49 Fun Facts About Barbados

What is the capital and largest city of Barbados?

Bridgetown, in the parish of Saint Michael, holds roughly a third of all Barbadians and sits on Carlisle Bay on the island's south-west coast.

Within the Caribbean region, Barbados holds which geographic distinction?

Barbados is the easternmost island of the Caribbean, lying alone in the Atlantic about 160 km east of Saint Vincent.

Barbados became a republic, replacing the Queen with a ceremonial president, on 30 November of which year?

Barbados became a republic on 30 November 2021, when its last governor-general was sworn in as the first president at a midnight ceremony attended by the Prince of Wales.

Which Barbadian singer was declared a National Hero on the night Barbados became a republic?

Rihanna, born in Saint Michael in 1988, became the island's eleventh National Hero at the republic ceremony, having served as an official ambassador since 2018.

Barbados gained independence from Britain on 30 November of which year?

Barbados became independent from Britain on 30 November 1966; the anniversary is kept as the Independence Day public holiday.

Who was Barbados's first prime minister, known as the "Father of Independence"?

Errol Barrow, the island's first prime minister, led it to independence and was named a National Hero in 1998; his birthday, 21 January, is a public holiday.

Who became Barbados's first female prime minister in 2018?

Mia Mottley became the island's first female prime minister in May 2018 after her Barbados Labour Party swept all 30 House of Assembly seats.

Who served as the first president of Barbados?

Sandra Mason, the island's last governor-general, was jointly nominated by the prime minister and the opposition leader and sworn in as the first president at the republic ceremony.

The trident on the flag of Barbados is missing its shaft to symbolise what?

The broken trident stands for the break from colonial rule: the colonial badge showed Britannia holding a whole trident, and the new flag kept only its snapped-off head.

What do the two ultramarine bands on the flag of Barbados represent?

The two ultramarine bands represent the sea and the sky, and the gold band between them stands for the sand of the island's beaches.

Since 1975 the Barbadian dollar has been fixed to the US dollar at roughly what rate?

The Barbadian dollar has been pegged at 2 to 1 since 1975, so US$1 equals BBD$2; banks quote about 1.98 when buying US cash.

What is the national dish of Barbados?

Cou-cou and flying fish is the national dish: cou-cou is cornmeal cooked with okra to a soft polenta, served with steamed or fried flying fish in gravy.

Mount Gay, with a deed dating to 1703, claims to be the world's oldest what?

Mount Gay calls itself the world's oldest commercial rum distillery on the strength of a 1703 deed; it is named for Sir John Gay Alleyne, who managed the estate.

Which citrus arose in 18th-century Barbados as an accidental sweet orange–pomelo cross?

The grapefruit is a natural hybrid of sweet orange and pomelo first recorded in Barbados in the 1700s, where it was nicknamed the 'forbidden fruit'.

Which crop, introduced from Dutch Brazil in 1640, made Barbados a major plantation economy?

Sugar cane, brought from Dutch Brazil around 1640, replaced tobacco after prices collapsed in the 1630s and soon made Barbados England's wealthiest colony.

Barbados's 1661 slave code, the first comprehensive one in an English colony, was a model for which mainland colony?

Carolina, founded partly by Barbadian planters, copied the 1661 Barbados code in its own 1696 slave law; Jamaica and Antigua adopted versions too.

Where does the famous statue commemorating Bussa's 1816 rebellion in Barbados stand?

It was the first of three big slave rebellions in the British West Indies before abolition in 1833.

Which future US president made his only trip outside what is now the United States to Barbados in 1751?

George Washington, aged 19, sailed to Barbados in 1751 with his tubercular half-brother Lawrence and caught smallpox there, his only journey abroad.

Which Barbadian cricketer scored a then-record 365 not out in 1958 and is called the greatest all-rounder ever?

Garfield Sobers made 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958, a Test record for 36 years; he was knighted in 1975 and named a National Hero in 1998.

Which Barbadian was the first black cricketer appointed West Indies captain for a full series?

Frank Worrell led West Indies throughout the 1960–61 tour of Australia, the first black captain for a full series; the Australia–West Indies trophy bears his name.

Barbadian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall retired as the West Indies' leading Test wicket-taker with how many?

Malcolm Marshall took 376 wickets in 81 Tests at an average under 21, a West Indies record when he retired in 1991 and later passed by Courtney Walsh.

Barbados hosted the final of the Cricket World Cup in which year?

The 2007 World Cup final, Australia beating Sri Lanka, was played at a rebuilt Kensington Oval, which later staged the 2024 T20 World Cup final too.

Kensington Oval, the island's Test ground, staged its first Test match in which year?

Kensington Oval staged its first Test in January 1930, a draw between West Indies and England, and has been called the 'Mecca' of West Indian cricket.

Barbados's carnival-style Crop Over festival originally began in the plantation era to mark what?

Crop Over marked the end of the sugar harvest, when the last canes were brought in; it lapsed in the 1940s and was revived in 1974.

Crop Over ends each year with the Grand Kadooment parade on which day?

Kadooment Day, a public holiday on the first Monday in August, closes Crop Over with costume bands parading from the National Stadium to Spring Garden.

