Caribbean: All about Barbados Trivia Quiz

Answer: Easternmost

Barbados is often grouped with the Lesser Antilles, where are a group of islands forming the eastern maritime border of the Caribbean Sea. Because of Barbados' location in the far east of the Caribbean, it seldom is the site of hurricanes. However, they do sometimes occur, and the island has been damaged by passing storms in the past. Even though Barbados is located in the most western part of the North Atlantic, it is still considered a Caribbean island, and not an Atlantic island.

Answer: Saint Philip

The parish of Saint Philip is located in the easternmost corner of Barbados. The area encompasses 23 square miles (60 square km) and is considered to be the countryside of Barbados due to its prevalent agriculture and cultivation areas.

The other parishes of Barbados (listed from largest to smallest) are: Christ Church (which is directly west of Saint Philip), Saint George, Saint Michael, Saint Andrew, Saint Lucy, Saint John, Saint Peter, Saint Thomas, Saint James and the smallest parish at 13 square miles (34 square km) in size, is Saint Joseph.

Answer: Saint Michael

When the British arrived in Barbados in the 1600s, they discovered a bridge constructed through the centre of what is now Bridgetown, now understood to have been built by the Tainos. The British named what is now Bridgetown "Indian Bridge" before it was changed to "Saint Michael" after 1654, when the British built a new bridge in the area, across the Careenage (or the Constitution River), with the western part of this river running through the city.

The city was then named "Bridgetown" after Sir Tobias Bridge, an English parliamentary military general, who served both Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II.

Answer: George Washington

Barbados was the only known country which George Washington ever travelled to outside of the U.S.A. This was before he was president, aged 19 at the time of his visit, going to the island with his half brother, Lawrence Washington, in 1751. Lawrence had tuberculosis and was advised to spend time in the tropics due to its climate. George went with him, but George's wife could not go as they had already lost three children and were not willing to risk losing another during a long voyage.

The exact date they went is not clear as the remains of George's Barbados diary, are in terrible condition. It took them over three weeks to reach Barbados, but when they did George Washington wrote that he was "perfectly ravished" by the island's beauty.

Answer: Folkestone Marine Park

Located on the western coast of Barbados, Folkestone Marine Park is near the oldest church in Barbados, Saint James Parish Church. It is an underwater park, and the surrounding shore area features a maritime museum.

The Stavronikita is the largest and one of the most popular wrecks for divers to explore in Barbados. Located 120 feet (36 m) under the sea, the Stavronikita was a 365 foot (111 m) long Greek freighter, which was constructed in 1956 in Denmark, before being christened in Ohio. Carrying a cargo of 101,000 bags of cement, the ship was travelling from Ireland to the Caribbean on August 26, 1976. The ship caught fire, resulting in the deaths of six people with three others being injured. The ship exploded and decimated the Stavronikita's radio system, making it impossible for the rest of the stranded crew to radio for help. Twenty four members of the ship's crew were drifting in open water for four days before they were rescued, with the ship being towed to Barbados.

After one year, the ship was still anchored at Carlisle Bay, Barbados. For $30,000, the Stavronikita was bought by the Parks and Beach Commission at auction in 1977. The ship was cleaned of any remaining oil (some 70,000 gallons was still in the fuel tank), any brass and machinery was stripped, then she was towed just 400 yards offshore of Barbados' western coast. In 1978, the U.S. Navy demolition crew blew holes in the ship's hull, causing her to sink. Now the site remains a place of great interest, but only experienced divers are recommended to venture here due to its depth, and it is never recommended to dive here solo.

Answer: Holetown

Holetown is situated on the coast of western Barbados. Originally named Saint James Town (after King James I), Holetown was the first site of the British landing on the island and also became the first settlement established here two years after the initial landing. It is said that the English named the area "Holetown" because one of them stated that the river that meets the sea here reminded him of Limehouse Hole on the River Thames, England. Swimming and kayaking are popular here because the surrounding sea is generally not very turbulent.

Since 2009, Holetown has been twinned with England's London borough of Haringey.

Answer: Horatio Nelson

From 1813-2020, a bronze statue of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, stood in what is now National Heroes Square. In 1805, Nelson and his British fleet ended up in Barbados after chasing the French and Spanish fleet across the sea, shortly before the Battle of Trafalgar. The statue was established by British sculptor, Sir Richard Westmacott, in 1813. The statue became an icon and was even featured in Barbadian postage stamps dating from 1906 and 1964.

The statue was relocated to the Barbados Museum in 2020.

