Barbados was colonised by England in the 1620s, though sources differ on the exact date. An English ship claimed the uninhabited island for the Crown in 1625, and the first permanent settlers landed in 1627 at what is now Holetown. Tobacco and cotton were tried first, but by the 1640s sugar had become the dominant crop, grown on plantations worked by enslaved Africans, which made the island one of the richest colonies in the English empire. Barbados developed its own assembly early on, and it kept a strong tradition of local government. It became independent from Britain on 30 November 1966, and in 2021 it removed the British monarch as head of state and became a republic, with Sandra Mason as its first president.
Before and after
- 1622Publication of Othello
- 15 January 1622Birth of Molière
- 1623Publication of Macbeth
- 1623Publication of Twelfth Night
- 1623Founding of Barbados
- 1623Founding of Weymouth
- 1623Publication of The Tempest
- 19 June 1623Birth of Blaise Pascal
- from 1624 to 1975Dutch Empire
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1500Modern period
- from 15th century to 18th centuryEarly modern period
- from 1525 to 1947Prussia
- from 1526 to 1857Mughal Empire
- from 1543 to 1687Scientific Revolution
- 1748Excavations begin at Pompeii
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.