The history of Saint James is important to the history of Barbados as a whole, because it is the Barbados location where the first European settlers landed when first arriving in the area.  In fact, Saint James is named after King James who was the royal leader of Britain in the early seventeenth century when the area was first settled.  Before being named after him, the area was called “Little England”, reflecting the intentions of the British to make it a well-settled colony.

The area was originally used as a location for sugar plantations, where African and Indian slaves were put to work creating an export economy to support the British Empire.  When plantation life and slavery ended, the area was left to its own devices.  During its heyday as an export locale, it was known as the Gold Coast. Today it is nicknamed the Platinum Coast, both for the shiny attraction of its waterfront resorts and for the amount of money which comes in to the area as a result of modern day tourism.  This reflects the beginning of the twenty first century history of the area, which has seen increased international attention to St. James as a high-end luxury travel destination.