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BAR 
B A R 
barba Jovis Jupiter’s beard or the hirer bufh, barla bird 
goat’s beard, See. All'o a woolly fubftance covering the 
furface of plants. 
Barba, a town of North America, in the county of. 
Mexico, and province of Cofta Rica, twenty-two miles 
foutii-fouth-weft of Cartago. 
Barba Caprje, /. in botany. See Spiraea. 
Barba Jovis. See Amorpka, Anthyi.lis, Cy- 
tisus, Ebenus, and Pr ora lea. 
BAR'BACAN, or Barbican, f. \_barbacane, Fr. bar- 
bacana. Span.] An outer defence or fortification to a city 
or caftle, ufed efpecially as a fence to the city or walls ; 
al'fo, an aperture made in the wall of. a fortrefs, to fire 
through upon the enemy. Ba'dacan is alfo ufed to denote 
a fort at the entrance of a bridge, or the outlet of a city, 
having a double wall with towers. 
BARBA'DOES, one -of the Cliaraibean, or Caribbee 
iflands, and the mod eaftern of the Weft India iflands ; it 
is laid, was firft difeovered by the Portuguefe 1 , from who.m 
it received its p re lent name ; the Portuguefe, however, 
made no fettlement, only furnifliing it with a breed of 
fwine for future navigators. It had no inhabitants, and 
was much overgrown with wodd, when it was vilited by 
the crew of an Englifh (hip in the year 1605, who took 
poffeflion of it in the name of king James : they found 
pigs, pigeons, and parrots, and the fea abounded with fi!h. 
Some years afterwards a fettlement was made by Sir W. 
Courteen, a merchant of London ; and, in the year 1624, 
the foundation of Jameftown was laid. The earl of Marl¬ 
borough obtained a grant of this iflalid to hirnfelf and heirs 
in perpetuity, and was mod probably the patron of this 
firft fettlement. The earl of Carlifte, who was at the fame 
time engaged in the eftablifliment of a colony in the iflaiid 
of St. Chriftopher, laid a claim to it, and in the firft year 
of Charles 1 . obtained a grant of all the Cliaraibean iflands, 
including alfo Barbadoes ; this being difputed by the earl 
of Marlborough, was at laft fettled by an engagement of 
the earl of Carlifle to pay to the earl of Marlborough and 
his heirs for ever the yearly fum of 300 pounds, but the 
intereft of the merchant who formed the fettlement was 
forgotten. The new proprietor diftributed lands to fuch 
perfons as chofe to receive grants on the terms propofed : 
a fociety of merchants accepted 10,000 acres on conditions 
that promifed great advantage to the proprietor : a perfon 
appointed to prefide, with iixty-fonr perfons, each of 
whom was authorized to take up joo acres of land, arriv¬ 
ed in the ifland in the year 1628, at which time Courteen’s 
fettlement began to fiourifti; but they declared it an en¬ 
croachment and ufurpation, and Sir William Tulton ar¬ 
riving the year following, as chief governor, with a force 
lufficient, he compelled the friends of Courteen to fubmit. 
During the civil war, Barbadoes took a decided part in 
favour of the unfortunate Charles 1 . The republic par¬ 
liament, angry with the inhabitants of Barbadoes, lent 
out a fleet under Sir George Ayfcue in 1651, and fucceed- 
ed fo far as to get the republic acknowledged, but at the 
fame time it was agreed that the jurifdiflion of the ifland 
Ihould be continued in the governor, council, and aflem- 
bl.y, according to, the cuftom of the ifland ; the afiembly 
to be chofen by the freeholders; and no taxes to be levied 
on the inhabitants without their confent in a general af- 
fembly. The parliament had intended an ail, by which 
all foreign veflels were to be prohibited from trading with 
the Englifh plantations, and no goods to be imported into 
England, or any of its dependencies, in any other than 
Englifh bottoms, or in fhips of that nation of which the 
merchandize imported .was the growth or manufacture; 
andjthusaro.fe the famous navigation ail, for immediately 
after the peroration, the plan v)as adopted by Charles 11 . 
with this additipjri, that the mafter., and three-fourth? of 
the fehmen fltoukl be Englifh fubjedhs. The proprietary 
government v. as diflolved, the legiflatjon of the ifland veil¬ 
ed in the crown, and a duty of foi’.r and a half per cent, 
to be paid in fpecie,. laid on all dead commodities, the 
growth of the iflahd, (hipped to any part of the world. 
