Holetown (formerly St. James Town), is a small town located in the Caribbean island nation of
Barbados. Holetown is located in the parish of
Saint James on the sheltered west coast of the island.
In 1625, Holetown was the site of initial English claim of Barbados (although
Captain Cataline had previously landed to collect water in 1620). The envoy (led by John Powell) was blown off-course from
South America to
England and took the opportunity to claim the island for the
Kingdom of England. Some personal possessions were left behind and the crew departed Holetown for England.
On February 17, 1627 the brother of Captain John Powell (
Captain Henry Powell) aboard the "Olive Blossom" returned with his benefactor, Sir
William Courteen, a Dutch-born English merchant trader, and fifty other shareholder settlers (and 10 captive negroes). A monument erected to commemorate this first landing on the island erroneously records the date as 1605. Since 1977, the town has also celebrated the
Barbados Holetown Festival to commemorate this landing.
The name Holetown comes from the stream, The Hole, which provided a safe landing place for the settlers.
[1] Also sometimes called Saint James Town, the settlement was, until 1629, the island's only town.
[citation needed] Holetown celebrates the founding of the first five plantations in Barbados, the first major fortification, the first place of Justice, and the first Governor's House. The town was also involved in the transatlantic trade with
Bristol,
London, and
Boston, although this last was deemed illegal.
The Island's oldest church,
St. James Parish Church, was erected here in 1628, a year after the first settlers landed.
