England establishes additional Caribbean settlements, notably in Barbados in 1625.

The British had found an island uninhabited when they first arrived in 1625 and claimed it in the name of King James I of England.

This first ship, which had arrived on May 14, was captained by John Powell.

The first settlement lands some time later on February 17, 1627, near what is now Holetown (formerly Jamestown).

The group is led by Captain Powell, who arrives with eighty settlers and ten slaves—these first ten slaves are among the English or Irish youth sometimes kidnapped and other times runaway.

This settlement is funded by Sir William Courteen, a London merchant who owns the title to Barbados and several other unclaimed islands.

Thus, the first colonists are actually tenants and the profits of their labor will return to Courteen and his company.

In the initial years of settlement, the majority of the population will remain white and male, with African slaves providing little of the workforce.

Cultivation of tobacco, cotton, ginger and indigo will be handled primarily by European indentured labor until the start of the sugar cane industry in the late 1630s.