Answer: Saint James Parish Church

Located in Holetown, the Saint James Parish Church was established in 1628, near the site where the first English settlers landed on in Barbados. It is located on a patch of land coined "God's acre" as it is one of the oldest consecrated patches of land on Barbados. The church was originally made from wood, but a hurricane ripped through most of Barbados in 1675 and the church had to be rebuilt from stone, completed in the 1690s. Another hurricane hit Barbados in 1780, and according to "Schomburgk's History of Barbados" only two churches survived: Saint Andrew, Saint Peter and All Saints. There is no record of what happened to Saint James Parish Church in these hurricanes, however in 1831, there was another hurricane and Saint James Parish Church was not listed among the buildings destroyed.

The building was again refurbished in 1874, and in 1875 was consecrated by Bishop Mitchinson on Easter Tuesday. The church building is more or less the same building constructed in the 1800s.

Answer: Bathsheba

Located on the eastern coast of Barbados, Bathsheba is the primary fishing village in the parish of Saint Joseph. Also located in the Saint Joseph near the town of Bloomsbury is the Flower Forest Botanical Gardens, the 50-acre (200,000 square m) site which was once a sugar plantation. Abundant with tropical flowers, it is the largest garden in Barbados.

The Andromeda Botanical Gardens were established in the 1950's by Iris Bannochie (1914-1988) who was a self-taught botanist, scientist and horticulturalist. The garden possesses over 500 species of flowers and plants, is composed of around 20 connected gardens and is home to many types of butterfly, including the monarch butterfly.

Answer: Rihanna Drive

Musician and pop star, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, better known for her stage name, Rihanna, grew up on Westbury New Road in Saint Michael, Barbados. Barbados is very proud of Rihanna and it is the general opinion there that she has not forgotten where she grew up.

On 30 November 2017, to celebrate Barbados' 50th year of independence, the street was renamed Rihanna Drive, to honour one of the country's favourite musicians. At the renaming ceremony, Rihanna stated "my whole life was shaped on this very road."

Answer: Grapefruit

The grapefruit was discovered in Barbados in the 1750s. It is thought to have originated in Welchman Hall Gully, Saint Thomas, a nature reserve known for its population of monkeys. The grapefruit is a cross between the orange and the pomelo, both fruits which were brought to the Americas in the 15th century from Europe. George Washington wrote in his diary about the grapefruit during his stay in Barbados, coining them "the forbidden fruit" in around 1750-1751.

It is unknown whether the grapefruit was deliberately created from a blend of the seeds, or was a horticultural accident.

Answer: Sandy Lane

Sandy Lane is a five star luxury resort near Holetown and the Paynes Bay (or the "Platinum Coast"). Ronald Tree, a British Conservative politician established the hotel in 1961 on a former sugar plantation.

Andrea Corr, lead singer of Irish musical group, The Coors is a daughter-in-law of the co-owner of this hotel, Dermot Desmond, and has frequently stayed here. Other famous people who have frequented the hotel include record executive Simon Cowell, actor Sidney Poitier, businessman Aristotle Onassis, American first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, poet T. S. Eliot and footballer Robin Van Persie. Golfer Tiger Woods also used the hotel for the site of his wedding in 2004.

Answer: Mount Gay distillery

The oldest deed from the Mount Gay distillery is dated from 1703, and was established under Sir John Gay Alleyne (1724-1801) who was a Barbadian politician and the first ever Alleyne baronet, a rank of British aristocracy which is still in use today. Since 1989, French alcohol company, Rémy Cointreau, has been Mount Gay's largest shareholder. The rum is concocted from molasses (a by-product of sugarcane) and water which have been run through a coral filter three times, and then aged in oak barrels. "Static tropical aging" means that the rum ages three times faster than rum in the northern hemisphere.

The Mount Gay distillery is located in the parish of Saint Lucy, near Mount Gilboa. It has a comprehensive tour for tourists.

Answer: Bridgetown

The Atlantis Submarines experience takes those on board as deep as 150 feet (45 m) where shipwrecks and coral reefs are visible. The undersea tour is family friendly, lasts around 40 minutes and can take place in the day or the night. It is also a good way to look at tropical fish in an area which was once only reserved for scuba divers.

Answer: Nidhe Israel Synagogue

The Nidhe Israel Synagogue was built in 1654. It was decimated by a hurricane and had to be rebuilt in 1831. It was sold and refurbished in 1929. Raphael Hayyim Isaac Carregal was the first rabbi to visit Barbados (and what would also later become the United States). He died in Barbados in 1777, and was likely gave sermons there.

The Nidhe Israel Synagogue and Museum was a sanctuary for around 300 Jews who were fleeing persecution by the Portuguese in Brazil in the 1600's. The synagogue added a museum to their premises in 2008.