Editing Barbados (section)

=== European arrival ===

[[File:1632 Cardona Descripcion Indias (11).jpg|thumb|left|Spanish map of the island (1632)]]
It is uncertain which European nation arrived first in Barbados, which probably would have been at some point in the 15th century or 16th century. One lesser-known source points to earlier revealed works antedating contemporary sources, indicating it could have been the Spanish.<ref name="Spanish Main"/> Many, if not most, believe the [[History of Portugal (1415–1578)|Portuguese]], en route to Brazil,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barbados.org/history1.htm |title=AXSES Systems Caribbean Inc., The Barbados Tourism Encyclopaedia |publisher=Barbados.org |date=8 February 2007 |access-date= 4 July 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20000116155652/http://barbados.org/history1.htm |archive-date= 16 January 2000 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/52655/Barbados/54603/History |title=History of Barbados |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=4 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913025338/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/52655/Barbados/54603/History |archive-date=13 September 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> were the first Europeans to come upon the island. The island was largely ignored by Europeans, though Spanish slave raiding is thought to have reduced the native population, with many fleeing to other islands.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica- Barbados"/><ref>Beckles, ''A History of Barbados'' (2007), pp. 1–6.</ref>