History of Barbados - Political History

Political History

Carrington (1982) examines politics during the American Revolution, revealing that Barbadian political leaders shared many of the grievances and goals of the American revolutionaries, but that they were unwilling to go to war over them. Nevertheless, the repeated conflicts between the island assembly and the royal governors brought important constitutional reforms which confirmed the legislature's control over most local matters and its power over the executive.

From 1800 until 1885, Barbados then served as the main seat of Government for the former British colonies of the Windward Islands. During the period of around 85 years the resident Governor of Barbados also served as the Colonial head of the Windward Islands. After the Government of Barbados officially exited from the Windward Island union in 1885, the seat was moved from Bridgetown to St. George's on the neighbouring island of Grenada, where it remained until the territory of the Windward Islands was dissolved.

Soon after Barbados' withdrawal from the Windward Islands, Barbados became aware that Tobago was going to be amalgamated with another territory as part of a single state. In response, Barbados made an official bid to the British Government to have neighbouring Island Tobago joined with Barbados as a political union. The British government however decided that Trinidad would be a better fit and Tobago instead was made a Ward of Trinidad.

African slaves worked on plantations owned by merchants of British descent. It was these merchants who continued to dominate politically even after emancipation, due to a high income restriction on voting. Only an exclusive 30%, therefore, had any voice in the democratic process. It was not until the 1930s that a movement for political rights was begun by the descendants of emancipated slaves, who started trade unions. One of the leaders of this movement, Sir Grantley Adams, founded the Barbados Progressive League (now the Barbados Labour Party) in 1938. The Great Depression caused mass unemployment and strikes, and the quality of life on the island lowered drastically. Adams continued to advocate more for the people, especially the poor.

Finally, in 1942, the income qualification was lowered. This was followed by the introduction of universal adult suffrage in 1951, with Adams elected the Premier of Barbados in 1958. For his actions, Adams would later become a National Hero.

From 1958 to 1962, Barbados was one of the ten members of the West Indies Federation, an organisation doomed to failure by a number of factors, including what were often petty nationalistic prejudices and limited legislative power. Indeed, Adams' position as "Prime Minister" is a gross misnomer, as all of the Federation members were still colonies of Britain. Adams, once a political visionary and now a man blind to the needs of his country, not only held fast to his notion of defending the monarchy but also made additional attempts to form similarly flawed Federation-like entities after that union's demise. When the Federation was terminated, Barbados had reverted to its former status as a self-governing colony, but efforts were made by Adams to form another federation composed of Barbados and the Leeward and Windward Islands.

Errol Walton Barrow was to replace Grantley Adams as the people's advocate and it was he who would eventually lead the island into Independence. Barrow, a fervent reformer and once a member of the Barbados Labour Party, had left the party to form his own Democratic Labour Party, as the liberal alternative to the conservative BLP government under Adams. He remains a National Hero for his work in social reformation, including the institution of free education for all Barbadians. In 1961, Barrow supplanted Adams as Premier as the DLP took control of the government.

Due to several years of growing autonomy, Barbados, with Barrow at the helm, was able to successfully negotiate its independence at a constitutional conference with the United Kingdom in June 1966. After years of peaceful and democratic progress, Barbados finally became an independent state and formally joined the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 November 1966, Errol Barrow serving as its first Prime Minister.