Monday, November 18, 2024

Our cruise ended this morning at Bridgetown. We will be staying at The Crane Resort for the next few days. It started raining shortly after we arrived, not enough to keep everyone out of the water.

While waiting to check in, we spied a monkey in a tree just outside the front door. Pretty cool!

Barbados means “the bearded ones” in Portuguese and Spanish. It’s possible the name refers to the long hanging roots of the bearded fig tree, or to the bearded Kalingo peoples who once inhabited the island, or possibly to the spraying sea foam that resembles a beard. Take your pick. The original name was Ichirouganaim, meaning (again there are multiple candidates) “red land with white teeth,” “redstone island with teeth outside,” or simply “teeth.” The teeth refer to the coral reefs that surround much of the island. Locals call their island “Bim,” which might mean “my home, my kindred, my kind.”

Humans may have first visited the island around 1600 BCE, with permanent settlements coming about 2000 years later. Europeans arrived in the 15th or 16th century AD, probably the Portuguese on their way to Brazil. The English came later, along with Irish indentured servants. The Dutch introduced sugar cane in 1640, and brought African slaves to do the work.
Most residents today are of Afro-Caribbean ancestry, with Indo-Guyanese, English, Irish, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Lebanese and others contributing to the mix.

The official language is English, but Bajan Creole is the everyday language for most of the people living here.

The Spanish had claimed the island in the 1530s, but abandoned it shortly after that. The English established a proprietary colony around 1625, and retained control until 1966, when Barbados became a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II being its queen. The monarchy was replaced with a ceremonial president in 1921.

Barbados’ economy was traditionally reliant on sugarcane, but the country has diversified into manufacturing and tourism, along with offshore financial and information services. They enjoy a moderately high standard of living. We’ll be learning more about their tourism in the next few days.

The rain did stop about mid-afternoon, at least for a while. By nightfall, the frogs began announcing their presence, singing to each other, looking for love. I think we will enjoy our time here in Barbados.