Bajan Facts and Figures

Bajan Facts and Figures

This page will feature interesting facts and figures about Barbados.

GRAPEFRUIT: It Is believed that the fruit known as the Grapefruit had its origins right here in Barbados. It has been proposed that it is a natural cross between the sweet orange (Citrus sinesis) and the shaddock (Citrus grandis) both of which were introduced from Asia in the 17^th century.

NAME (Barbados): The name Barbados means ‘The Bearded Ones’ in the Portuguese language. There is a widely espoused theory that the name was derived from the roots which hung from the bearded fig tree (ficus citrifolia)

RAILWAY: Barbados once had a passenger and sugar industry railway system. The railway started in 1883 and the closed in 1937 after it was deemed uneconomical. Currently very little traces of the former railway remain visible.  At one point, the section of track near Consetts, St. John had a gradient which at its steepest was 1 in 31 and was said to been (at that time) the steepest gradient of any normal railway in the world.

A photo of the Bathsheba stretch of the former Barbados railway
(photo source: www.businessbarbados.com)

SNAKES: While compared to some other Caribbean islands, the number of snakes in Barbados is small (partly as a result of the introduction of the mongoose) there are still two species of snakes found in Barbados’ natural habitat. One is known as the world’s ‘smallest snake’ (growing to only 9 cm in length) and is said to be only found in Barbados, Saint Lucia and Martinique. This snake is known as the ‘Blind Snake’ (Leptotypholops bilineata) and is non-venomous. There is also a grass snake (Liophis pertusous) which averages half a metre in length and is indigenous to Barbados. This grass snake is also non-venomous.

A view of one of the 'Blind Snakes' (photo source MSNBC)

Article Sources:

• A-Z of Barbadian Heritage (1990)