Barbados

A tiny island (166 sq miles), Barbados is a sweet mix of Western, African and Caribbean cultures. It boasts the infrastructure of developed countries combined with warm climes, humanity and the easy-going mindset of Southern countries.
 
After over 350 years as the British Empire’s military stronghold, Barbados is definitely the most British Caribbean island! Its fate has been carved by Oliver Cromwell, Lord Nelson, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. After peacefully gaining its independence in 1966, this ‘Jewel of the British Empire’ opted to separate from the Crown in great pomp in November 2021, with Prince Charles in attendance, and became a Republic. It nevertheless remains a Commonwealth member country, and the British imprint is omnipresent. Never mind that the island’s denizens, known as ‘Bajans*’, have developed a local dialect derived from English; the one and only official language, taught in schools, is the standard English, as part of an education system modelled on the British one.
 
Nowadays, in this beautiful Caribbean island, clichés become realities, be it fine sand beaches, coconut trees, a turquoise green sea, sea turtles, rum cocktails at sunset, beach parties, buses bursting with blaring music, the Carnival, or Rihanna… You will also find secluded beaches, rugged coastline, green rolling hills, lush forests, tropical flowers and steep cliffs overlooking the ocean.
 
Well beyond the white sands, however, the island is shaped by its history of enslavement and racism, its struggle for decolonization, its long road toward independence and a painstaking nation-building process.
 
Confronted with Barbados’ unsavoury past, Bajans are constantly working to assert their Caribbean identity and determine their future while celebrating the memory of their ancestors who suffered a tragic fate. In 1966, independence prompted them to take control of their destiny. And ever since relinquishing its status as a parliamentary monarchy in 2021, the young republic has been redefining its relations with international partners and asserting itself more in the concert of nations.
 
Today,
With its prominence on the global diplomatic scene;
Its activism in the fight against climate change;
Its geographical location as the gateway to the Caribbean;
Its artistic creativity;
Its development of cutting-edge technology industries,
Its financial expertise,
 And above all, with its academic and intellectual excellence, nurtured by UWI and its many distinguished professors, specialists, and experts.
 
Barbados is your ideal partner for exploring the region’s history, culture, economy, environmental issues, and markets — formed by a centuries-old encounter between Africa and Europe — and, naturally, for discovering a magical holiday destination.