The Echoes of Colonialism: Exploring Barbados’ Historic Bridgetown
In 2011, UNESCO inscribed Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison as a World Heritage site, recognizing it as an “outstanding example of British colonial architecture” from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries — a designation that simultaneously celebrates and complicates the city’s layered past. Bridgetown, Barbados, was established in 1628 and grew into a major hub for the transatlantic trade in sugar, molasses, rum, and enslaved people. Its streets, buildings, and public squares bear the physical imprint of that history. But what does it mean to explore a city whose most iconic landmarks were built by and for a colonial