Rihanna's island — rum distilleries, cricket, and UNESCO colonial elegance
Bridgetown is the capital of Barbados, the easternmost Caribbean island and arguably the region's most culturally distinct — never ceded to any European power other than Britain, never subjected to a plantation slave rebellion that succeeded, and the birthplace of Rihanna. The historic Garrison and Bridgetown together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The West Coast (Platinum Coast) has the Caribbean's calmest swimming beaches; the East Coast has dramatic Atlantic surf.
Barbados was settled by the British in 1627 and remained British until independence in 1966 — the only Caribbean island never changing European hands, which gave it unusual political and economic stability. The island was the wealthiest British colony in the Americas throughout the 17th century, driven entirely by enslaved labour on sugar plantations. The Bridgetown Garrison, built from 1705, is the best-preserved British colonial military installation in the Americas. Barbados became a republic in 2021, removing the British monarch as head of state.