily flights from Canada, England and the USA.

 

36. Annually, Barbados welcomes about 1 million visitors to our shores.

 

37. Tourism is the main industry in Barbados employing about 14,000 people and responsible for 12% of our GDP.

 

38. Barbados has the highest return rate of visitors in the Caribbean. Surveys show that visitors return due to the friendliness of the local people.

39. Barbados has the 23rd highest ratio of cars per miles of road in the world. No wonder there is so much traffic.

 

40. To combat this the government has introduced import duties (45%), taxes (17.5%) and environmental levy of $4000 BDS, making cars very expensive in Barbados.

 

41. The currency in Barbados is The Barbados Dollar (BDS) it is tied to the US Dollar (US $1 = BDS $2)

42. The official language in Barbados is English. A Bajan dialect is also widely spoken.

 

43. The time in Barbados is GMT – 4 and there is no daylight-saving time.

 

44. Bim is the nickname given to our island Barbados.

45. Barbados is also known as “the land of flying fish” as they are seen gliding around the island. They can glide for up to 45 seconds at speeds of more than 70km / hour!

 

46. Barbados is home to the oldest Jewish synagogue in the Americas dating back to 1654.

 

47. The main religion in Barbados is Christianity (95%) with the largest denomination being Anglican (40%).

 

 

48. Barbados has a literacy rate close to 100% with the government spending 6.7% of GDP on education (2008).

49. Barbados has the second largest (critically endangered) hawksbill turtle breeding population in the Caribbean. Many nest right out front Craggy Nook Villas.

 

50. It is said that Barbados has the world’s largest collection of 17th century British Iron Cannons. More than 400 cannons have been found around the island today. Many are located at The Garrison, a short walk from Craggy Nook.

 

51. Barbados is the birthplace of international pop star Rihanna. They are naming a street after her on Independence Day this year.

 

How many of these facts did you know before reading this post? Comment below to let us know.