Ins & Outs of Barbados 2020

28  HISTORY INS& of their interests. None of these islands were as geographically blessed as Barbados. In real estate terms, value is often calculated on the doctrine of location, location, location. Barbados enjoyed a supremely advantageous location. It is the most easterly of the islands, just as much an Atlantic as a Caribbean island, sitting astride the axes of trade routes that link the continents of South America, Africa, North America and Europe. Nature in the form of ocean currents and winds and coral reefs that encircled a good part of the island protected her from attack by competing European powers. Further, the absence of an Amerindian population allowed settlement to proceed swiftly whereas possible competitors to the north such as St Kitts faced contestation from other Europeans and resident Amerindians which inhibited settlement. Tobacco provided an early opportunity for quick capital accumulation in the first two decades of settlement. This was at a time when labour rates were depressed in England, leading to an influx of young people. Competition, primarily from Virginia, eclipsed Barbados’ exports and resulted in switches to a variety of crops, such as cotton, ginger and indigo, until the introduction of sugar cane transformed the island and led to massive population growth and the utilisation of all available land space. By 1655, the white population of Barbados had reached its peak with a low estimate of 30,000 and a high of 50,000. Contemporary opinion suggested that the island was “too small a hive for such a swarme of people.” With the growth of the plantation system which needed large numbers of workers and rising wages in England, planters turned to another source of labour... West Africa. Demographic and cultural change was rapid. By the 1660’s, Barbados had shifted from being a majority white to being a majority black colony. This process was hastened by an outpouring of migrants from Barbados. Between 1650 and 1670, it is estimated that over 24,000 whites left the island to settle in other Caribbean islands, South America and North America. The conquest of Jamaica in This Moll map of 1717 shows the degree to which the sugar based plantation system completely dominated Barbados. Courtesy David Rumsey Historical Map Collection