Holetown
Encyclopedia
Holetown is a small town located in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

. Holetown is located in the parish of Saint James on the sheltered west coast of the island.

History

In 1625, Holetown was the site of initial English claim of Barbados (although Captain Cataline had previously landed to collect water in 1620). The envoy (led by John Powell) was blown off-course from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and took the opportunity to claim the island for the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

. Some personal possessions were left behind and the crew departed Holetown for England.

On February 17, 1627 the brother of Captain John Powell (Captain Henry Powell) aboard the "Olive Blossom" returned with his benefactor, Sir William Courteen, a Dutch-born English merchant trader, and fifty other shareholder settlers (and 10 captive negroes). A monument erected to commemorate this first landing on the island erroneously records the date as 1605. Since 1977, the town has also celebrated the Barbados Holetown Festival
Barbados Holetown Festival
The Holetown Festival takes place in Holetown, Barbados, and celebrates the arrival of the first settlers in Holetown on February 17, 1627. The week-long celebration occurs yearly in mid-February and includes a number of activities meant to showcase the culture and traditions of Barbados...

 to commemorate this landing.

The name Holetown comes from the stream, The Hole, which provided a safe landing place for the settlers. Also sometimes called Saint James Town, the settlement was, until 1629, the island's only town. Holetown celebrates the founding of the first five plantations in Barbados, the first major fortification, the first place of Justice, and the first Governor's House. The town was also involved in the transatlantic trade with Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, although this last was deemed illegal.

The Island's oldest church, St. James Parish Church, was erected here in 1628, a year after the first settlers landed.

The town is the home of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

's Bellairs Research Institute
Bellairs Research Institute
The Bellairs Research Institute, located on the Caribbean island of Barbados, was founded in 1954 as a field-station for McGill University. Initial funding was from a bequest by British naval commander, Carlyon Bellairs, for whom the institute is named. Bellairs is located in Holetown, next to...

.

Town twinning

Holetown has been twinned with:
- Borough of Haringey, London
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

(since 2009)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK