By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 30, 2023 – Today is the 57th anniversary of Barbados’ attainment of independence from Great Britain in 1966 after over 360 years as a British colony.
Barbados has a similar colonial history as other British colonies in the West Indies. In 1627, the British landed in Holetown and established a colony. From this came sugar plantations and with them, slaves from Africa. This was a long and dreadful period for the island, and it continued right up until 1834 when slavery was abolished.
By 1937 poor economic conditions on the island led to rioting, and recognizing the need for social change, politician and lawyer Grantley Adams founded the Barbados Labour Party (BLP).as an agent for social change and national emancipation. Adams became the first Premier of Barbados from 1953 to 1958 and then became the first and only Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962.
In 1955, Errol Walton Barrow, disillusioned with the BLP and the island’s growing unemployment, formed the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). Barrow and DLP began to push for the independence and sovereignty of Barbados, and on November 30, 1966, Barbados became an independent state with the passing of the Barbados Independence Act 1966 by the United Kingdom’s Parliament.
Barrow became the first Prime Minister of independent Barbados and devoted his tenure to expanding the country’s tourism sector as a means of reducing the island’s sole dependence on sugar exports. He also extended the free education initiative to all levels and introduced national health insurance and social security policies.
Despite Barbados’s independence from Britain, the island retained the British monarch as Head of State represented by the Governor-General until 2021. However, on November 30, 2021, Barbados severed ties with Great Britain and became a Republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State with President Sandra Mason.
The current Prime Minster, Mia Amor Mottley, SC, has served since 2018 as the eighth Prime Minister of Barbados since as the leader of the BLP, the political party founded by Grantley Adams, the country’s first Premier and President. Mottley has been the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Saint Michael North East since 1994. From 1994 to 2008, she held a succession of ministerial portfolios, including the post of Attorney-General of Barbados becoming the first woman to be appointed as such. She is also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.[3]
BAHAMAS CHRONICLE’S EDITOR’S NOTE: Established in 1958, the West Indies Federation comprised the 10 British territories of: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, the then St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago. The Federation was established by the British Caribbean Federation Act of 1956 with the aim of establishing a political union among its members.
It is worth noting that The Bahamas is not included among the group of British colonies that were members of the West Indies Federation, and the reason is that prior to the historic general election on January 10, 1967, which established a Black majority rule government in the Bahamas for The first time, political decisions in this British colony were determined by a racist white minority group with the full support of the British government. This is also the reason why The Bahamas did not obtain it independence from Great Britain until July 10, 1963 – eleven years after Jamaica did in August of 1962, also eleven years Trinidad & Tobago did in December of 1962 and seven years after Barbados became independent in 1966.
As Encyclopedia Britanica notes, “The federal idea evolved from Britain’s desire for administrative convenience in managing her colonial empire since its beginnings in the seventeenth century. From William Stapleton’s General Assembly of the Leeward Islands of 1674 to the establishment of Robert Melvill’s Government of Grenada of 1763, to John Pope-Hennessy’s Confederation of the Windward Islands of 1876, Britain had, throughout the centuries, sought to rationalize the administration of her possessions in the West Indies. These attempts to impose federation by imperial fiat all ended in failure.”
The Federal government was headed by an Executive Governor-General, appointed by Britain and included:
- A Prime Minister, elected from among and by the members of the House of Representatives
- A Cabinet, comprising the Prime Minister and ten other elected Members chosen by him
- A Council of State presided over by the Governor General. The Council included the Prime Minister and Members of the Cabinet as well as three senators and three civil servants. The senators and civil servants were chosen by the Governor General. (The Council of State was the principal policy (decision)-making body at the start of the Federation. In 1960 Britain agreed to abolish this Council and allow the Cabinet to take over the powers of the Council)
- A 45-member House of Representatives, with Members elected from among the Territories; and
- A nineteen-member Senate, nominated by the Governor General following consultation with the Prime Minister
The Governor General was Lord Hailes of Britain and the Prime Minister was Sir Grantley Adams, (Premier of Barbados). The Federal capital was located in Trinidad and Tobago.
During its brief existence (1958-62), a number of fundamental issues were debated with a view to strengthening the Federation. Among these were direct taxation by the Federal Government, Central planning for development, Establishment of a Regional Customs Union and Reform of the Federal Constitution. The issue of direct taxation was particularly controversial. The Federation was not permitted to levy (impose) income tax for at least the first five years of its life. Added to this, were the greatly differing positions among the Territories with respect to how other federal taxes should be levied.