Barbadians colloquially call themselves what?

'Bajan' is a local contraction of 'Barbadian'; Barbadians call themselves Bajans and nickname the island 'Bim'.

Bajan Creole is notable among Caribbean creoles for what?

Emigration to the American South means it left traces in the Gullah language.

Barbados's name most likely comes from a Portuguese or Spanish word meaning what?

'Barbados' means 'the bearded ones' in Portuguese and Spanish, possibly after the bearded fig tree's hanging aerial roots or the supposedly bearded Kalinago people.

Barbados is much flatter than its neighbours because it is geologically made of what?

A cap of coral limestone up to about 90 m thick covers most of Barbados, raised above the sea as sediment scraped off the South American plate piled up beneath it.

Mount Hillaby, the highest point of Barbados, rises to only about how high?

Mount Hillaby reaches only about 340 m, 336 m on survey maps, in the parish of Saint Andrew in the island's hilly north-east.

Barbados is divided into how many parishes?

Barbados has 11 parishes, ten named for saints such as Saint Michael and Saint Lucy, and one, Christ Church, named for Christ.

Which small primate, brought from West Africa on slave ships, now roams wild across Barbados?

The green monkey arrived from West Africa with the slave trade about 350 years ago; kidney cells of this species gave the Vero cell line used in polio vaccine production.

Which underground attraction in central Barbados, opened to tourists in 1981, is toured by tram?

Harrison's Cave, in the parish of Saint Thomas, opened to the public in 1981 and is toured by electric tram past stalactites, stalagmites and flowing streams.

Bathsheba, on the rugged Atlantic east coast, is famous for a surf break known as what?

The Soup Bowl is the reef break off Bathsheba where Atlantic swells produce the island's most powerful waves, drawing international surf contests.

Which Barbadian town, the island's second largest, is nicknamed "Little Bristol"?

Speightstown, in the parish of Saint Peter about 19 km north of the capital, earned the name 'Little Bristol' from its direct sugar trade with Bristol.

Oistins, in the parish of Christ Church, is best known to visitors for what weekly event?

The Oistins Fish Fry every Friday night fills the Bay Garden stalls with grilled and fried fish, rum and music for locals and tourists alike.

In which year was the capital's historic centre and Garrison inscribed on the World Heritage List?

The capital's historic centre and its Garrison were inscribed in 2011; the Garrison's old military prison has housed the Barbados Museum since 1933.

The capital takes its name from a bridge over which waterway?

The Careenage, the capital's inner harbour, was spanned by a rough Amerindian bridge when English settlers arrived, and they first called the place Indian Bridge.

Grantley Adams, namesake of Barbados's airport, was the only prime minister of which short-lived union?

The West Indies Federation, a union of ten British Caribbean colonies, lasted only from 1958 to 1962, with Grantley Adams as its sole prime minister.

The Barbados Landship, whose members parade in naval uniforms, mimics which institution?

The Landship, founded in 1863 by Moses Wood, a retired seaman, parodies the British Navy with ranks, drills and uniforms, dancing to the Tuk band.

Which supersonic airliner flew London–Barbados and names a museum at the island's airport?

Concorde flew the London–Barbados route for British Airways; the Queen flew home from Barbados aboard Concorde in 1977, and the retired G-BOAE is displayed at the airport.

The capital's Nidhe Israel Synagogue, among the Americas' oldest, dates from which year?

Nidhe Israel was founded in 1654 by Sephardic Jews who came from Dutch Brazil; the 1831 hurricane destroyed that building and the present one rose in 1833.

Against which side did Barbados deliberately score an own goal in a notorious 1994 Caribbean Cup match?

Needing a two-goal win over Grenada, Barbados scored an own goal at 2-1 to force extra time, where a golden goal counted double, and won 4-2.

Barbados traces its House of Assembly, one of the oldest in the Americas, to which year?

The House of Assembly first met in 1639 under Governor Henry Hawley, making it one of the oldest legislatures in the Americas after Bermuda's and Virginia's.

Which sheep breed native to Barbados grows hair rather than wool?

The Barbados Blackbelly is a hair sheep developed on the island from African and European stock; its short coat is shed naturally, suiting the tropical heat.

Roughly how often, on average, does a major hurricane make landfall on Barbados?

Hurricanes strike Barbados directly only about once every 26 years on average, since it lies south-east of the usual storm tracks; Janet in 1955 was the last major hurricane to hit the island in the 20th century.

The first permanent English settlers landed in 1627 near which present-day town, then called Jamestown?

Holetown, on the west coast, was first named Jamestown; Henry Powell landed about 80 settlers and ten labourers there in February 1627.

The hilly central highland region of Barbados shares its name with which country?

The Scotland District, in the parish of Saint Andrew, is named for its rugged resemblance to the Scottish Highlands; it is the island's eroded, hilly north-eastern corner.

Which traditional Bajan dish pairs pickled pork with spiced sweet potatoes?

Pudding and souse pairs souse, pork pickled in lime, cucumber and pepper, with pudding of grated, spiced sweet potato steamed in the pig's intestine; it is a Saturday tradition.