Barbados

Some evidence exists that Barbados may not have been settled in the second millennium BC, but this is limited to fragments of conch lip adzes found inassociation with shells radiocarbon dated to c.1630 BC. Fully documented Amerindian settlement dates to about 350 to 650 AD, by a group known as theSaladoid-Barrancoid, who arrived from mainland South America. A second wave of migrants appeared around the year 800 and a third in the mid-13th century. This last group was morepolitically organized and came to rule over the others
From about 1600 the English, French and Dutch began to find colonies in the North American mainland andthe smaller islands of the West Indies. Although Spanish and Portuguese sailors likely had visited Barbados, the Commonwealth of England was the firstEuropeans to establish a lasting settlement in Barbados from 1627.


Fauna
Mammals are a poorly represented group on the island, composed almost entirely ofintroduced species. The Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus), House Mouse (Mus musculus), European Hare (Lepus europaeus), Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus), and Greenmonkey (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) are the most notable examples. Pigs were introduced by the Portuguese in 1563 as a future food source; the introductionwas successful and a feral pig population persisted up until the point of British settlement of the island, after which they became extirpated.


FloraPalms, caesarian, mahogany, and almond trees are found on the island, but no large forest areas exist, most of the level ground having been turned over to sugarcane.