Barbados is an island located in the North Atlantic Ocean, north east of Venezuela. It has a population of about 280,000 people. 80,000 of these residents live in or around Bridgetown, the country's largest city. Barbados was a British colony from 1628-1966. Since 1966 it has been operating as a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. With its beautiful weather and popular tourist attractions, students choose to study abroad there every year.