Editing History of Barbados (section)

===Towards decolonisation===
In 1952, the ''[[Barbados Advocate]]'' newspaper polled several prominent Barbadian politicians, lawyers, businessmen, the Speaker of the [[House of Assembly of Barbados|House of Assembly]] and later as first President of the [[Senate of Barbados|Senate]], Sir Theodore Branker, Q.C.and found them to be in favour of immediate federation of Barbados along with the rest of the British [[Caribbean]] with complete Dominion Status within five years from the date of inauguration of the [[West Indies Federation]] with Canada.

However, plantation owners and merchants of British descent still dominated local politics, owing to the high income qualification required for voting. More than 70 per cent of the population, many of them disenfranchised women, were excluded from the democratic process. It was not until the 1930s that the descendants of emancipated slaves began a movement for political rights. One of the leaders of this, [[Sir Grantley Adams]], founded the Barbados Progressive League in 1938, which later became known as the [[Barbados Labour Party]] (BLP).

Adams and his party demanded more rights for the poor and for the people, and staunchly supported the monarchy. Progress toward a more democratic government in Barbados was made in 1942, when the exclusive income qualification was lowered and women were given the right to vote. By 1949, governmental control was wrested from the planters, and in 1953 Adams became Premier of Barbados.

From 1958 to 1962, Barbados was one of the ten members of the [[West Indies Federation]],<ref>[https://www.sankofa.international/timeline-caribbean-integration Timeline of the Caribbean 1950-present]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> a federalist organisation doomed by nationalist attitudes. [[Grantley Adams]] served as its first and only "Premier", but his leadership failed in attempts to form similar unions, and his continued defence of the monarchy was used by his opponents as evidence that he was no longer in touch with the needs of his country. [[Errol Walton Barrow]], a fervent reformer, became the people's new advocate. Barrow had left the BLP and formed the [[Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)|Democratic Labour Party]] (DLP) as a liberal alternative to Adams' conservative government. Barrow instituted many progressive social programmes, such as free education for all Barbadians and a school meals system. By 1961, Barrow had replaced Adams as Premier and the DLP controlled the government.

With the Federation dissolved, Barbados reverted to its former status, that of a [[self-governing colony]]. The island negotiated its own independence at a constitutional conference with Britain in June 1966. After years of peaceful and democratic progress, Barbados finally became an independent state on 30 November 1966, with Errol Barrow its first prime minister, with [[Elizabeth II]] as [[Queen of Barbados]]. Upon independence Barbados became a full member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. A year later, Barbados' international linkages were expanded by obtaining membership of both the [[United Nations]] and the [[Organization of American States]].