Prehistoric Barbados is believed to have been inhabited by cave-dwellers of the Siboney culture, from Florida. At an unknown later time, Arawaks arrived from South America. These latter were agriculturists, and excellent weavers and potters. They survived invasions and raids by the warlike Caribs (also from South America), which took place before the 1490s. By the early 1500s, Spanish and Portuguese sailors had sighted the island. It was invaded in 1518 by Spanish colonists from Hispaniola. No Spanish settlement was made, as there appeared to be no mineral resources, but the island acquired a Spanish name ? Barbados or ?bearded?; apparently a reference to local fig-trees. By 1536 the island was deserted, either because the slavers had depopulated it or because the remaining inhabitants had fled.
An English ship visited the island in the early 1620s, and in 1625 it was formally claimed for King James I of England. In 1627 English immigrants settled there and King Charles I granted a Barbados patent to Lord Carlisle; after 1660, this patent was surrendered to the Crown and a 4.5% duty on exports levied, which, bitterly resented, was levied until 1838. Between 1627 and 1640, the island was settled by British colonists, who brought with them indentured labour from Britain and some enslaved Africans, to produce tobacco, cotton and indigo. The introduction of sugar in the 1650s had led to the development of large plantations, and by 1685 the population was around 50,000, consisting mainly of African slaves. In 1696, a French explorer described Barbados as ?the most powerful island colony in America?. By the end of the 18thC, Barbados had 745 plantations worked by over 80,000 African and African-descended slaves. Harsh working conditions led to slave revolts in 1702 and 1816. Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833/4, after which the plantations were worked by Asian indentured labourers. There was rioting in 1876, because of discontent with economic and political conditions.
Barbados had a House of Assembly since 1639, but this was dominated by plantation owners, who, due to the property qualifications for the franchise, continued to dominate the country into the 20thC. During the world depression of the 1930s, economic conditions in Barbados, as in all the British West Indies, were intolerably bad. There were island-wide riots in 1937, to which the British government responded by sending a commission of enquiry, which revealed the large inequalities in Barbadian society. In 1940, some economic aid came from Britain under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act.
The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which developed out of the trade unions, was set up under the leadership of Grantley Adams, and began working for economic improvement and the extension of political rights.
The BLP, led first by Adams, and after 1958 by Dr Hugh Cummins, gained a majority in the House of Assembly between 1944 and 1961. In 1955 a split in the BLP led to the formation of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), led by Errol Barrow, who won the 1962 elections.
