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The Bahamas Information Guide & Facts

Barbados

Full Country Name: Barbados
Area: 430 sq km; 166 sq mi
Population: 275 330 (July 2001 estimate)
Capital City: Bridgetown
People: About 80% of Barbados's population are of African descent, 4% European descent, and 16% mixed. Barbados's population growth rate has been very low, less than 1% since the 1960s.
Languages: English
Religion(s): Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other other (e.g. also small Jewish and Muslim communities) 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, other 12%, none 17%.
Currency: Barbadian Dollar (BBD)

Geography

Barbados is the most easterly of the Caribbean islands. Most of the island is relatively flat, with low, gentle hills in the interior, except for the north-east, which rises up to 340 metres. The west coast has white sandy beaches and calm turquoise waters. The east side of the island faces the more turbulent Atlantic. Coral reefs surround most of the island.

History

The original inhabitants of Barbados were Arawak Indians, who were driven off the island around AD 1200 by invading Carib Indians from Venezuela. The Carib Indians in turn abandoned the island around 1500.

Portuguese explorer Pedro a Campos in 1536 named the island Los Barbados (Bearded Ones), presumably after the long, hanging aerial roots of the island’s fig trees, which resemble beards. The island’s first European settlement was established in 1627 by English settlers.

In the 1640s the colonists planted their fields with sugarcane and brought slaves to the island to work on the sugar plantations. The sugar industry continued to boom until the 19th century. Even after the abolition of slavery, large estates owned almost all the arable land and most black islanders had to stay working on the plantations, for lack of better opportunities. Barbadians emigrated to other countries in the Caribbean and to work on the Panama Canal.

Barbados gained internal self-government in 1961 and became an independent nation on 30 November 1966. Since independence, Barbados has been a stable democracy.

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Information about The Bahamas

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Main web site
http://www.bahamas.com
Local offices listed below may also operate their own web sites.

France
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
60 Rue Saint Lazare
75009 Paris
Telephone: +33 1 45-26-62-62
Fax: +33 1 48-74-06-05
This entry last updated June 1996

Germany
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
Leipziger Strasse 67d
60487 Frankfurt/Main
Telephone: +49 69 970-834-0
Fax: +49 69 970-834-34
Email: btofrank@bahamas.com
This entry last updated June 1996

Italy
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
Corso Magenta 54
20123 Milano
Telephone: +39 2 4819 4390
Fax: +39 2 72023123
Email: vertexmv@tin.it
This entry last updated June 1996

UK
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
3, The Billings
Walnut Tree Close
Guilford, Surrey GUI 4UL
Telephone: +44 148 344 8900
Fax: +44 1483-571846

USA/Florida
Nassau/Paradise Island Promotion Board
One Turnberry Place
19495 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 804
Aventura, FL 33180
Telephone: +1 305-931-1555 x213
Telephone: 1 888-627-7281 x213 toll-free in USA
Fax: +1 305-931-3055

USA/New York
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
150 East 52nd Street, 28th Floor North
New York, NY 10022
Telephone: +1 212 758-2777
Fax: +1 212 753-6531

USA/Texas
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
3102 Oak Lawn Avenue
Suite #700
Dallas, TX 75219
Telephone: +1 214-560-2280
Fax: +1 214-560-2281

Visa Application Offices

Bahamas
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Consular Section
Norfolk House, Frederick Street
P.O. Box N-3746
Nassau, Bahamas
Phone: 242-323-5578/5565
Fax: 242-326-6186

London
Bahamas High Commission
No. 10 Chesterfield Street
London W1J 5JL, England
Phone: 011-44-207-408-4488
Fax: 011-44-207-499-9937
E-mail: information@bahamashclondon.com

Haiti
Embassy of the Commonwealth
of The Bahamas
P.O. Box 15611 - 12 Rue Goulard
Place Boyer
Petion-Ville
Port-Au Prince, Haiti
Phone: 011-509-2571-448
Fax: 011-509-256-5729

Hong Kong
Bahamas Consulate General
Suite 704-7054 Sino Plaza
255-257 Glouster Road
Causeway Bay Hong Kong
Phone: 852-2147-0202
Fax: 852-2893-3917
E-mail: bahacghk@netvigator.com

Canada
Bahamas High Commission
Metropolitan Life Centre
50 O'Connor
Suite 1313
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 6L2
Phone: 613-232-1724
Fax: 613-232-0097
E-mail: ottawa-mission@bahighco.com

USA/Washington, D.C.
Embassy of the Commonwealth
of The Bahamas
2220 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202-319-2667
Fax: 202-319-2668

USA/New York
Bahamas Consulate General
Bahama House
231 East 46th Street
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-421-6420
Fax: 212-688-5926
Telex: 2343-2580
E-mail: bhsun@undp.org

USA/Miami
Bahamas Consulate General
25 S.E. Second Avenue
Ingraham Bldg.
Suite 818
Miami, FL 33131
Phone: 305-373-6295
Fax: 305-373-6312
Telex: 203-807849
E-mail:bcgmia@bellsouth.net

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