Foreword by the Prime Minister of Barbados

Introduction by the Rt. Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers

Guy Hewitt

Barbados acquired the reputation of a country that punches above its weight. Ranked highest in the Caribbean and one of the highest globally as a developing country in the UN Human Development Index, this island paradise is the birthplace of The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers, The Honourable George Lamming, and the multitalented Rihanna. It is also the ancestral home of Walter Tull, Shirley Chisholm, Irving Burgie, and Eric Holder Jr, among others.

It is also the birthplace of both the sugar cane industry in the then British Empire, then the most valued commodity, and rum, with the island producing some of the finest quality blends internationally.

The only country that George Washington, the first President of the United States, visited outside of the North American mainland; through its 1651 Declaration of Independence and 1652 Charter, Barbados is credited with influencing the Founding Fathers and the framing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

On 30 November 1966, this phenomenal heritage was given focus and direction by The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, the first Prime Minister and a National Hero of Barbados. Proclaimed the “Father of Independence”, it was said that this close friend of the leaders of his era including Michael Manley, Pierre Trudeau, Lee Kuan Yew, and Seretse Khama, “found Barbados a collection of villages and transformed them into a proud nation.”

In this, the 50th year of Barbados’ Independence, this publication, with contributions from national, regional and international leaders and key speeches by Barrow himself, is a tribute to this extraordinary man who gave Barbadians the ability to hold their heads high and proud in this world, as a people worthy of respect. Like George Washington, he, and his name, are revered for his fathering a nation.

This is a must read for citizens of the modern Caribbean and those interested in leadership and the history, economics, politics and international relations of small states.

• 215 x 152 mm
• 428 pages
• Hardback

Guy Hewitt has spent his entire career working in the public sector in Barbados, the Caribbean and internationally. Passionate about the development of Barbados, within a CARICOM context, he currently serves as the High Commissioner for Barbados to the United Kingdom and is also the Permanent Representative to the United Nations International Maritime Organisation and a Governor of the Commonwealth Secretariat. A graduate of the University of the West Indies and the University of Kent at Canterbury, this minister of religion has previously co-written and edited three books. He is married with two children.