BARBADOES, one of the Caribbees, is the most easterly of the West India islands, and the oldest colony of the British empire. It was probably discovered by Columbus or some of his companions, but they seem to have deserted it in pursuit of more splendid acquisitions; as, on the landing of the English in 1605, it was covered with thick forests, and destitute both of inhabitants and cultivation; they found a breed of swine, however, a proof of its having been previously visited. The favourable reports which these navigators gave of it on their return induced some enterprising Englishmen to plant a colony in it; and the island becoming a sanctuary for the royalists during the civil wars, it was rapidly peopled, and soon rose to great opulence. The earl of Marlborough obtained a grant of the island from James I.; and in 1627 it was made over by patent to the earl of Carlisle, from whom it was taken and given to the earl of Pembroke, but afterwards restored. When at the height of its prosperity, which was about the time of the restoration of Charles IL, upon the planters appealing to the king, the earl of Carlisle was deprived of the hereditary proprietorship, and the legislation vested in the crown; the planters being confirmed in their possessions by submitting to a duty of four and a half per cent, on all the exported produce of the island; which tax is still continued, and is considered by the proprietors and merchants as an oppressive and vexatious impost.

Barbadoes is about twenty-one miles in length by nine of average breadth, and contains above , i 100,000 acres of land, of which 80,000 are under cultivation. The country is comparatively very level, and without the high central hills so frequent in the Antilles; the highest being only 1100 feet above the level of the sea. This is centrally situated, and called Mount Hillaby; the north-eastern part is hilly and bleak, and is in consequence called Scotland. The primeval forests having at length been cleared away, i there is now a scarcity of wood throughout the island; although the proprietors, where they conveniently can, plant cocoa-nut, mahogany, and other tropical trees. The estates are said to average about 200 acres, and upon each of these there are a number of negro dwelling-houses, the planter’s house, and a sugar-work; which, uniting with the great varieties of tropical trees and shrubs, form a scene highly picturesque, and give Barbadoes the appearance of a cluster of villages, and a characteristic beauty,— that of finished cultivation and domestic comfort. The soil covers a coralline rag, and has not only been long exhausted, but, being in general very thin, requires the utmost degree of manuring before it can be rendered productive. The mould varies in colour and quality according to the situation, but the black is considered best suited for the cultivation of the cane. Unlike the neighbouring islands, it is only very partially irrigated with one or two small streams; but the rains, which commence in May or June, and continue for several months, afford a sufficient supply of moisture. There are also a number of springs, but few of them good, the water being in general brackish. One of these casts up a bituminous matter called Barbadoes tar, which is useful in some complaints of cattle; and another of them emits a constant stream of sulphuretted hydrogen gas, which may be lighted with an ignited match. The productions of the soil are various, comprising all the fruits and other trees peculiar to such climates; but the article for which it is distinguished, and accordingly that by far the most extensively cultivated, is the sugar-cane. Ginger and aloes are also grown to a great extent; besides which maize and Guinea corn are raised in very considerable quantities; but no coffee plantations remain. There are upon the island a very great number of oxen, horses, and other cattle, which are not only valuable for the purposes of labour, but for the manure they supply. Oxen are in most general use, and only on the principal estates horses are employed.

Considerable numbers of hogs and poultry are reared, principally by the negroes, on the little plots of ground allotted them, by which provision their comforts are materially increased; the overplus goes to supply ships, or is exported to various neighbouring islands. Wild fowl, such as the plover and curlew, annually frequent the island in great numbers; and wild duck, teal, with many other descriptions of water-game, also abound in their season. The climate of Barbadoes is comparatively salubrious, and the hurricanes which frequently desolate the other islands have not visited it with any severity since the memorable one of 1780, which laid it waste.

Bridgetown, the capital, and the mart of commerce, lies on the south-west coast, in the interior of Carlisle Bay, and is about two miles in length by half a mile in breadth. The population exceeds 20,000. The city, without exhibiting much regularity or splendour in its buildings, possesses many handsome edifices, uniting elegance, convenience, and comfort in a higher degree than is to be found in any other of the English islands. There is a large and plain cathedral, with a number of other churches and chapels. Beyond the cathedral is the king’s house, occupied by the commander of the forces on the station; a little farther in the country stands the government-house, called Pilgrim; and at the southern extremity of the town is the garrison of St Ann’s, possessing large and spacious barracks, with a very fine parade ground. There are a number of charitable institutions ia this town and throughout the island, particularly the central school, where white boys are educated upon the plan of the national schools of England, and another in the neighbourhood where girls are taught; besides which there are a [7:4:360]variety of seminaries for the tuition of coloured and slave children, several societies for the poor, and a house of industry where trades are taught; and all are well supported, either by government or the more opulent inhabitants. Libraries and literary societies have also been formed. Fourteen miles from Bridgetown stands the college, founded and liberally endowed by Colonel Codrington, where young men have not only the benefit of a university education, but receive orders, and are allowed to exercise their pastoral functions throughout the Leeward Islands. It is also intended to appropriate this seminary for the reception and instruction of catechists. Upon the estates of the college there is a chapel, a school, and an hospital, almost exclusively for the use of the negroes. There are three other towns on the island. Holetown lies about seven miles from the capital; it is very small, and only remarkable for being the first settlement of the English, who landed in the neighbourhood, and named their hamlet Jamestown, in honour of the first Stuart. Speight’s Town, seven miles farther to the north, is a considerable place: it has a roadstead and wharf, and formerly exported sugar directly to England; but the practice is now to send it to Bridgetown, with which there is a daily communication by water. It possesses several religious houses, and some other neat buildings, with a considerable population, for the most part coloured. There is a fortress and signal station situated on Dover Hill, about half a mile from this place. The other town, called Oistins or Austins, is very inconsiderable; it stands a few miles to windward of the capital.

Barbadoes is peculiarly distinguished from most of the West India colonies, by the large quantity of provisions which is raised within the island, instead of depending upon foreign supplies. This is no doubt attributable to the crowded state of the population, to the traffic with the troops, and to many local circumstances consequent upon the great division of property. The exports of sugar are large, amounting on an average to 300,000 cwts. annually. Maize is also exported to the amount sometimes of 20,000 bushels yearly; besides rum, molasses, and other articles. The importations chiefly consist of articles of clothing, rice, corn, meal, flour, &c. and prepared wood, such as staves, shingles, lumber, and hoops; besides horses and oxen in very considerable numbers. Barbadoes lies twenty leagues east of St Vincent’s, and sixty north-east of Trinidad. Long. 59. W. Lat. 13. 10. N. The population of the island in 1829, according to returns made to parliament, was as follows: whites, 14,959; free coloured, 3119; free black, 2027; slaves, 81,086.