GB 0101 PP.BB - Barbados: Political Parties Material

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0101 PP.BB

Title

Barbados: Political Parties Material

Date(s)

  • 1941- (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

2 boxes

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

The gradual extension of the franchise in the decades prior to independence led to the marginalisation in the House of Assembly of parties such as the Progressive Conservatives, which represented the interests of the planter class (although they maintained their dominance in the Legislative Council), while at the same time the contest for dominance in the democratic arena polarised into a struggle between Grantley Adams' Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the more radical Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by Errol Barrow, who was eventually to become Barbados's first post-independence Prime Minister. There was also a vigorous debate over the role and value of the short-lived West Indies Federation (1958-1962) which was strongly supported by Adams. The materials held here deal with these issues in detail as well as covering the electoral struggle between the two main parties after 1966.

Archival history

The ICS political parties collection was begun in 1960-1961, with special emphasis being placed on primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos. Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.
GB 0101 PP.BB 1941- Collection (Fonds) 2 boxes Institute of Commonwealth Studies

The gradual extension of the franchise in the decades prior to independence led to the marginalisation in the House of Assembly of parties such as the Progressive Conservatives, which represented the interests of the planter class (although they maintained their dominance in the Legislative Council), while at the same time the contest for dominance in the democratic arena polarised into a struggle between Grantley Adams' Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the more radical Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by Errol Barrow, who was eventually to become Barbados's first post-independence Prime Minister. There was also a vigorous debate over the role and value of the short-lived West Indies Federation (1958-1962) which was strongly supported by Adams. The materials held here deal with these issues in detail as well as covering the electoral struggle between the two main parties after 1966.

The ICS political parties collection was begun in 1960-1961, with special emphasis being placed on primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos. Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Manifestos, speeches, pamphlets, leaflets, letters, newsletters, journals, posters, stickers, recordings and miscellaneous election material at national and youth levels issued by the Barbados Electors' Association, the Barbados Labour Party, the Barbados Progressive League, the Democratic Labour Party (Barbados), the Movement for National Liberation (Barbados), the National Democratic Party (Barbados), the Progressive Conservative Party (Barbados), the People's Political Alliance (Barbados) and the People's Progressive Movement (Barbados).

Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.

Alphabetically by party, and then in rough chronological order.

Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.

Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.
English

Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)

See also Barbados: Trades Unions Material (TU.BB) and Barbados: Pressure Groups Material (PG.BB), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.

The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk

Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Created 17/02/2004 AIM25 Barbados Barbados Electors' Association Barbados Labour Party Barbados Progressive League Caribbean Democratic Labour Party (Barbados) Elections Electoral systems Internal politics Movement for National Liberation (Barbados) National Democratic Party (Barbados) Parliamentary elections People's Political Alliance (Barbados) People's Progressive Movement (Barbados) Political parties Political power Political science Progressive Conservative Party (Barbados)

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Manifestos, speeches, pamphlets, leaflets, letters, newsletters, journals, posters, stickers, recordings and miscellaneous election material at national and youth levels issued by the Barbados Electors' Association, the Barbados Labour Party, the Barbados Progressive League, the Democratic Labour Party (Barbados), the Movement for National Liberation (Barbados), the National Democratic Party (Barbados), the Progressive Conservative Party (Barbados), the People's Political Alliance (Barbados) and the People's Progressive Movement (Barbados).

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.

System of arrangement

Alphabetically by party, and then in rough chronological order.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

See also Barbados: Trades Unions Material (TU.BB) and Barbados: Pressure Groups Material (PG.BB), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.

Finding aids

Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk

Notes area

Note

The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area