Although the island was totally abandoned or uninhabited when the British arrived, one of the few traces of indigenous pre-existence on the island was a primitive bridge constructed over the
Careenage area's swamp at the centre of Bridgetown. It was thought that this bridge was created by a people indigenous to the
Caribbean known as the
Tainos. Upon finding the structure, the British settlers began to call what is now the Bridgetown area
Indian Bridge. Scholars widely believe that the Tainos were driven from Barbados to the neighbouring island of
Saint Lucia, during an invasion by the
Kalinagos, another indigenous people of the region. Eventually after 1654 when a new bridge was constructed over the Careenage by the British, the area became known as
The Town of Saint Michael and later as
Bridgetown, after Sir
Tobias Bridge. Bridgetown is the only city outside the present United States that
George Washington visited. (
George Washington House, the house where he stayed, is included within the boundaries of the
Garrison Historic Area.) Two of Washington's ancestors, Jonathon and Gerrard Hawtaine, were early planters on the island. Their grandmother was Mary Washington of Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, England. In 2011, historic buildings in Bridgetown were designated as a protected area by UNESCO.
Early settlement statue
Bridgetown, Barbados in 1848, removed in 2020 in 1848 English settlement of Bridgetown began on 5 July 1628 to of land by the Earl of Carlisle in settlement of debts. Wolverstone granted each of the settlers of land on the northern side of the Careenage waterway for the purpose of general settlement. The southern shore on Needham's Point was claimed by Carlisle's agents in October 1628. In 1631, many acres of land directly facing
Carlisle Bay were passed to
Henry Hawley, the new Governor; but after reports of his dishonest behaviour he was arrested and
forcibly returned to England in 1639. An investigation by a commission in 1640 found that much of Hawley's land transactions were legitimate and properly showed these lands (including the town site) as being attributed to the Earl of Carlisle. Bridgetown was built with a street layout resembling early English medieval or market towns, with its narrow serpentine street and alley configuration. It is estimated that between 1627 and 1807, approximately 387,000 enslaved Africans were sent to Barbados.
From town to city In 1824, Barbados became the seat of the Anglican
Diocese of Barbados and the
Leeward Islands. The St Michael's Parish Church became a cathedral, so that Bridgetown became a
city. In 1842, Barbados, Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Saint Vincent, and Saint Lucia were split into separate dioceses by
royal letters patent which also decreed that the Town of Bridgetown should be called the City of Bridgetown. From 1800 until 1885, Bridgetown was the main seat of government for the former British colonies of the
Windward Islands. During this period, the resident
governor of Barbados also served as the
colonial head of the Windward Islands. After the Government of Barbados officially exited from the Windward Islands union in 1885, the seat was moved from Bridgetown to
St. George's on the neighbouring island of
Grenada. In December 1925, a committee sought to petition the king for a royal charter of incorporation to provide local government in the city, proposed to consist of a mayor, 8 aldermen, 12 common councillors, a town clerk, a head-borough or chief constable, and such other officers as would be deemed necessary. It was proposed that the island's
House of Assembly should seek to incorporate the city instead of using a
royal charter. This proposal did not succeed, but in 1958 the Local Government Act was passed in Barbados. This provided a separate administration for the city, with a mayor; 6 city aldermen; and 12 city councillors, four for each of the three wards in the city. On 20 September 1960, the
College of Arms in London granted arms to the City of Bridgetown. The armorial bearings were designed by the late Neville Connell, the then director of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, and H. W. Ince, the honorary secretary of the society.
Local government in Barbados did not last long. In April 1967, the local government councils were dissolved and replaced by an interim commissioner for local government. The Corporation of Bridgetown thus ceased to exist, and its records and paraphernalia were deposited in both the Government Department of Archives and Barbados Museum and Historical Society. Today, Bridgetown and surrounding constituencies are administered by members of the Barbadian parliament. == Geography and climate ==