Beyond Barbados, Part 1 - In The Beginning

Most students today understand that the Carolinas were colonized by the English who had come to the Charleston area by way of Caribbean trade routes, primarily Barbados. The story of Barbados is as unique as the island itself. Like the United States, Barbados is an amalgam of international cultures. However, for close to 300 years, Barbados remained a commonwealth of the United Kingdom, only gaining its independence from Britain in 1966.

Barbados was inhabited by Amerindian peoples for about three thousand years before the arrival of European settlers. The English settled in Barbados in 1627, seeking wealth, and escape from the turmoil of the English Civil War. These settlers brought slaves and indentured servants with them, and began looking for a crop they could mass produce, export, and profit from.

Standards

• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the impact of Transatlantic interaction with Europeans, Africans, and others on the indigenous populations of the Americas.
  • 6.3.CE Explain the impact of increased global exchanges on the development of the Atlantic World.
  • This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into European motivations for exploration and settlement as a result of the closing of the Silk Road. This indicator was also written to foster inquiry into the development of the Atlantic World, and t...
  • This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the impact of the Transatlantic slave trade on Africa, Europe, and the Americas. This indicator promotes inquiry into the beginning of the Transatlantic slave trade, the ideological, economic, and...
• 7-1 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the growth and impact of global trade on world civilizations after 1600.
  • European expansion during the 1600s and 1700s was often driven by economic and technological forces. To understand the influence of these forces, the student will utilize the knowledge and skills set forth in the following indicators:
    • 7-1.5 Compare the differing ways that European nations developed political and economic influences, including trade and settlement patterns, on the continents of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
• Human populations and migration patterns vary across Earth’s surface and change through time. The interaction between human and environmental conditions helps to explain the characteristics, spatial distributions, and movements of human populations.
  • HG.1.2.PR Explain the cultural, economic, environmental, and political conditions and connections that contribute to human migration patterns.

Resources