A chronology of key events: 1536 - Portuguese explorer Pedro a
Campos visits the island. 1627 - Captain Henry Powell lands a
party of English settlers who establish a colony, which they
then develop as a sugar plantation economy using slaves brought
in from Africa. 1639 - Barbados's first parliament, the House of
Assembly, holds its first meeting. 1663 - Barbados is made into
an English crown possession. 1816 - Slaves stage a revolt. 1834
- Slavery abolished. 1876 - British proposal for a confederation
of Barbados and the Windward Islands triggers bloody riots in
Barbados. Political parties formed 1937 - Outbreak of riots in
response to poor economic conditions; British Royal Commission
sent in to investigate conditions; Barbados Labour Party (BLP)
founded by Grantley Adams. 1951 - Universal adult suffrage
introduced; BLP wins general elections. 1954 - Ministerial
government set up with Grantley Adams as premier. 1955 -
Democratic Labour Party (DLP) formed out of a splinter of the
BLP. 1958-62 - Barbados a me