Why go
Independence makes more sense when set beside the failed plan for a united British Caribbean state. Barbados belonged to the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962, then pursued its own constitutional path. Errol Barrow's government expanded social programmes and led the negotiations that ended British colonial rule in 1966.
The full story
The West Indies Federation brought Barbados together with other British Caribbean territories in 1958. Grantley Adams led the federation, but it collapsed in 1962 amid political disagreements and the limited powers available to its members. Barbados then continued as a self-governing colony. Errol Barrow had formed the Democratic Labour Party as an alternative to Adams's Barbados Labour Party. His government pursued social changes, including education and school meals, and Barrow became premier in 1961. A constitutional conference with Britain in 1966 set the terms for separate independence. Barbados became independent on 30 November that year, with Barrow as its first prime minister. The former federation is useful context: independence was not the only model Caribbean leaders had considered. It followed both a regional experiment and local campaigns for a more representative government.