Secession?

There is little evidence to suggest Barbados, during the 18th century, had any inclination toward a break with their mother country. Though the 18th century found Barbados reeling from an economy undermined by competitors and a new series of laws governing the process of importation and exportation, Barbados was still very much a British colony. In fact, it was the British monarchy that saved the island from a calamitous outcome following a series of hurricanes.

Local Conflict...

The borders of Barbados are fixed and as such the colony went through no changes in size. However, the island was not immune to the growing pains that plagued other British colonies of the time. The introduction of sugar technology early on in its settlement created the climate needed for extreme social and economic upheaval.

Before Jamaica had its leap forward in the industry, Barbados was the most lucrative of the British colonies in terms of sugar production. This new found affluence led to a major shift in numbers and types of workers. Specifically, the Irish indentured servants that had come to the island early and in large numbers began to be replaced by cheap slave labor from Africa. This had the effect of diminishing the white population while increasing the black population on Barbados. This shift also brought the fear of slave revolts.

Armed Rebellion?

Though the black population was increasing and there had been "agitation" among slaves against their masters arriving along with Methodist proselytizers, there are no reports of any major slave revolt taking place between 1702 and 1815. The paranoia of a successful revolt led to the creation of large and powerful militia forces tasked with preserving the sovereignty of the wealthy planters on Barbados. This militia, coupled with a decline in importation of slaves and the rise of an indigenous creole culture on the island assured that the planters on Barbados remained relatively safe from harm.

Sources:

http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/barbados/barbados3.html
http://www.antislavery.org/breakingthesilence/slave_routes/slave_routes_barbados.shtml

Barbadian Economy...

Switch to Sugar:

The greatest change to the economy on the colony of Barbados was the switch to one based almost exclusively on sugar production. Early on in its history settlers in Barbados attempted several different crops to yield a profit from the Barbadian soil. Indigo, cotton, and tobacco were precursors to sugar production, though all proved insufficient for various reasons. Dutch settlers from Brazil were responsible for bringing the technology necessary to produce sugar on a large scale to Barbados. The switch to sugar, while lucrative, would have an undeniable effect on the island.



Changing Demographics:

In the early years of sugar production mainly white indentured servants were used to carry out the work. By 1701 there was a strong push to limit the amount of white immigration to Barbados to strictly those indentured to work sugar plantation. By this time, however, the use of West African slaves had become an attractive option pursued heavily by the planters on Barbados. Where originally there were many thousands of Irish being shipped to the island, soon there were the same numbers and even more West Africans coming to the island to work in the sugar plantations. The effect this had was to create a large number of poor whites on Barbados, existing somewhere in between the wealthy planters and their slaves. Once a colony with one of the largest White populations of any England possessed, Barbados saw its African population rise almost two-fold between the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century.



Works Cited:

Population and Social Patterns in Barbados in the Early Eighteenth CenturyPatricia A. Molen The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Apr., 1971), pp. 287-300

Slavery and Economy in Barbados By Dr Karl Watsonhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/barbados_01.shtml

Indigenous Culture...

There is only a thin record of the indigenous peoples of Barbados at the time of the arrival of Europeans, and what does exist is in no way in depth. The Spanish and Portuguese make mention of several Arawak and Carib settlements but stop short of making any real analysis of the cultures of these two groups. Initially Barbados was not seen as an important prize, consequently nothing was done to keep detailed records of the island and its inhabitants. By comparison, there are extensive writings on locations like Mexico and Peru due to their perceived importance. By 1625 when the British arrive there is no population to speak of giving cause for modern archaeologist to wonder what happened to the indigenous population of Barbados.

Archaeology has become crucial in the search for the answer to these types of questions. Recently excavations like Chancery Bay, one of 63 known Amerindian settlements on Barbados, are beginning to reveal those answers. The Arawaks and Caribs have emerged as horticultural societies, with tendencies toward inland planting and coastal dwelling. Archaeologists have found that the use of the hammock was widespread throughout the island as well as communal homes divided by sex. Ritual and ceremony were just as important as agricultural endeavors with evidence of the use of alcohol, tobacco, and hallucinogens. What little there is to be taken from European accounts comes in the form of superficial observations. Europeans noted the kindness, humor, and even fierceness of the indigenous peoples of Barbados.

As for the question of what eventually became of the Arawaks and Caribs, it is more than likely it was a combination of forced slavery and disease that left the island empty. It is of note, however, that within weeks of establishing permanent settlement on Barbados, Capt. Powell travels to Guyana to procure supplies and returns with a group of Arawaks travelling close behind. Groups like this also arrive from neighboring islands like St. Vincent, all with a knowledge of Barbados only a previous resident could possess. Eventually all 3o of the Arawaks that returned with Powell to Barbados would be forced into slavery as domestic servants. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that there were never more than 500 of any indigenous group at any one time.

The European settlers, and even modern Barbadians, owe much to their Amerindian predecessors. The Arawaks and Caribs would pass on knowledge of hunting and fishing techniques and, most importantly for the settlers, the domestication of several species of plant including cotton and tobacco. Eventually the indigenous groups of Barbados would disappear completely. The interaction between Europeans and indigenous Barbadians was intermittent if anything and led to little more than the destruction of indigenous Barbadian culture. There was no understanding between the groups, only a tentative toleration on the part of the Europeans.

Works Cited:

Gmelch, George and Sharon Bohn Gmelch. 1996. Barbados's Amerindian Past. Anthropology Today (Feb): 11-15.

In the beginning...

Amerindian Settlement and Early European Involvement:

The colonial beginnings of Barbados are interesting to say the least. The island, once called Ichirouganaim, was originally settled by Arawak and Carib Indians coming from the north coast of South America. The Caribs and Arawaks lived in opposition of one other for some time until around the year 1200 when the Caribs either subjugated or forced the migration of much their more docile counterparts. Carib dominance continued on the island until the late 15th century when the population was nearly destroyed by Spanish slave raids and European diseases. Left almost uninhabited, the island of Barbados sat untouched when in 1536 a group of Portuguese explorers led by Pedro a Campos stopped there for a brief period. It was during this visit that a Campos gave the island its current name which comes from the Portuguese "os Barbados" or bearded ones. There is some debate over whether this name was in response to the fig trees that grow in abundance on the island or the presumably bearded Carib inhabitants. Following this short Portuguese stopover, Barbados and its small population were once again left untouched by European hands.

British Arrival:

In 1625 an English expedition led by Captain John Henry Powell arrived on Barbados essentially by accident. Barbados was found to be nearly devoid of population by Powell and his crew who would later claim the island for England in the name of James I. Two years later on February 17th, 1627 Powell returned on the ship William and John with a crew of 80 Britons and 10 Africans. They landed in what is now called Holetown, Jamestown to them, beginning the long period of British rule over the island of Barbados.

Hardship:

This early on in the history of Barbados and British rule we see that, like other colonies, there were several problems that settlers faced. What is unique to Barbados is the lack of a large indigenous population. This meant that the British were able to establish control quite quickly and with little danger to the settler population. There was difficulty, however, in establishing a main crop suitable for export. Early British settlers in Barbados based their economy on the cultivation of aloes, indigo, and most importantly cotton and tobacco. Later, with Dutch help, there would be a move to sugar as a source of income. The main source of strife for the British in Barbados came as a result of unrest in Britain. At this time we see the beginnings of the English civil war and the differences between those that would support the crown and those that would support parliament came along with the settlers to Barbados. In addition, help in the form of supplies from Britain was little and infrequent.

"Babadosed":

By the late 17th century there was a 40,000 strong slave population on the island of Barbados. This coincided with the rise of the international slave trade driven by the need for cheap, renewable labor. Another quality unique to the island of Barbados was its large population of either free or indentured Irish peasants. To return to the topic of the English civil war, it is at this time that we see Oliver Cromwell rise to the title of Lord Protector of the commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland... and begin his campaign against Catholicism in Ireland. The term "Barbadosed" was widely used to describe Cromwell's use of forcible immigration to deal with those Irish that refused to hand over control of their lands to the Parliamentary forces. These Irishmen and the African slaves already present on Barbados would endure similar hardships, frequently revolting against their British masters.

Works Cited:

http://www.barbados.org/history1.htm

http://members.tripod.com/jonpat/history.html

http://www.yale.edu/glc/tangledroots/Barbadosed.htm