Barbados was originally inhabited by the Arawaks who migrated there from South America. But by 1536 the island was uninhabited, apparently as a result of Spanish invasion. But the Spanish did not establish a permanent settlement there and it was not until English settlers landed about a century later that Barbados again became inhabited.
The English settlement started sugar plantations and brought slaves from Africa. Soon the population of Barbados became predominantly African. The population density was very high in colonial times and continues to be one of the highest in the world. In colonial times the population of Barbados was about 40,000 which was comparable to the total population of all the British North American colonies.
Very early the high density led to an outmigration of the English with their African slaves. One major outlet for the Barbados population surplus was South Carolina. As a result of this migration the population of South Carolina was predominantly African in origin. Since this migration from Barbados brought plantation slavery in a fully developed form there was a cultural difference from the slavery which evolved under different circumstances in the other colonies.
Despite the continued outmigration Barbados is still densely populated. In 1937-38 British restrictions on migration prompted riots.