Barbados
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Island country in the Caribbean, one of the Lesser Antilles. It is about 483 km/300 mi north of Venezuela.
Government
Barbados is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Its ceremonial head of state is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, represented by a governor general. Its constitution dates from independence in 1966 and provides for a system of parliamentary government on the British model, with a prime minister and cabinet drawn from and responsible to the legislature, or parliament. The legislature dates from 1627, when the British settled, and comprises two chambers, an unelected upper house, the Senate, and an elected lower house, the House of Assembly. The Senate has 21 members appointed by the governor general, 12 on the advice of the prime minister, two on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and the rest on the basis of wider consultations. The House of Assembly has 30 members elected by universal suffrage. The legislature has a maximum life of five years and may be dissolved within this period. The governor general appoints both the prime minister (on the basis of support in the House of Assembly) and the leader of the opposition.History
Barbados was originally inhabited by Arawak Indians, who were wiped out soon after the arrival of the first Europeans, the Portuguese, in the early 17th century. Many were seized to work as slaves on plantations elsewhere in the Caribbean. Barbados became a British colony in 1627 and remained so until independence in 1966. Because Barbados was initially largely uninhabited, black slaves were brought to the island, as well as Celts from Ireland and Scotland, to work as servants for British owners of sugar plantations. After the ending of the slave trade between West Africa and the Caribbean in 1804, there was a major rebellion by slaves in Barbados in 1816, claiming hundreds of lives. In 1834, slavery was abolished in Barbados, as in the rest of the British Empire, but many emancipated slaves were unable to vote because of the high income qualification required for voting.In the 1938, as part of a movement for political rights, Grantley Adams formed the centre-left Barbados Progressive League, which became known as the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). In 1942, the income qualification for voting was lowered and women were given the right to vote. In 1951, universal adult suffrage was introduced, and the BLP won the first general election. Ministerial government was established in 1954, and BLP leader Grantley Adams became the first prime minister. In 1955, a more liberal group, led by Errol Barrow, broke away from the BLP in 1955 to form the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).
Between 1958–62, Barbados joined the ten-member West Indies Federation, which broke apart because of nationalistic tensions. Adams served as the federation's prime minister. In 1961, Barbados achieved full internal self-government and the DLP won a general election and Barrow became prime minister. He instituted social reforms, including free school meals and free education.
Independence
In November 1966 Barbados attained full independence within the British Commonwealth, with Barrow as its first prime minister. The DLP was re-elected 1971, but in the 1976 general election the BLP – led now by Grantley Adams's son Tom – ended Barrow's 15-year rule. During this period, Barbados developed a more diversified economy, with tourism a key element.Foreign relations
Both main parties were committed to maintaining free enterprise and alignment with the USA, although the DLP government established diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1972 and the BLP administration supported the US invasion of Grenada in 1983.End of two-party system
The BLP was re-elected in 1981. After Adams's sudden death in 1985 he was succeeded by his deputy, Bernard St John, a former BLP leader. In the 1986 general election the DLP, led by Barrow, was returned to power with a large majority. Errol Barrow died in 1987 and was succeeded by Erskine Lloyd Sandiford. A new opposition party, the centrist National Democratic Party, was formed in 1989.The DLP was re-elected in 1991, but in the September 1994 general election the fortunes of the BLP were restored and its new leader, Owen Arthur, became prime minister. In January 1999 the BLP gained a landslide victory in the general elections, securing more than 90% of the House of Assembly seats. Owen Arthur secured a third term in 2003, with the BLP capturing 23 of the 30 Assembly seats, with 58% of the vote. He had campaigned on a platform of transforming Barbados into a republic, but there were delays in holding a referendum on this issue. The BLP government also pressed for of a Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy.
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