Welcome to Barbados!!!

Snap Facts:

• Barbados is home to about 260k people
• The official language of Barbados is English
• Total area of 166 sq. mi.
• Furthest East of all caribbean islands

Barbados has beautiful beaches that attract many tourist and an endless view of great architecture throughout the country. 

source: www.visualphotos.com

source: source: http://www.mydestination.com/barbados/travel-articles/721629/top-10s---picnic-beaches-in-barbados

Pride and Industry

Pride and Industry

Pride and Industry 

The biggest thing that sticks out about this county that makes is special is its good economy and great living conditions (besides the fact that the country is aesthetically jaw dropping). Pride and industry is their motto and considering that their water quality(drinkable) is better than USA's, literacy rate is .7% higher than the US, and the country is relatively healthy and smooth functioning, I’d say their motto makes sense. Things in Barbados are said to be pretty expensive. 

This is a Barbadian Dollar. 2 of their dollars equal 1 US dollar, but US currency is widely excepted. 

source: www.150currency.com

Sugar Cane 

In the 1700’s sugar, cotton, and tobacco was the main way that Barbados made revenue. The tobacco and cotton industry failed for them because of a lack of labor so they used their main crop to win their bread, so to speak. The sugar in the land was only used for domestic things such as feedstock, fuel, and for the production or rum. The sugar became a great reason why the island was so heavily colonized and since then sugar has really been a very important part of Bajan history. 

source: http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-23606360/st-nicholas-abbey-sugar-plantation-barbados-caribbean

Tourism

Tourism now is the main industry in Barbados. Barbados is one of the biggest tourist destination in the world due to their all white sand beaches, old British architecture, all year around tropical weather, and unique culture with warm, kind people who make you feel welcomed there. They offer the best hotels to say in, as well as fun and educational activities to do. This pictures below show some of the attractions when staying in Barbados. 

source: http://tiwaas.blogspot.com/

source: http://www.mydestination.com/barbados/travel-articles/722012/top-10-nightlife-spots-in-barbados#

source: http://www.southgapbarbados.com/

Atlantis is a submarine bus tour that takes you through the coral reefs. There are scuba diving activities, nightlife, amazing hotels and much more to offer. 

Island Culture

Island culture

One attraction that many people look forward to is the carnivals that Barbados host. Carnival is a celebration whereas men and women dress up in very colorful masquerade costumes and dance to Soca music. Soca music is the official music of the island. Carnival is more influenced by African traditions in spite of Britain’s still very strong influence due to colonization. This festival in Barbados is used to celebrate the end of the sugar cane harvest. 

source: http://www.lehwego.com/carnival-info/crop-over-bands-and-costumes-for-2013/

source: http://greattodaynews.com/caribs-most-colorful-carnival/

The island is very small at 167 square miles and is predominately of Afro decent, and there are even small Hindu, Arab, and Jewish communities. 

The reason behind such a large number of Blacks that inhabit the island (92%), is due to the slave trade and British colonization. Barbados gained its independence in the year 1966 and has been known to be very sound economically. 

If you plan on driving in Barbados, be prepared to drive on the left side of the road!

source: http://www.travelthruhistory.com/html/culture76.html

Cuisine 

source: www.randrcruisingbarbados.com

The national dish of Barbados is Coucou and flying fish. A lot of the country's dishes involve fish and have a very strong West African, Indian, and British influence.

Thematic Maps

Political Maps of Barbados
A political map is a map that shows you boundaries that are either states, counties, towns, provinces, etc. These boundaries are often caused by people rather than by nature.

source: http://wikitravel.org/en/Barbados

This particular map above shows Barbados separated into regions. This map below shows Barbados separated into parishes. Parishes are small administrative districts that typically have their own churches and priest or pastors. 

source: http://www.cameronbarbadostours.com/barbados_map.gif

Elevation Map of Barbados

An elevation map shows a country from sea level to its highest point. In the map below, the highest point is highlighted in green (234-339 meters), and the lowest point besides the sea level is highlighted in purple (1-20 meters). Most of the island stands in between 1-35 meters. 

source: http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/CountryElevationMap/?ct=BB