Although the island was totally abandoned or uninhabited when the British arrived, one of the few vestiges of indigenous preexistence on the island was a primitive bridge built on the Careenage swamp area in the center of Bridgetown. It is suspected that this bridge was created by a Caribbean indigenous people known as the Arawaks. Finding the structure, British settlers started calling what is now the Bridgetown Bridge area of India. It is believed that the Arawaks were expelled from Barbados to the nearby island of St. Lucia, during the invasion they met with other indigenous peoples in the region, known as the Kalinagos. Finally, after 1654, the British built a new bridge over the Careenage, the area begins to be known as the City of San Miguel and then definitely as Bridgetown.^{[appointment required]}

Chamberlain, first bridge built by the British.

Bridgetown is the only city outside the current United States that was visited by George Washington. George Washington House (the royal house from which he stayed), is now part of the historical Guarnición area. In 2011, the historic buildings of Bridgetown were made a UNESCO protected area. ​

First colonies

The English settlement of Bridgetown began on July 5, 1628, under Charles Wolverstone, he brought with him 64 settlers to this land, formally claimed by James Hay (Carlisle Count). The settlers of Wolverstone had been sent by a group of traders from London, led by Sir Marmaduke Rawdon. The group was awarded a lease and 40 kilometers of the land area by the Count of Carlisle, through a debit payment. Each of the settlers in Wolverstone was given 400 meters of land, the area was located on the north side of the Careenage waterway for the purpose of general liquidation. The southern shore of Point de Needham was claimed by Carlisle's agents, but in October 1630, and then in 1631, his lands go directly to Henry Hawley, the new governor. The reports of this governor's dishonest behavior led to his arrest, in 1639 he ended up being from England. Bridgetown was based on a design similar to that of medieval streets, the early English market is characterized by narrow winding streets and traditional alleys of its culture. ^{[Appointment Required]}

From village to city

The legal limits were not redefined until 1822. In 1824, Barbados became the headquarters of the Anglican Diocese of Barbados and the Leeward Islands. Because of this, the St. Michael parish church became a cathedral, from then on Bridgetown was represented with city status. In 1842, the Royal Cell in which Barbados, Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent and St. Lucia were divided into separate diocese and it is decreed that Bridgetown should be renamed Bridgetown from then on. ​

From 1800 to 1885 Bridgetown already serves as the head office of the Government of the former British colonies of the Windward Islands. During this period, the resident Governor of Barbados also served as the colonial head of the islands.

After the Barbados government officially left the Windward Islands Union in 1885 (the seat moved from Bridgetown to St. George, the island city of Grenada).

Legitimation

Barbados Parliament Building.

In December 1925, a committee tried to ask the king for a royal letter to start a local government constitution in the city. The plan indicates Bridgetown's desire to be led by a mayor, 8 city councilors, 12 ordinary councilors, a city clerk, a head-village or police chief, and the other officials deemed necessary.

It was not until 1958 that the Local Government Act was passed in Barbados. At the event, the administration was called separately from the city. The act proclaimed one mayor, six city councilors, and 12 councilors—four of whom serve each of the city's three halls. On 20 September 1960, an arms subsidy was awarded to the city by the Royal College of Arms in London. The Coats of Arms of Bridgetown City, designed by the late Neville Connell, then director of the Barbados Museum and the Historical Society.

Barbados' local government was established, but not for long. In April 1967, the system of municipal councilors was dissolved and replaced by an interim commissioner of local government. The Bridgetown Corporation therefore ceased to exist, and its records and paraphernalia were deposited in the Archives Governance, Barbados Museum and the Barbados Museum and Historical Society. ​ Today, Bridgetown and its surrounding districts are administered by members of the Barbados Parliament.

Barbados has been governed by the Barbados Labor Party (BLP) in recent years, which is known as the "Owen Arthur Administration". Major Prime Minister Owen S. Arthur was chosen from world leaders to deliver the William Wilberforce conference on the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.

Among the breathtaking landscapes, and the new outlook of the city, Barbados currently attracts many investors from various fields. The ICC Cricket Worldcup 2007 tournament attracted thousands of visitors to the island and was a very prosperous event. The last match was played on Saturday, April 28, 2007.^{[Appointment Required]}

The Barbados Parliament is formally regulated by Queen Elizabeth II and is located in the historical area of the capital.

The Senate consists of twenty-one Queen's Senators (the same as the country's governor-general), while the House is made up of thirty members of parliament, in addition to the honorable speaker of the House. Members serving the Barbados Council of Ministers may be elected by the Prime Minister.

In theory, the supreme legislative power is exercised by the Queen in Parliament, during modern times the royal power resides in the assembly chamber, as the Governor General generally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and the powers of the Senate have been limited.

The Barbados Parliament is the original model after the Parliament of England, so the structure, functions and procedures of Parliament are based on the Westminster system of government. Since the elections held on 15 January 2008, the Democratic Labor Party won 20 of the 30 seats elected by direct suffrage, and the opposition Barbados Labor Party won the remaining 10 seats.^{[Appointment]}

Aerial view of the city.

