This section is from the book "Chambers's Concise Gazetteer Of The World", by David Patrick. Also available from Amazon: Chambers's Concise Gazetteer Of The World.
Barba'does, one of the Windward Islands, the most easterly of all the West Indies, lies 78 miles E. of St Vincent, in 13° 4' N. lat., and 59° 37' W. long. Its length is 21 miles; its greatest breadth, 14 1/2 miles; and its area, 166 sq. m., almost all under cultivation. At Bridgetown, the capital, is the open roadstead of Carlisle Bay, the only harbour, the island being almost encircled by coral-reefs. The interior is generally hilly, Mount Hillaby, the loftiest summit, rising 1104 feet above sea-level. The climate is fairly healthy; the temperature equable; and the average rainfall 57 inches. Shocks of earthquake are sometimes felt, and thunderstorms are frequent and severe. But hurricanes are the grand scourge of Barbadoes, two in 1780 and 1831 having destroyed 4326 and 1591 persons, and property to the value of £1,320,564 and £1,602,800. Barbados is the official spelling. The area of the island is 166 square miles. In 1834 the population was 102,231; by 1901 it had increased to 195,588 - nearly 1200 inhabitants to every square mile. About 20,000 are white, and the rest coloured. The trade and the revenue bear a similar testimony to the benefits of emancipation. Barbadoes was made the see of a bishop in 1824; and the bulk of the population belong to the Anglican communion. It was first colonised by the English in 1625, having previously been depopulated by the Spaniards. See Schomburgk's History of Barbadoes (1848).
 
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