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added the precolonial period of barbados Tag: Visual edit |
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== History == | == History == | ||
=== Pre-colonization === | |||
The oldest human settlement on the island of Barbados is the site of Heywoods, which has been radiocarbon-dated to circa 2530–1750 BC. Archaeologists have uncovered human burials, food remains, and thousands of artifacts, including chipped shell adzes. Pottery, shell artifacts, and house remnants have been collected from these sites for years. <ref>{{Citation|author=Fitzpatrick, Scott M|year=2016|title=Verification of an Archaic Age Occupation on Barbados, Southern Lesser Antilles.|title-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/radiocarbon/article/verification-of-an-archaic-age-occupation-on-barbados-southern-lesser-antilles/C28B75878B7BAD772ADBC91A966BCDB3?}}</ref> | |||
These relics and structures were left behind by the Indigenous Arawak and Kalinago tribes, who migrated from the South American mainland through [[Republic of Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidad and Tobago]] and eventually settled in Barbados. These peoples would move seasonally across the island to access different natural resources and to strengthen their social, economic, and political relationships with other tribes.<ref>{{Citation|author=Drewett, Peter L|year=2014|title=Excavations at Heywoods, Barbados, and the Economic Basis of the Suazoid Period in the Lesser Antilles.|title-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-prehistoric-society/article/abs/excavations-at-heywoods-barbados-and-the-economic-basis-of-the-suazoid-period-in-the-lesser-antilles/782D09FCEE01AD9705320BA5FC375A49}}</ref> | |||
Archaeological records reveal a culture that engaged in harvest festivals, ball games, and formal events for tribal diplomats, as well as more esoteric activities such as divination, ancestor veneration, fertility rituals, and the creation of Cemi, a spirit given physical form. Like other [[Caribbean]] cultures, their worldview was [[animistic]], believing that everything in nature, plants, animals, stones, and water possessed a soul.<ref>{{Citation|author=José R. Oliver|year=2009|title=Caciques and Cemi Idols|title-url=https://www.uapress.ua.edu/9780817355159/caciques-and-cemi-idols/}}</ref> | |||
Barbadians, like many other Caribbean peoples, participated in Cohoba ceremonies. In these rituals, shamans ground the beans of the cojobana tree into a fine snuff, which was then inhaled through a tube. The shamans guided participants through their spiritual journeys and interpreted their visions. It is believed that the cojobana tree is Anadenanthera peregrina and that its beans contain bufotenin, a derivative of DMT.<ref>{{Citation|author=Jaime R. Pagán-Jiménez|year=2017|title=Recent Archaeobotanical Findings of the Hallucinogenic Snuff Cojoba|title-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/latin-american-antiquity/article/abs/recent-archaeobotanical-findings-of-the-hallucinogenic-snuff-cojoba-anadenanthera-peregrin-a-l-speg-in-precolonial-puerto-rico/45760E857C2A96F831708424A83497B7}}</ref> | |||
The Indigenous Barbadians, who had lived on the island for thousands of years, had abandoned Barbados shortly before the [[English]] arrived. To avoid capture by [[Spanish]] slavers, they fled to neighboring islands such as St. Vincent and St. Lucia. The recent departure of the Barbadian peoples was evident to the early English [[Colonialism|colonists]], who found abandoned villages, broken pottery, and tools made from conch shells scattered across the land.<ref>{{Citation|author=Maaike S. de Waal|year=2019|title=PRE-COLONIAL AND POST-CONTACT ARCHAEOLOGY IN BARBADOS|title-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338423922_Pre-Colonial_and_Post-Contact_Archaeology_in_Barbados_Past_present_and_future_research_directions}}</ref> | |||
=== British colonization === | === British colonization === | ||
Revision as of 20:16, 7 October 2025
| Barbados Ichi-rougan-aim | |
|---|---|
 Flag
.svg.png) Coat of arms
| |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Bridgetown |
| Official languages | English |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
• President | Sandra Mason |
• Prime Minister | Mia Mottley |
| Area | |
• Total | 439 km² |
| Population | |
• 2019 estimate | 287,025 |
Barbados is an island country in the Caribbean.
History
Pre-colonization
The oldest human settlement on the island of Barbados is the site of Heywoods, which has been radiocarbon-dated to circa 2530–1750 BC. Archaeologists have uncovered human burials, food remains, and thousands of artifacts, including chipped shell adzes. Pottery, shell artifacts, and house remnants have been collected from these sites for years. [1]
These relics and structures were left behind by the Indigenous Arawak and Kalinago tribes, who migrated from the South American mainland through Trinidad and Tobago and eventually settled in Barbados. These peoples would move seasonally across the island to access different natural resources and to strengthen their social, economic, and political relationships with other tribes.[2]
Archaeological records reveal a culture that engaged in harvest festivals, ball games, and formal events for tribal diplomats, as well as more esoteric activities such as divination, ancestor veneration, fertility rituals, and the creation of Cemi, a spirit given physical form. Like other Caribbean cultures, their worldview was animistic, believing that everything in nature, plants, animals, stones, and water possessed a soul.[3]
Barbadians, like many other Caribbean peoples, participated in Cohoba ceremonies. In these rituals, shamans ground the beans of the cojobana tree into a fine snuff, which was then inhaled through a tube. The shamans guided participants through their spiritual journeys and interpreted their visions. It is believed that the cojobana tree is Anadenanthera peregrina and that its beans contain bufotenin, a derivative of DMT.[4]
The Indigenous Barbadians, who had lived on the island for thousands of years, had abandoned Barbados shortly before the English arrived. To avoid capture by Spanish slavers, they fled to neighboring islands such as St. Vincent and St. Lucia. The recent departure of the Barbadian peoples was evident to the early English colonists, who found abandoned villages, broken pottery, and tools made from conch shells scattered across the land.[5]
British colonization
England colonized Barbados starting in 1625. In the 1630s, they began importing slaves from Africa to work on sugar plantations. In April 1816, Bussa led a slave rebellion against the British and destroyed 20% of the cane fields on the island.[6] Slavery was banned in 1838 in the British West Indies, including Barbados.[7]
Independence
Barbados became independent from the United Kingdom in 1966, but Queen Elizabeth remained the head of state until a republic was established in 2021.[6]
References
- ↑ Fitzpatrick, Scott M (2016). Verification of an Archaic Age Occupation on Barbados, Southern Lesser Antilles..
- ↑ Drewett, Peter L (2014). Excavations at Heywoods, Barbados, and the Economic Basis of the Suazoid Period in the Lesser Antilles..
- ↑ José R. Oliver (2009). Caciques and Cemi Idols.
- ↑ Jaime R. Pagán-Jiménez (2017). Recent Archaeobotanical Findings of the Hallucinogenic Snuff Cojoba.
- ↑ Maaike S. de Waal (2019). PRE-COLONIAL AND POST-CONTACT ARCHAEOLOGY IN BARBADOS.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lewis Eliot (2021-12-16). "It’s all in the flag: Bussa’s Rebellion and the 200-year fight to end British rule in Barbados" The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2022-06-16. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
- ↑ Jacqueline Luqman (2021-12-09). "Britain’s Legacy of Brutal Slavery in Barbados" Hood Communist. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2022-09-04.