Barbados

EASTERNMOST OF THE CARIBBEAN islands, Barbados is the Little England of Eternal Summer. Meaning the bearded ones, its name is said to have been given by a Portuguese discoverer because of the beardlike vines on the fig trees. With nearly 1,600 inhabitants per square mile, Barbados is one of the most densely populated countries in the Caribbean; the friendliness of its people is its foremost charm.
The silver sand beaches on the Caribbean side of the island contrast with the rugged Atlantic coastline. Roads commonly paved in coral are bordered by fields of cane, royal palms and rolling hills and terraces. Vivid tropical flowers, including fragrant oleander, frangipani, jasmine, cassia, bougainvillea, hibiscus and lady-of-the-night, lie in profusion along neat hedgerows. Scarlet flame trees and coral walls shelter the well-tended lawns of color-washed houses, and windmills of former sugar plantations dot the land, though the Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill is the only one with its arms and wheelhouses still intact.
Bridgetown, the capital, is representative of the island's heritage. Its typically English atmosphere is enhanced by names like Yorkshire and Windsor and by the ritual of afternoon tea, which occurs at half after four.

Once inhabited only by Arawak Indians. Barbados was discovered by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The English claimed it in 1625, and
2 years later the first settlers arrived. The island's population increased significantly during the mid-l600s as English immigrants fled the political unrest in their homeland and slaves were brought from Africa to work the sugar crops. The colony thrived early on as a result of the tobacco and cotton trade and became a prosperous sugar producer in the 17th and 18th centuries. During the struggle for European supremacy in the Caribbean, 35 forts were built along 25 miles (40 km) of coastline. The ruins of many are still visible.
Of all the islands in the West Indies, Barbados is the only one to have remained solely in the hands of its original settlers. This fact helps explain the islands stability and the British flavor that has remained constant over the centuries.
Since 1954 Barbados has had a ministerial system of government with a governor-general appointed by the Queen of Great Britain on recommendation of the Prime Minister, who heads the island's government. Barbados became an in-dependent nation on Nov. 30, 1966. A coat of arms bearing the motto Pride and Industry' speaks for the high literacy rate and prosperous economy; Barbados is one of the most economically stable Caribbean islands, with tourism, sugar production and light industry forming the basis of the economy.