• Belleville
• Cat's Castle
• Cheapside
• Fontabelle
• Garden Land
• New Orleans
• Pinelands
• Strathclyde
• Weymouth
• Whitepark

The city of Bridgetown, and the largest Greater Bridgetown area, occupy most of the Saint Michael Parish, an area covering about 220 square miles. The center's Bridgetown was initially composed of a swamp, which quickly drained and developed.

Downtown Bridgetown is home to the Careenage and River Constitution. This body of water gives the city direct access from medium-sized yachts or small boats. Though moderately shallow, the Careenage cuts Bridgetown in two parts. During the rainy season it operates as a water outlet from the inland islands. They flow into Carlisle Bay on the south-west coast of the island, the Careenage can be seen as a marina for sailors to enter or leave the inner dock directly in front of the Barbados Parliament buildings.

The city's climate is tropical. Rarely falls below 20 °C or go from 31 °C. Average rainfall is 1,614 mm per year. The highest recorded temperature was 35 °C and the lowest temperature was 16 °C.

Average climatic parameters in Bridgetown, Barbados (1981-2010)
Month	Jan.	Feb.	Sea.	Apr.	May.	Jun.	July.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. Aps. (°C)	31	31	32	32	33	32	32	35	33	33	32	31	35
Temp. max. mean (°C)	28.8	29.0	29.5	30.0	30.5	30.5	30.4	30.6	30.6	30.4	30.0	29.3	30.0
Temp. mean (°C)	25.8	25.7	26.2	26.8	27.6	27.7	27.6	27.8	27.7	27.5	27.0	26.4	27.0
Temp. min. mean (°C)	22.9	22.8	23.2	24.1	24.9	25.1	24.9	24.7	24.6	24.5	24.2	23.6	24.1
Temp. min. Aps. (°C)	16	16	17	18	19	19	20	21	19	19	19	19	16
Rains (mm)	70.1	41.3	37.4	60.8	79.0	103.0	132.9	141.9	157.6	185.1	171.6	89.6	1,270.3
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)	11	8	8	8	8	11	15	15	14	16	14	12	140
Sun Hours	258.85	249.45	272.80	259.80	262.88	225.00	251.41	263.19	230.40	233.74	228.00	257.92	2993.44
Relative humidity (%)	77	77	75	77	58	80	81	81	81	82	83	79	79
Source No. 1: Barbados Meteorological Services ​
Source No. 2: BBC Weather (record highs and lows) ​

The Mutual Life Assurance Society Barbados, a landmark building in the city.

Bridgetown serves as the main center of social activity in Barbados, as well as the hub for the island's public transport system. Many of the Barbados government ministries and departments are located within the Bridgetown metropolitan area. Public buildings or parliamentarians are in the heart of the city, just north of Heroes Square, being the third-oldest parliament in the UK Commonwealth. Indeed, there was a moment in the early history of the city that was the most important of all British possessions in the New World, owing to its eastward location in the Caribbean region.

Main areas

In the center is the main street, which is the large street that runs directly through the center of the city. Broad Street passes through the Parliament buildings and serves as the center of the city's shopping area. Another of the main traffic arteries in the city is Bay Street, which leads to Highway 7, the southern coast of Barbados, And Christ Church Parish. There are also other notable streets in Bridgetown, including:

• Swan Street; it runs parallel to Broad Street in the north.
• Roebuck Street; it leads to Queens Park, north and east of Swan Street.
• Tudor Street; it comes from the north, crosses Swan Street and runs perpendicular to Broad Street.

The Spring Garden highway, located west of the city, hosts more than 85,000 spectators and participants at the annual Grand Kadooment (Carnival Parade).

Port

The port of Bridgetown, or as the deep-sea port is also known, is the main port of entry for cruise ships and docking ships in Barbados. The deep-water harbor is located a short distance from Carlisle Bay north-west of the Careenage Canal. It is located on the Princess Alice highway, and west of the center of the city around Fontabelle. The port acts as one of the main shipping and transshipment destinations for the entire Eastern Caribbean. Bridgetown Harbor was recently dredged to allow secure access and docked for the new "super cruise" league. The dredging project was completed in 2002 and the city now has the capacity to host many of the world's largest cruises. The island's major exports of mainly agricultural products also make use of port facilities.

Entrance to the Port of Barbados, also known as Deep Water.

Bridgetown also has a small channel in the center of the city, called the Careenage, also known as the "Constitution River." The Constitution river should not be confused with the deep-water port. The small river Constitution is located on the west coast about half a kilometer south of the great port. The Careenage is large enough for recreational boats or fishing boats and has two main bridges close to the center of the city, covering the entire Careenage.

Education

Bridgetown is home to several prestigious educational institutions. The city is home to one of the three University of the West Indies campuses in the northern suburb of Cave Hill, the campus sits on a cliff with spectacular views of Bridgetown and its port. Barbados Community College is located 3 miles east of the Central Business District in a neighborhood known as "La Hiedra", while the extensive Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic campus is located just beyond the eastern limits of the city in the neighborhood known as "El Pino." In addition, the city is home to such distinguished high schools as Harrison College, Combermere and St. Michael School.

