In the early 17th century Barbadians began large-scale migration from Barbados to the areas of North and South Carolina, becoming among some of the first resident settlers in those states.[1]
The first English settlement in South Carolina was made in 1670, when three shiploads of emigrants from Barbados sailed up the Ashley River. The first ship to land was the Carolina, in April 1670. It was followed shortly by the Port Royal and the Three Brothers. These three ships left Barbados with 150 people on board; two died en route. The settlers pitched their tents on its banks and built a town, which has since wholly disappeared. Ten years later, a more favorable site for the town, between the Cooper and Ashley Rivers, was chosen. This is where Charles Town was founded in 1680, where it remains today with the slightly altered name Charleston. Since the Barbadians had been in the "plantation" business for decades, they brought this concept and its associated culture to Charles Town in the 1670s.[2]
In May 1997, Barbadian Prime Minister Owen Arthur hosted U.S. President Bill Clinton and 14 other Caribbean leaders during the first-ever U.S.-regional summit in Bridgetown, Barbados. The summit strengthened the basis for regional cooperation on justice and counter narcotics issues, finance and development, and trade.
Barbados receives counter-narcotics assistance and is eligible to benefit from the U.S. military's exercise-related and humanitarian assistance construction program.
The U.S.-based telecommunications company Liberty Latin America[6] (d/b/a Cable and Wireless), is the incumbent telephone service provider for the entire country of Barbados.
The first embassy for the United States to Barbados was located at the former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building on Broad Street. Later, this was transformed from a consulate to an embassy in 1966.
After outgrowing the available space on Broad Street, the embassy began searching for a new home. In 1997, the diplomatic mission sought a purpose-built location in Wildey and in 2003, construction of the new U.S. Embassy designed by Sorg Architects began.[7] On January 11, 2007, the embassy moved from three old locations into the one new facility.[8] The current mission houses eight US government agencies, working in 24 countries and territories across the region.[9]
A popular tourist destination, Barbados had around 570,000 tourists in 2006, mainly cruise ship visitors. The majority of tourists are from the United Kingdom, Germany, the Caribbean, and the United States. An estimated 3,000 Americans reside in the country.
In 2011 Barbados was added to a US work visa list.[10]
The Barbadian Embassy to the United States is located in Washington, D.C. Barbados additionally maintains two Consulates-General located in Miami and New York City.
^Staff writer (17 January 2011). "Barbados added to US work visa list". BBCCaribbean.com. Retrieved 17 January 2011. Barbados is among 15 countries added to a list eligible to participate in two United States foreign workers programmes known and H2A and H2B. [. . .] Jamaica, Belize and the Dominican Republic are among the 53 nations approved under both programmes.
Further reading
Mulraine, Lloyd E. "Barbadian Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014), pp. 237–249. online
Genealogies of Barbados Families, From Caribbeana and the Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, 1983. "Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, there was a continuous flow of settlers from Barbados to virtually every point on the Atlantic seaboard, with the result that many families in America today trace their origins in the New World first to Barbados."
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