The story of energy in Barbados is inextricably linked to the island's broader socio-economic and political development. From the earliest days of English settlement, the methods used to power the economy have shaped the landscape, defined social structures, and determined the island's place in the global order. This report argues that the history of energy in Barbados is a microcosm of its national journey, characterized by a series of disruptive transitions. Each transition—from wind to steam, steam to oil, and now oil to renewables—was driven by a confluence of technological innovation, external economic pressures, and critical shifts in local political power. The control of energy has consistently served as a proxy for control of the island's economy, evolving from the decentralized power of a land-owning planter elite to a centralized, foreign-owned monopoly, and now moving towards a complex, democratized, and state-guided sustainable energy ecosystem.