Endowed with rich natural beauty, the famous island nation of Barbados is located in the east of Caribbean Sea, near Puerto Rico, and is a part of the Lesser Antilles. This island was discovered in 1536 by the Portuguese, and 90 years later it was colonized by the British. It became an independent member of the Commonwealth in 1966 after being a British colony for over 300 years. The citizens of Barbados are officially called Barbadians. The localized pronunciation of the word Barbadian is "Bajan". The tradition and culture of Barbados is still quite conservative, as wearing clothes like bikinis is not at all appreciated in the town and churches.