Historical background

Archeological records indicate that prior to the appearance of the English in Barbados, the island had been inhabited by Arawak or Taino Indians, since sometime between 200 and 400 BC, sailing from what is now known as Venezuela. However, it is believed that these tribes no longer inhabited the island by the time of the first British arrival in 1625 under the authority of King James I. Under British rule, two racial groups, whites and blacks, populated the island, with their proportion changing over time according to the needs of the plantation system. For instance, during the early colonial period (1627–1660), the island consisted of small farms on which tobacco, cotton, ginger and indigo were cultivated, necessitating servants but few slaves. As a result, African slaves were outnumbered by whites, comprised of planters and a large prisoner of war and bondservant population from Ireland and later Scotland who performed servile and agricultural work under several years of indentureship.

Within a quarter of a century of colonization, planters found it more lucrative to cultivate sugar, which required large amounts of manpower. Thus, accompanying the “sugar revolution” was a dramatic increase in the importation of African slaves originating from present-day Ghana, Togo, Dahomey, and western Nigeria. This increase of Africans in Barbados resulted in a reverse shift in the population, such that between 1667 and 1670 blacks outnumbered whites two to one. This process continued until the 1800s at which point blacks would henceforth represent the overwhelming majority of the island’s population. Emancipation of slaves was finalized in 1838. Due to a large African slave population, Barbados, unlike many of the other Caribbean islands, did not lack manpower, hence the low percentage of other ethnic minorities (e.g., East Indians, Chinese) comprising the island’s population. In terms of the nation’s economy, since the mid-17^th century the vast majority of Barbados’ landmass has been under sugar cane. However, in recent times, the massive growth in tourism as its major income-generating activity has caused a shift in the country’s economy. As a result, recently, there has been a shortage of agricultural manpower leading to recruitment of temporary labor from neighboring islands.