Holetown

Holetown is now a small town of Barbados, along with Speightstown, Oistins and the capital city, Bridgetown. Holetown is located in the parish of Saint James, on the sheltered west coast of Barbados.

Holetown is the site where the English made a permanent landing for the first time in Barbados in 1625 - Captain Cataline had previously landed to collect water in 1620. Captain Henry Powell and his ship "Olive Blossom" were blown off course on their journey from South America to England. They inadvertently landed at Holetown in July 1625, incidentally during the hurricane season. Powell's first visit is comemorated by a monument which erroneously records the date as 1605.

Sir William Courteen, a Dutch born English merchant trader had obtained a Royal Patent with Sir Thomas Warner to settle and colonize St. Christopher, Barbados and Montserrat. Warner went to St Christopher (Saint Kitts) while Courteen concentrated on Barbados.

After the 1625 landing. Powell, who was the chief captain of Courteen's Merchant Fleet, returned with his benefactor and fifty other shareholder settlers (and 10 captive negroes)who landed in Holetown on 17th February 1626/7. Each February since 1977, the town celebrates their arrival with the colorful Holetown Festival.

Holetown - the name comes from the stream, The Hole, which provided a safe landing place for the settlers, also sometimes called Jamestown,initially became the only town (until 1629). It celebrates the founding of the first five plantations in Barbados: the first major fortification, the first place of Justice, the first Governor's House, and was very early involved in the transatlantic trade with Bristol and London as well as with Boston, although this last was deemed illegal.

Further information can be found in the book "HOLETOWN, BARBADOS: Settlement Revisited" - by Morris Greenidge, 2004: published by [e-mail]

The town is the home of McGill University's Bellairs Research Institute.