Barbados became independent from the United Kingdom 40 years ago, on November 30th, 1966. But Queen Elizabeth II is still head of state. Barbados is a small island state located on the southeastern outskirts of the Caribbean almost a hundred miles east of its closest neighbor. It is about 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC or the size of Andorra. Barbados has a population of 0.28 million. The capital is Bridgetown. The official language is English, but also Bajan (Barbadian Creole English) is widely spoken.
Barbados has been a British colony and is still influenced to a high degree by the British culture. But through the heritage of its population it also has African cultural influence, especially in its music and dance. Barbados is a lush island with a near perfect climate (well not completely perfect, like in all of the Caribbean there is a risk for hurricanes, especially in September and October), crystal blue water, beautiful beaches, and interesting limestone caverns. The most important industry is tourism. As a result it has an excellent tourism infrastructure and plenty of hotels and resorts for every taste and budget.