Bridgetown

:Thee is also a Bridgetown North, Ohio in the United States and a Bridgetown in Devon in the United Kingdom.

History

Although the island was totally abandoned or uninhabited when the British landed there, some of the only traces of an indigenous tribe's pre-existence on the island was a very primitive bridge constructed over the Careenage("Constitution River") in the centre of Bridgetown.

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It is suspected that this bridge was created by a people indigenous to the Caribbean known as the Arawak Indians. Upon finding the structure the British settlers began to call what is now the Bridgetown area, Indian Bridge.

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It is widely believed that the Arawaks were driven from Barbados to the neighboring island of Saint Lucia, during an invasion by another peoples indigenous to the region known as the Carib Indians tribe. Eventually after 1654 when a new bridge was constructed over the Careenage by the British, the town became known as The Town of Saint Michael and later Bridgetown, and the final name stuck.

Related Topics:
Saint Lucia - Carib - 1654

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Bridgetown serves as the principal centre of commercial activity in Barbados, as well as a central hub for the islands' public transport system. Many of the ministries and departments of the island's government are also located within the city limits of Bridgetown. The handsome Parliament Buildings, which stand at the heart of the city directly north of Heroes Square, house the third oldest parliament in the British Commonwealth. Indeed, at one point in its early history, Bridgetown was the most important city of all British possessions in the New World. Additionally, Bridgetown is the only city outside continental North America that George Washington visited. (George Washington House, the actual house where he stayed, is now apart of the Garrison Historic Area)

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Bridgetown has the qualities of a fully modern and thriving city. There is access to many services including a pipe-bourne water supply (said to be naturally among the purest in the world), electricity, natural gas supply, cutting-edge telecommunications, wireless services, internet cafes, and a good overall infrastructure. The city is also served by an impressive conference facility ( though still unfinished after ten years) in the suburb of Two Mill Hill just beyond the city's eastern limits. The City of Bridgetown played host to the 1994 United Nations Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Islands States. Bridgetown has local branches to some of the largest banks in the world and English-speaking Caribbean and is internationally recognised as an emerging financial domicile. The city is currenly experiencing a phenominal spurt of redevelopment in preparation for the 2007 World Cricket Cup Finals to be held at the historic Kensington Oval. The Oval is being renovated to a state-of-the-art sports facility that will accommodate 30,000 spectators. Live viewership for the 2007 event is estimated to be in the region of 2 billion.

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For a city its size, Bridgetown is home to several prestigious educational institutions. The city serves as the seat of one of the three campuses of the University of The West Indies in the northern suburb of Cave Hill. The campus sits on a bluff offering a spectacular panorama of Bridgetown and its port. The Barbados Community College is located 3 miles east of the Central Business District in a suburb known as "The Ivy", while the sprawling campus of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic is located just beyond the eastern limits of the city in a suburb known as "The Pine". In addition, the city houses such distinguished secondary schools as Harrison's College and Combermere.

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The city has access to daily flights via the islands' lone Airport the Sir Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) located on the ABC Highway/Highway 7 in Seawell, Christ Church. Bridgetown was the only other city in the western hemisphere - after New York, U.S.A - to be served by regularly scheduled British Airways Concorde flights. Additionally, the GAIA has been chosen as one of only four global display sites for the retired supersonic aircraft. The Airport is currently in the final stages of a magnificent expansion project, which will also include the construction of an aviation museum that will house the Concorde.

Related Topics:
Sir Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) - Christ Church - Western hemisphere

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