9781422286258

(Opposite) This lion, a symbol of the British Empire, stands on Gun Hill in St. George Parish. The Latin inscrip- tion beneath the statue gives the date that it was carved from coral lime- stone, 1868. (Right) The Atlantic Ocean washes the beach at Bathsheba, on the scenic eastern coast of Barbados. 1

Beauty , Beaches , and Bajans

DOTTING THE EASTERN Caribbean are a chain of islands, each with its own unique history, flavor, and communities. On the easterly side of this chain—the Lesser Antilles—is Barbados, an island of beauty, beaches, and fascinating people called Bajans (or Barbadians). Barbados is not a large island. It is approximately 21 miles (34 kilome- ters) long and 14 miles (23 km) wide—or about the size of a large city in the United States. The island is roughly triangular in shape (some people say it looks like a lopsided pear or a pear-shaped emerald). To the southwest is the Caribbean Sea; to the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean. Barbados is located about 1,600 miles (2,575 km) southeast of Miami, Florida; 535 miles (861 km) north- east of Caracas, Venezuela; and 4,200 miles (6,759 km) from its biggest influ- ence—London, England. And unlike the other Caribbean islands, Barbados

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