Barbados

Barbados was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627, though Amerindian tribes had lived on the island previously. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century.

The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, with the island remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.

Find more info about Barbados from Government of Barbados and Barbados Tourism Authority.