0_Wizard
I'm traveling to an island in the Caribbean called Barbados next month.
Barbados ( or ) is an island country in the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean region of North America.
chosen_Barbados_0
Barbados
chosen_topic_0_Barbados
Barbados
Barbados ( or ) is an island country in the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean region of North America. It is in length and up to in width, covering an area of . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside the principal Atlantic hurricane belt. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown. Inhabited by Kalinago people since the 13th century, and prior to that by other Amerindians, Barbados was visited by Spanish navigators in the late 15th century and claimed for the Spanish Crown.
Economy of Barbados
Since achieving independence in 1966, the island nation of Barbados has transformed itself from a High-income economy dependent upon "sugar" production, into an upper-middle-income economy based on tourism and the offshore sector. Barbados went into a deep recession in the 1990s after 3 years of steady decline brought on by fundamental macroeconomic imbalances. After a painful re-adjustment process, the economy began to grow again in 1993. Growth rates have averaged between 3%–5% since then. The country's three main economic drivers are: tourism, the international business sector, and foreign direct-investment.
Projects of the Caribbean Community
Three countries—Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago—had originally set 5 January 2005 as the date of signing the agreement relating to the CARICOM single market and economy (CSME). The ceremony had then been rescheduled to coincide with 19 February 2005 inauguration of the new CARICOM-headquarters building in Georgetown, Guyana, but this was later postponed after a ruling by the London Privy council caused alarm to several Caribbean countries. The prospect was that ten of the remaining twelve CARICOM countries would join the CSME by the end of 2005. The Bahamas and Haiti were not expected to be a part of the new economic arrangement at that time.
Barbados–Canada relations
Barbados–Canada relations refer to the bilateral relations between Canada and Barbados. In 1907, the Government of Canada opened a Trade Commissioner Service to the Caribbean region located in Bridgetown, Barbados. Following Barbadian independence from the United Kingdom in November 1966, the Canadian High Commission was established in Bridgetown, Barbados on 27 September 1973. There is a High Commission of Barbados in Ottawa and a Barbadian Consulate in Toronto. The relationship between both nations today partly falls under the larger gambit of Canada–Caribbean relations. As of 2014 it is estimated that as much as 8% of Canadian foreign investments in Barbados.
Canada–Caribbean relations
Canada–Caribbean relations are the long established relationships between Canada and the many states of the Caribbean or West Indies. These ties have been on-going throughout the history of both regions. Initially these relations were based on the policies of European colonial powers in the Americas. More recently, both Canada and most of the Caribbean islands have achieved self-government, putting their relations into a different phase. CARICOM diplomats have referred to Canada as a '"special friend" of the Caribbean at the regional and bilateral levels.' New France and the French colonies in the Caribbean enjoyed a flourishing trade in the first part of the eighteenth century, with the fortress of Louisbourg acting as an important trading centre linking New France, the Caribbean and France.
Southern Caribbean
The Southern Caribbean is a group of islands that neighbor mainland South America in the West Indies. St. Lucia lies to the north of the region, Barbados in the east, Trinidad & Tobago at its southernmost point, and Aruba at the most westerly section. The Southern Caribbean has the Caribbean to the north and west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and the Gulf of Paria to the south. Most of the islands are in the windward islands chain and the (former) Netherlands Antilles. Geologically, the islands are referred to as being a sub-continent of North America, although most islands sit on the South American continental plate.
Piracy in the Caribbean
]The era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s and phased out in the 1830s after the navies of the nations of Western Europe and North America with colonies in the Caribbean began combating pirates. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1660s to 1730s. Piracy flourished in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports such as Port Royal in Jamaica, Tortuga in Haiti, and Nassau in the Bahamas. Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare. They were called buccaneers, from the French "boucanier" (one who smokes meat on a "boucan" (wooden frame set over a fire.))