Development and sports

The city also hosted the 1994 United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island States. It also has branches of some of the largest banks in the world and the English Caribbean and is internationally recognized as an emerging financial address.

Bridgetown underwent a considerable makeover ahead of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The Kensington Ovalfue stadium has been renovated for a state sports facility, with the current capacity of 30,000 spectators. The Cricket event attracted more than 100 million people from around the world in 2007. ​

Points of interest

Nelson statue.

One of the typical colorful streets of the city.

• National Heroes Square (formerly Trafalgar Square) and the garden fountain. ​
• Parliament Building
• Nelson statue
• Independence Square and the Arc of Independence
• The Montefiore Fountain
• The Cathedral Church of San Miguel and All Angels
• Anglican St. Mary Church
• St. Patrick's Catholic Cathedral
• The Jewish Synagogue
• The Pelican Village and the crafts center
• Queens Park
• The Barbados Museum
• Kensington Oval (Cricket World Cup 2007 venue)
• Carlisle Bay Beach
• Cheapside Market
• Tom Adams Financial Complex
• The Frank Collymore Performing Arts Hall
• The Cathedral Square
• The Pastor Department Store Cave (No.10 Broad Street)
• The building of Mutua (Lower Street Broadcast)
• Cheapside Gardens
• Sagicor Square
• La Garrison Savannah and National Historic Area
• Hilton Hotel
• Martineau Casa
• Pierhead development complex

Personalities

• Jackie Opel (1938 - 1970 Bridgetown), singer of ska, rocksteady and spouge.
• Grandmaster Flash (1958 Bridgetown), musician and discjockey.
• International cricketer Malcolm Marshall (1958 - 1999 Bridgetown).
• Football player Jon Nurse (1981 Bridgetown).
• Robyn Kharel (1984 Bridgetown), singer and composer.
• Ryan Brathwaite (1988 Bridgetown), an athlete who was a world champion in the 110m hurdles in 2009.
• Kamau Brathwaite (1930 Bridgetown), writer and historian, considered to be one of the leading figures of Caribbean literature in English.
• Rihanna (1988, Bridgetown), singer.

Bridgetown is a fully modern and prosperous city, with access to many modern services, including piped water, electricity, natural gas supply, state-of-the-art telecommunications, wireless services, the Internet, and good infrastructure in general. The city also has an impressive conference room known as the Sherbourne Conference Center.

Barbados' main exports are sugar, rum and molasses. The island is also involved in other industries such as tourism and the offshore sector.

Banks and Stock Exchange

The main banks are:

• Barclays Bank
• Bank of Nova Scotia
• Barbados National Bank
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
• RBTT Bank
• Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

The city of Bridgetown also has a well-regulated stock market with securities from Caribbean, Barbados and local companies, which is known as Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE). ​

Computer

IT employed about 1,700 workers in 1999 at the national level, about the same number as the sugar industry. So the city has been involved in the data processing industry since the 1980s and now specializes in operations such as database management and insurance claims. The costs in Barbados are higher than in the rest of the Caribbean (though still only half the costs in the United States), but the island offers great advantages, such as a large workforce and the location in the same time zone as the eastern United States, too, the English language of the highly literate population has helped.

Bridgetown belongs to a country with a tourist influx and thus provides reliable and safe transportation for natives and visitors. Its well-developed paving and major roads, which are Grantley Adams International Airport and Bridgetown Port, make up the transport infrastructure in this city ​

Entrance to Grantley Adams International Airport.

Taxis

Taxi service is available for natives and visitors to the city. They work in a similar way to the United States, are regulated for transportation at a government-determined speed, in order to ensure user safety.

Buses

Bus in Bridgetown, regulated by Bridgetown Transport Board.

Bus services in Bridgetown are also a means of transport that are available to everyone, but the natives are the dominant group that use public buses. The Bridgetown Transport Board is a government organization responsible for bus transportation in the city. The board started as an organization on August 24, 1955 and has been in operation ever since. There are two kinds of buses, big and blue buses, and yellow buses. The generally larger blue buses, which are regulated by the national government and operate through the Barbados Transport Office and charge the same fare as the other services ($2.00 BDS). Adults have to pay this fee, but the bus is free for all children in school uniforms, students with school IDs and the elderly. Unlike other means of transportation, government public buses run with a system in which they are unable to make change.

Railway

The proposal to include trains in the island system was first proposed by the United Kingdom in 1845. It wasn't until the end of the 19th century that the construction of a new railway for the country and the city already independent began, in order to transport sugar cane across the island with the port of Bridgetown. Since the 20th century, the railway system has brought the products of the city's factories and also the passengers heading towards it.

In 2010, an assessment released by the United Kingdom's Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Barbados' railways as the sixth-best in the world, and first in the Western Hemisphere because of the density of the road network.

Port

The island's main ports reside in Bridgetown and are regulated by the Barbados Port Authority. Many cruise ships dock at the port and around the region.

The Goleta ship that once operated between Speightstown and Bridgetown has been vetoed by the government for its environmental impact, but it has now been possible to re-establish itself with a lot of regulations.

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