Pre-Colonialism and Colonialism in Barbados

Introduction 

Barbados is an island in the eastern-most part of the Caribbean. The Island is estimated to be less than a million years old. It was created by a combination of collision between Caribbean plates and the Atlantic crustal, and a volcanic eruption. In the 16 th century, the period of European colonization of Americans, Caribs and Arawak occupied the island. It was an English island and from 1625 to 1966, it became a British colony. The English settled in Barbados Island in 1624 and the British influence continued for centuries. The culture of the island is a mixture of British and West African cultures. English became an official language because of the British colonial rule. Understanding the history of the Caribbean is important because it helps in the creation and realization of Barbados colonialism appropriately. Colonialism is a system of acquiring and ruling non-independent spaces for exploiting and extracting their resources and cheap labour ( Records & Inventories, 2017). This paper seeks to discuss the pre-colonialism and colonialism in Barbados. The pre-colonial period was a time before the European “discovery” and colonialism a period of conquest and settlement. 

Pre-Colonialism in Barbados 

The first indigenous group of people to settle in Barbados were Amerindians, popularly known as Saladoid-Barrancoid. They came from Venezuela and were the early settlers in the Barbados Island. The descendants, adventurers, families and villages were among the first population of Amerindians who travelled transversely the Alaska land bridge, through Canada and America to the South. They found their way to the island along the coast and left behind traces, which was the only clue of evidence from which the archeologist were able to make the discovery. Clues such as burial places, refuse, utensils and shell only served as mystery of their time. Some archeologists suggest that the shells are evidence indicating that it is possible the Barbados settled in the second millennium BC. The documented settlements dates for Amerindian is believed to be approximately 350 and 650 AD based on these evidences ( Horne, 2018). 

The Arawak were regarded as civilized Amerindians. This was the second group of settlers to come to Barbados at around the year 800. They were short people, with olive-skin who painted their body white and black to acquire the attractive look. They practiced agriculture and cultivated pawpaw, guavas, peanuts, corn, cassava, and cotton. They used hooks, nets, and harpoons to fish for food ( Horne, 2018).  

The Caribs conquered the Arawak in 1200. Politically, they were more organized and emerged as rulers over others in the region. The Caribs were an Amerindian tribe characterized by tall and strong body features compared to Arawaks. They were the third group of settlers in Barbados who appeared in the area in the mid-13 th century. They had expertise in bowing and utilized a powerful poison to hunt their prey. This culture has greatly diminished in Barbados, because of the existence of other tribes known as the Kaligano ( Horne, 2018).  

The Portuguese entered Barbados on their way to Brazil. Pedro a Campos, the Portuguese explorer named the island Los Barbados during this time. It is presumed that the name was derived from the fig trees surrounding the island. The Portuguese are identified as the first Europeans to learn about the island ( Reilly, 2016). 

There were recurrent slave-raiding activities in the early 16 th century by the Spanish Empire that resulted in enormous deterioration in the Amerindian population. The Amerindians fled to other neighboring mountainous islands, which were more easily defensible, while others were subjected to slavery ( Reilly, 2016). 

Colonization in Barbados 

Although the Portuguese and Spanish sailors had visited Barbados from about 1600, the first ship to come to the island was the English ship, on 14 May 1625 under the command of Captain John Powell. Therefore, the island was conquered and acquired on behalf of King James I. England was the first European country to create a permanent settlement in the island from 1627. Evidence suggests that England had made the claim to Barbados in 1625. Barbados was a suitable country for England because of its prime eastern location. The English colonization of Barbados occurred from 1625 to 1644 ( Twomey, 2018). 

The merchant of a London city, called Sir William Courten, funded the settlement. The settlements were created as proprietary colonies. This means that the first colonists were tenants and most of their profits were given back to Courten’s Company. The first settlement took place on 17 February 1627, near Jamestown, known as Holetown. This settlement comprised of 10 English laborers and 80 settlers. The title of Courten was shifted to James Hay, whose appointment endured a great resistance. Between 1640 and 1660, more than two-thirds of the English emigrants were attracted to West Indies ( Twomey, 2018). 

In 1639, the colonist created a House of Assembly. This assembly marked the third Parliamentary Democracy to be established in the world. Individuals with social connections with English and stable financial backgrounds were offered land. Few years later, most land had been cleared to pave way for cotton and tobacco plantations. In the same period of 1630s, sugar cane was presented as one of the crop to be cultivated among others in Barbados. Cotton, tobacco, and sugar dependent highly on the indenture of servants. The white civilians who desired to emigrate to overseas were required to sign an agreement, which indicated that one should work for 5 or 7 years as a planter in Barbados. The colonist used this strategy in order to meet their labour demands in their farms. They obtained other servants through shipping convicted criminals to Barbados and from kidnapping ( Twomey, 2018). 

