Editing Holetown (section)

==History==
[[File:Holetown Monument, Saint James, Barbados-1.jpg|150px|right|thumb|The Holetown Monument, commemorating initial English claim and later settlement of Barbados.]]
In 1625, Holetown (formerly as St. James Town) was the site of initial English settlement of Barbados (although [[Captain Cataline]] had previously landed to collect water in 1620).  The envoy (led by [[John Powell (sea captain)|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 17 February 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barbados.org/htown.htm|title=Holetown|publisher=barbados.org}}</ref> Also sometimes called Saint James Town, the settlement was, until 1629, the island's only town.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} 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. After [[James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle|Lord Carlisle]] gained control of Barbados as a [[protectorate]] of The Crown, he decided to found his own settlement in the southern part of the island.  Carlisle's move gave way to Bridgetown being settled along [[Carlisle Bay]] and a shift of the capital for the island to that location.

The Island's oldest church, [[St. James Church, Barbados|St. James Parish Church]], was erected here in 1628, a year after the first settlers landed.

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