Barbados Culture

Barbados Culture, people food and festivals 

The culture of Barbados is a blend of West African and British cultures present in Barbados. English is the official language of the nation, reflecting centuries of Britishinfluence, but the Bajan dialect in which it is spoken is an iconic part of the Barbadian culture.

Portuguese explorer Pedro a Campos discovered Barbados in 1536 en route to Brazil. It was Campos who named the island "Los Barbados" ('the bearded ones'), presumably after the island's fig trees, whose long, hanging aerial roots have a beard-like resemblance.

The population of Barbados is predominantly black (92.4%) or mixed (3.1%). 2.7% of the population is white and 1.3% South Asian. The remaining 0.4% of the population includes East Asians (0.1%) and Middle Easterners (0.1%).


Barbadians or Bajans are people originating on the Caribbean island of Barbados whether they live there or in the Barbadian diaspora.