BARBADOS, bar-ba'-dem, an island of the West Indies, lying in the Atlantic Ocean more than 100 miles east of the nearest members of the chain of Lesser Antilles, in lat. 13° 4' N. and long. 59° 37' W. (See ANTILLES). The entire area of the island available for the pur pose—or 100,000 acres out of a total acreage of 106,470 (about 166 square miles) —is under cultivation. Some of the white inhabitants are of the best English stock, being descendants of early settlers who were closely allied by the bond of blood or ties of friendship with the colonists of Virginia. The only foreign journey ever taken by George Washington was in 1751 (28 September-22 December), when he visited this island in company with his invalid brother, Lawrence. The rainfall is abundant, and the climate agreeable, thanks to trade-winds blowing steadily across the Atlantic. Barba dos is a colony of England, with its own gov ernor, legislature, etc. In addition to many lesser educational institutions, the island has Codrington College, which is affiliated with the University of Durham, England. Its capital, Bridgetown, hot, dusty and commercially active, is also the see of the bishop of Barbados. There is one narrow-gauge railway, and the highways are excellent. The chief industry is the cultivation of sugar-cane, to which the soil is peculiarly adapted. The successful manu facture of sugar in the island began about the middle of the 17th century. The Sea Island cotton industry was revived in 1902 with suc cess, and the acreage under this form of culti vation amounts to nearly 2,000 acres, from which 900,000 pounds of "lint' are raised. Food supplies are imported largely from the United States, to which country nearly the en tire sugar product is sent. The value of the annual exports is about $4,000,000; of the aver age annual imports about $6,000,000. Like Guadeloupe and its dependencies, and Desirade and Maria Galante, Barbados is a coral island. Its length is 21 miles, and its width 15 miles. The interesting Guide' states that Bar bados is "undoubtedly the healthiest of all the West Indian islands. On the windward side the climate is especially invigorating, and the island is much patronized by residents in neigh boring colonies as a health resort. The birth rate is about 36 and the normal death-rate not more than 26 per thousand?' The island has "representative institutions without responsible government. They date from the royal charter
of Charles I, 2 June 1627. Next to the house of commons and the house of assembly in Bermuda, the Barbados house of assembly is the most ancient legislative body in the British dominions. The government now consists of a nominated legislative council, a house of assembly, consisting of 24 members elected annually by the people; an executive council, which consists of the governor, the colonial secretary and the attorney-general ex officio, and such other persons as may be nominated by the King; and an executive committee.' Steamships of at least 14 companies serve the island. Ober (see Bibliography) wrote in praise of Codington College: ((This famous university, the only one of its class in the Brit ish West Indies, is situated in Saint John's parish, 15 miles from Bridgetown?) Founded by Sir Christopher Codington in 1710 and amply endowed, no more delightful place can be imagined than this as a retreat for students. with vine-covered corridors opening upon ave nues of tall and stately palms.' Harrington College, founded 23 years later, also does honor to the island.
Spanish discoverers, whose fancy was struck by the beard-like clumps of vines or tendrils hanging from the wild fig trees, named the island Los Barbados ("the bearded'—in plural). They made this immortal observation, but no settlement. The first settlement was made in 1625 by a company of Englishmen. Sir Fred erick Treves (see Bibliography) writes: "It is in Barbados that there will be found the most substantial relics of the old West Indian aristocracy, of the planter prince." The num ber of inhabitants in recent years has varied between 196,000, or about 1,180 to the square mile, and 171,893, or 1,033 + to the square mile: About 11 per cent Caucasians. No other colony or country, with the possible exception of some of the provinces of China, is more densely populated.
Bibliography.—Aspinall, A. E., Guide to the West Indies' (Chicago and New York 1914), and The British West (London 1912) ; Ober, F. A., (Guide to the West Indies' (New York 1908) ; Treves, F., (The Cradle of the Deep' (London 1908). See also article WEST INDIES --