The country of
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
is divided into sub-regions known as
parishes.
Terminology
They are legally styled as the "Parish of (''parish name'')" as opposed to the
American naming convention with "Parish" coming after the name. The use of the term "parish" derives from the island's religious
Anglican history under the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
.
History
The system of parish churches was originally based on the system of the Church of England and was the visible expression forming the basis of the parliamentary representation in Barbados. The differing size and shape of each parish were primarily influenced by the large plantation estates of
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
,
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
and
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
that existed during the
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 au ...
years of Barbados. As various
chapels of ease were created during the 17th century across the island, some local churches were elevated to
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
status, leading to the formation of new parishes surrounding those freshly created vestries.
By 1629, the
English settlers after landing at
James Town formed six original parishes on the island which were:
*The Parish of
Christ Church,
*The Parish of
St. James,
*The Parish of
St. Lucy,
*The Parish of
St. Michael,
*The Parish of
St. Peter, and
*The Parish of
St. Thomas
By 1645, the land holding of Barbados increased and the shape of the original six was reconfigured giving way to an additional five parishes.
Some prior churches of the state within the existing parishes were elevated to the level of parish church and as a consequence they formed new parishes around those new
vestries
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...
:
*The Parish of
St. Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
,
*The Parish of
St. George,
*The Parish of
St. John,
*The Parish of
St. Joseph, and
*The Parish of
St. Philip.
Thus Barbados was converted into the current eleven parishes of today corresponding to the earlier church parishes. As was common under the British system, each parish had a single main
parishional church (or
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
in the case of Bridgetown having been elevated to city status), which acted as a sort of capital for each parish.
The parishes each held their own local government councils until these were abolished in 1959, following a brief administrative
districting experiment within Barbados until 1967.
Today
The nation's capital
Bridgetown
Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...
, which is located within the parish of
Saint Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
, may one day be made into its own parish.
Within the country, travel is unrestricted to everyone in moving about from parish to parish. With increasing
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
and new construction projects across the country many neighbourhoods and even parishional border-lines today are ill-defined.
The eleven parishes are:
See also
*
Constituency Councils
*
Geography of Barbados
*
History of Barbados
*
Transport in Barbados
**
Barbadian vehicle registration plates
*
ISO 3166-2:BB
*
List of cities in Barbados
*
List of West Indian first-level country subdivisions
*
List of Caribbean islands by area
*
List of Caribbean islands by political affiliation
*
List of Caribbean island countries by population
This list of Caribbean countries and dependent territories is sorted by the mid-year normalized demographic projections.
Table
See also
*List of Caribbean islands by area
* List of Caribbean islands by political affiliation
*List of metropolita ...
*
List of metropolitan areas in the West Indies
References
Further reading
*
External links
Barbados parishesBarbados Statistical Service(BSS)
Barbados Government census by Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parishes Of Barbados
Subdivisions of Barbados
Barbados, Parishes
Barbados 1
Parishes, Barbados
Barbados geography-related lists