Barbados

Discover Barbados

Fun Foods

Flying fish with cou-cou, Bajan fish cakes, Macaroni pie

Barbados is where the English turned plantation slavery into a ruthless machine. When settlers arrived in 1627, they turned this island into a sugar factory and invented a brutal system that spread to Jamaica, the Carolinas, and beyond. This tiny Caribbean island changed slavery across the Americas.

Arawak-speaking peoples lived here first, then the Kalinago. By 1627, the island was empty. The Spanish and Portuguese had visited but never colonized it.

Sugar took over in the 1640s. Barbadian planters chopped down every tree and built plantations more efficient than Brazil's. Enslaved Africans did the brutal work that made planters wealthy.

On April 14, 1816, Bussa led over 400 enslaved people in a four-day rebellion. British troops killed him, but his fight became legendary. The Emancipation Statue in Bridgetown makes him a national hero.

Slavery ended in 1834, full freedom in 1838. Barbados got independence November 30, 1966, after 339 years. In 2021, Barbados became a republic.

The island today offers adventures you can't find anywhere else.

Harrison's Cave has a 50-foot Great Hall with growing stalactites you can walk through.

Animal Flower Cave lets kids swim inside an actual sea cave with ocean views.

Atlantis Submarines takes families underwater to see coral reefs and tropical fish through big air-conditioned windows.

Crop Over Festival celebrates sugar harvest's end with six weeks of parties from May to August. Grand Kadooment Day the first Monday of August sees thousands in feathered costumes dancing behind music trucks.

Foreday Morning Jam starts at 2 AM with people covered in paint and mud dancing till sunrise.

Flying fish with cou-cou is the national dish where cou-cou (cornmeal and okra) gets cooked smooth and served with fresh-caught fried or steamed flying fish.

Try Bajan fish cakes (fried balls of salted cod), macaroni pie (creamy baked mac and cheese), and rum punch mixed strong enough to make adults happy. Oistins Fish Fry every Friday night brings locals and tourists together for fresh seafood, soca music, and beach dancing under the stars.