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Barbados Oceanographic Research Facility 1957 – 1979: a top secret US cold war submarine listening post
The old US Navy Facility – Barbados at Harrison’s Point, St. Lucy on the North West coast of Barbados is back in the news. In the 1950 and 1960s this US Naval Facility in Barbados was a very important shore based soviet submarine listening station. It had many names: US Navy Facility – Barbados, NAVFAC…
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Plantation Life in Barbados in the 1950s
I grew up in St. John and St. George in the middle of some of the best agricultural land in Barbados, among numerous sugar plantations, at a time when sugar was still king and was the lifeblood of the island’s economy. During the 17th century, Barbados was celebrated as the richest colony in British America.…
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The New Joe’s River Pedestrian Bridge
After approximately 15 long years of waiting the Joe’s River Pedestrian Bridge was officially re-opened at the handing over ceremony on 17th December 2020. Joe’s River is one of only a few above-ground rivers found in Barbados. It has gone through many name changes since the 17th Century which included being called a Streamlet and…
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How they came to Barbados and found no men therein…
Amyas Preston was an English privateer of the Elizabethan period. Preston came from Cricket, St Thomas in Somerset. He took part in many wars and battles in support of England. Among these were the Preston Somers Expedition in 1595. The Preston–Somers expedition was a series of military actions that took place from late May till…
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Four days up and twenty days down – The Small World crossing of the Atlantic December 1958
The Small World was a silver and black hydrogen filled balloon captained by Arnold “Bushy” Eiloart, whose quest was to be the first balloon to complete a transatlantic voyage from Tenerife to the east coast of the United States. The Small World balloon had the registration G-APOB. The gondola had the registration The Small World…
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Banja in Barbados and its influence on calypso throughout the West Indies
The story of Banja and its development and its influence on calypso though the West Indies told by our guest contributor Roger Gibbs – who is Toronto based. Here we re-publish Roger Gibbs’ video presentation: Early Calypso in Barbados. In addition to the video Roger has also provided us with a transcript for those that…
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King Ja Ja, L’Année Passée and Rum & Coca-Cola
This is a follow-on to the well-known Barbadian folk song Millie Gone to Brazil and is how two classics songs L’Année Passée and Rum & Coca-Cola trace their heritage back to the Bajan folk song: King Ja Ja. It is told by our guest contributor Roger Gibbs. King Ja Ja of Opobo King Ja Ja…
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Barbados Sugar-Works 1640 – 1924 (Summary)
Jim Webster in collaboration with Francis Ward, has put together three posts for BajanThings all on the theme of Barbados Sugar-Works (Sugar Plantations / Sugar Estates / Sugar Factories). This post brings together the three data tables in one place: In addition Jim Webster has also produced a detailed index of Maps of Barbados going…
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The Barbados Trailways Project
The Barbados Trailway Project is an ambitious plan to convert the Train Line into a multi-use pathway for use by Bajan cyclists, walkers and runners. Since the train stopped running in 1937 the tracks were removed and the route used by the surrounding farmers to gain access to their fields. It was also used by…
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Barbados Almanacs: Plantations & Sugar-Works 1848 – 1871
This is the third in our series of stories based upon transcriptions of old plantation sugar-works tables and records. Previously, we published the sugar-works listings from the Barbados Handbooks 1912 – 24 and the Ronnie Hughes Plantation list 1640 – 1846. The latter was previously published on the plantations.bb website which no longer exists. The…
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BajanThings
Bajan history. Interesting Bajan people. Hiking in Barbados and Overseas. International Travel…
Category: Bajan History
Bajan (Barbadian) history.