Barbados is one of the thirteen countries that make up the Insular America, Antilles or Caribbean Islands. Its capital and most populated city is Bridgetown. Located in the Lesser Antilles, it is the easternmost of the islands, being east of Santa Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Spain conquered the island because it was there that Columbus arrived on his first trip in the fifteenth century. In the seventeenth century the English converted the place into a colony of the United Kingdom. This situation was maintained until 1966, when his people declared independence on November 30. That year he joined the UN and the Commonwealth of Nations.
It is a constitutional monarchy with parliament, with Isabel II as head of state and the general governor as its representative on the island. It has a population of 284,996 people, predominantly of African descent. Despite being classified as an Atlantic island, Barbados is considered part of the Caribbean, where it is classified as a leading tourist destination.