The historical ties between the governments of Barbados and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) are long and complex, including settlement, post-colonialism and modern bilateral relations.

The first English settlement close to Holetown in Barbados was established seventy-four years before the Acts of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain.

In 2016, British Prime Minister Theresa May congratulated Barbados for its 50th anniversary of independence, and expressed desire for continued close "enduring partnership" between nations.

The two countries are related through common history beginning in the 1620s, the Commonwealth of Nations and until 2021, their sharing of the same Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II as their Monarch.

In recent years, increasing numbers of British nationals have purchased secondary homes in Barbados,[3] and the islands ranked as the Caribbean regions' fourth largest export market of the United Kingdom.

A group of 80 English settlers (along with 12 African slaves captured from the Spanish-at sea), established the first permanent European settlement on the island of Barbados on 17 February 1627 at present-day town of Holetown, Saint James.

[8][9][10] The far eastern location of Barbados made the colony a major commercial centre for Trans-Atlantic trade especially with the British city of Bristol.

In 2011 the British High Commissioner to Bridgetown regarded that: “the relationship between the UK and Barbados is extremely strong and positive and the ties remain close.

It is a good and warm relationship and Barbados remains the destination of choice for the UK.”[16] In 2012 the UK's Minister of State for the Independent Caribbean in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Henry Bellingham stated: "Barbados is the island with which the UK has the strongest and most natural relationship; there is a certain level of trust and cooperation between the two countries.

"[17] The 2020 plan to replace the Queen as head of state was explained by Prime Minister Mia Mottley: "The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind.

A BBC News report stated that Guyana, as well as Trinidad and Tobago, already had such a relationship with the UK: a "loose association of former British colonies and current dependencies".

[19] In September 2021 Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley nominated Sandra Mason as the future country's president.

After years of negotiations[23] the British Broadcasting Corporation re-entered the Barbadian radio market by launching an FM relay station in November 2009.

[18][30] On 30 November 2021, the day Barbados became a republic, Sandra Mason assumed office as president, replacing the Queen as head of state.

From then a militia was established and a number of watchtowers (such as the Gun Hill Signal Station) were strategically placed along the island's high-points to spot and quickly relay any acts of aggression or invasion attempts toward the former colony.