Between 1644 and 1700, the Dutch Merchants formed a potential market for sugar-making machinery and slaves. The Dutch Merchants supplied Barbados with forced labor requirements from West Africa. The slaves were shipped from different African nations including Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. During the early years, the Barbadians controlled the Caribbean Sugar Industry. The early colonist who arrived in Barbados became successful and powerful businesspersons and were owners of the sugar plantation. In the period of late 1660s, Barbados region experienced many natural disasters. For instance, the locust plague occurred in 1663 a major hurricane and Bridgetown fire occurred in 1667. In 1668, there was drought, which damaged some crops and in 1669, heavy rains presented additional financial challenges. Despite these challenges, the businessmen continued investing in slavery and sugar plantation. By 1720, Jamaica and Leeward Islands had outshined the Barbadians in the sugar industry ( Kenway, Fahey, Epstein, et al., 2017). 

Slavery was abolished in 1834, and many Barbados embraced the superb education offered on the island. The education allowed them to access jobs in prominent offices; others remained working in cane fields, while others took common jobs. The slow pace of life and the climate in Barbados served as an attraction that drew many people to the region. Despite the abolishment of slavery, a 4-year apprenticeship followed afterwards. During this period, free people were still subjected to work for 45 hours without pay but exchanged labor with tiny huts where they could live. The owners of the plantations were offering those huts. The period of apprenticeship ended in 1838 and over Barbadians of African descent, celebrated the freedom from slavery ( Kenway, Fahey, Epstein, et al., 2017). 

Since colonization in 1627, Barbados remained a British colony until when it acquired its independence in 1961. However, it acquired its full independence in 1966. It maintained connections with the British monarch, represented by the Governor General in Barbados. The Right Honorable Errol Walton Barrow was the first leader of Barbados after gaining independence. He was the representative of the Democratic Labour Party. Barbados Labour Party is another major party in the country lead by the right Honorable Owen Arthur. Dr. Richie Hayness led the National Democratic Party, which was established in 1989 ( Kenway, Fahey, Epstein, et al., 2017). 

Colonialism affected negatively on the political organization and social relations by fragmenting the society along racial and religious lines and changed the cultural traits of the natives in Barbados. Most people, who were servants without freedom, worked for others who provided them with wealth. The inflow of European weapons caused warfare in Barbados to be fatal and altered the traditional patterns of authority among tribes. The tribes that were once weak acquired power suddenly after accessing the weapons, and overpowered the groups that were once dominant. In the end, the native people in Barbados used the new weapons obtained from European colonizers against them. Moreover, the European colonizers introduced diseases in Barbados. The natives had no immunity towards the microbes introduced by the colonizers, which resulted in deaths of many people in Barbados. The most vulnerable group of people to the plague were the young and elderly. The loss of tradition and knowledge as well as the older generation led to trauma among the surviving individuals, creating distressing implications for future generations ( Kenway, Fahey, Epstein, et al., 2017). 

Resistance is a powerful weapon that can promote achievement of desired goals. Examples of resistance efforts used by the natives in Barbados against European colonizers include boycotting the colonizers by refusing to offer them important information or to trade with them. In addition, they sometimes accused the colonizers as invaders and disapproved their way of life as well as the lethal impact on the natives Barbados ( Kenway, Fahey, Epstein, et al., 2017). 

Conclusion 

It is evident that Europeans colonized Barbados and the colonization resulted in diminished culture of the Amerindians in the region. The colonists, who took control of their land, subjected them to slavery. Moreover, they experienced some natural disasters including locust plague, drought, and heavy rains that ruined the crops thereby resulting in financial loses. Based on these experiences, I can conclude that colonization affected the people in Barbados both negatively and positively. Negatively, the people were denied their freedom and were forced to provide labour. Their lands were taken away from them. Positively, colonization helped to provide education that the Amerindians took advantage of after slavery abolishment. They were able to obtain education and acquired jobs in offices and other common jobs. Moreover, I have learnt that due to the presence of British colonialist and the slaves shipped from West Africa lead to a mixture of British and West African cultures. Therefore, it is clear that the pre-colonialism and colonialism in Barbados led to acquisition of both positive and negative implications among the people and the region itself. 

References 

Horne, G. (2018).  The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, and Capitalism in 17th Century North America and the Caribbean . NYU Press. 

Kenway, J., Fahey, J., Epstein, D., Koh, A., McCarthy, C., & Rizvi, F. (2017). Colonialism, Capitalism and Christianity. In  Class Choreographies  (pp. 49-77). Palgrave Macmillan, London. 

Records, B. M., & Inventories, B. E. (2017). MANUSCRIPTS AND ARCHIVAL MATERIALS Barbados: Barbados National Archives Acts of the Barbados House of Assembly Barbados Wills.  The Politics of Reproduction: Race, Medicine, and Fertility in the Age of Abolition , 239. 

Reilly, M. C. (2016). Archaeologies of instability: Order and disorder in colonial Barbados.  Journal of Social Archaeology ,  16 (2), 216-237. 

Twomey, C. (2018). Protecting Slaves and Aborigines: The Legacies of European Colonialism in the British Empire.  Pacific Historical Review ,  87 (1), 10-29.