Barbadoes is twenty-one miles long, and fourteen broad 
and contains 106,470 acres of land, mod part of which is 
cultivated. The foil in the low lands is black ; in the 
(hallow parts inclining to red ; on the hills chalky ; and 
near the fea-coaft moftly Candy. In the year 1670, we are 
a flared, that Barbadoes contained 50-000 whites, and 
100,000 black inhabitants ; perhaps this account may be 
exaggerated, but by an authentic account, the number of 
whites, in the year 1724, was nb more than 18,295 : and in 
the year 1753, the number of blacks was 69,870. In the 
year 1786, ihere were 16,167 whites, 838 free people of 
colour, and 62,115 negroes. On an average, from the 
year 1740 to 1748, the exports were 13,948 hog (heads of 
fugar, of 15 cvvt. each; 12,88* puncheons of rum, of 
of i&o gallons each; fixty hogfheads of molafles ; 4667 
bags of ginger; '600 bags of cotton; and 327 gourds of 
aloes. But fince that time this ifland has been much on 
the decline. The exports on an average for 1784, 1785, 
1786, were only 9554 hogfheads of fugar, 5448 puncheons 
of rum, 6320 bags of ginger, and 833 1 bags of cotton, be- 
fides fmaller articles, as aloes, fweetmeats, &c. That 
the dreadful fucceffion of hurricanes, with w hich it has 
pleafed the Almighty to vifit this, and the other Weft In¬ 
dian iflands, within the laft twelve years, has contributed 
to this great defalcation, cannot be doubted. The capital 
of this ifland was fcarce rifen from the allies to which it 
had been reduced by two dreadful fires, when it was torn 
from its foundation, and the whole country made a ficene 
of defolation, by the ftorm of the 10th of Odober, 1780, 
in which no lefs than 4326 of the inhabitants (blacks and 
whites) miferably perifhed, and the damage to the coun¬ 
try was computed at 1,320,564k 15s. ftc.rling. When 
Barbadoes was firft fettled, fome of the planters, for the 
convenience of carriage to the fea-fide, at firft procured ca¬ 
mels, ; which undoubtedly would in all refpefts have been, 
preferable to horfes for their fugar and other works; but 
the nature of the climate difagreeing with that animal, it 
was found impoflible' to preferve the breed. They then 
applied for horfes to Old and New England : from the for¬ 
mer they had thole that were fit for (how and draught; 
from the latter thofe that were proper for mounting their 
militia, and for the faddle. They had’likewife (ome of 
an inferior breed from Curaflao, and other fettlements. 
They are reported to have had their firft breed of black 
cattle from Bonavifta and the ifle of May ; they now breed 
upon the ifland, and often do the work of horfes. The 
hogs of Barbadoes are finer eating than thofe of Britain, 
but the flieep are not near fo good. They likewife have 
goats, which when young are "excellent food. A variety 
of birds are produced in Barbadoes, of which, the hum¬ 
ming bird is the moil remarkable. Wild fowl do not 
often frequent this ifland ; but fometimes teal are found 
near their ponds. The tame pigeons, pullets, ducks,' and 
poultry of all kinds, that are bred at Barbadoes, are ac¬ 
counted more delicious than thofe of Europe. Their 
rabbits are fcarce ; they have no hares ; and’if they have 
deer of any kind, they are kept as curiofities. The mul- 
.lets, and other fea-fifti, caught here are excellent ; and 
the green turtle is perhaps the greateft delicacy that an¬ 
cient or modern luxury can boaft of. At Barbadoes this . 
delicious fhell-fifh feldom fells for lefs than a ftiillkm a 
pound, and often for more. There is found in this ifland 
a kind of land- crab which feeds on herbs and roots, and 
(belters itfelf in hotifes and hoiiows of trees, and is ex¬ 
cellent food. Flying fifli are likewife fold in the markets. 
Barbadoes is divided into five diftricts, and eleven pa- 
rifhes; and contains four towns, Bridgetown, O flans or 
Charleftown, St. James’s, and Spaights-town. The go¬ 
vernor’s chief refidence is at Pilgrirfis, near Bridgetown : 
his falary 2000I. a year. The climate is very hot, but 
the air pure ; and the heat is moderated by the conftant 
trade-winds. Its products are, befidcs thofe mentioned, 
above, tamarinds, figs, aloes, bananoes, cedar, maftich, 
cacao, papas, guavas, and all other Weft India fruits. 
Lat. 13. 10. N. Ion. 59. W. Greenwich. 
Btuybadoes 
