Barbados, Land of the Flying Fish Quiz

Answer: Western Atlantic Ocean

Barbados is often considered a Caribbean nation, but it is actually located east of the Caribbean Sea, in the Atlantic Ocean. Located at 13 degrees north of the equator and 59 degrees west of the prime meridian, it is the easternmost of the islands often grouped under the title of "West Indies", and is considered part of the Lesser Antilles.

Answer: Continental limestone-coral

Because it lies on the continental shelf of South America, Barbados is a continental island, as opposed to an oceanic island. Barbados is part of an Atlantic Ocean submarine mountain range formed during the Cenozoic Era as the Caribbean and South American plates collided and raised the coral reef (formed during the Mesozoic Era after the break from Africa) upwards. Barbados is the only part of the range that rises above sea level.

Answer: Trinidad and Tobago

These four nations are the closest to Barbados, but it is Trinidad and Tobago, to the south, which has had a history of fishing territorial disputes. In 1990, Trinidad and Tobago signed a maritime treaty with Venezuela that allocated ocean territory claimed by Barbados to Trinidad and Tobago.

In 2004, Barbados took the dispute to binding arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. On 11 April 2006, the boundary was set approximately midway between the two countries.

Answer: Saint Andrew

All of these are parishes of Barbados, but Mount Hillaby is located in the northeastern parish of Saint Andrew in a region known as the Scotland District. Saint George and Saint Thomas are the only two landlocked parishes on the island, and Saint Lucy is the northernmost parish.

Answer: Tropical

Barbados is basically a tropical climate, but the constant trade winds off the Atlantic Ocean keep temperatures mild (24-28C, or 75-83F). Humidity is between 72% and 76% all year, with most rainfall occurring between July and December.

Answer: Bearded fig-tree

The original Arawak name for Barbados was Ichirouganaim. This was changed by Portuguese settlers to Barbados, meaning 'bearded', but the reason for the choice of name is not clear. One story is that it was based on the hanging roots of the native bearded fig-tree (Ficus citrifolia).

It may also have been due to the bearded Caribs living on the island, or to the visual appearance on a map of ocean spray foaming up over the surrounding coral reefs.

Answer: Bridgetown, Saint Michael

Bridgetown, named for the bridges over the Careenage, is the largest city of Barbados, and the center of commercial activity. A large proportion of the international tourists arriving in Barbados enter via the Deep Water Harbour of Bridgetown on cruise ships.

Answer: Hurricane Janet in 1955

Most tropical storms form to the west of Barbados, but in 1955 a weak tropical wave moved across the Atlantic in mid-September and was designated a tropical storm on September 21 when it was east of the Lesser Antilles. It developed on the 22nd into a Category 3 hurricane just as it hit Barbados, passing through the Grenadines on the following day. (Hurricane Carol hit New England, and tore down my family's garage, an event which I was too young to notice).

Answer: Sugar cane

Sugar cane cultivation started in 1640, quickly replacing the tobacco plantations that had been the previous mainstay of the island. The workforce was primarily slaves, imported from Africa for the purpose. Abolition of the slave trade in 1807 did not include abolition of slavery until the 1830s.

The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. During the twentieth century, manufacturing, tourism and services grew to dominate the economy of Barbados.

A growing number of companies have moved their call centres to Barbados, and fishing (especially for the prevalent flying fish) has been a popular tourist activity, as well as providing a valuable food source.

Answer: Fish and pelican

Technically, the fish is identified as a dolphin fish, but it is drawn to look like a flying fish, with elongated pectoral fins. The fish symbolizes the fishing industry, important for an island nation like Barbados, while the pelican memorializes Pelican Island, which once existed off the coast of Bridgetown. Above the shield is a helmet from which projects a forearm with two crossed sugar-cane stalks in its fist, an acknowledgment of the historical role played by sugar cane in the island's development. The motto "Pride and Industry" appears on a banner under the shield.

All other animals mentioned are found on Barbados, but not on their coat of arms.