Carlisle Bay is a small natural harbor located in the southwest region of Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

. The island nation's capital, Bridgetown, is situated on this bay, which has been turned into a marine park

Marine park

A marine park is a park consisting of an area of sea sometimes protected for recreational use, but more often set aside to preserve a specific habitat and ensure the ecosystem is sustained for the organisms that exist there...

. Carlisle Bay's marine park is a popular spot on the island for scuba diving

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

. Many relics, like anchors and cannon balls, from ships can be found on the ocean floor in Carlisle Bay.

The bay takes its name from Barbados' second Lord Proprietor

Lords Proprietor

Lords Proprietor was the name for the chief or highest owners or proprietors of certain English proprietary colonies in America, such as Carolina, New Jersey and Barbados....

, James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle

James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle

James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle was a Scottish aristocrat.-Life:He was the son of Sir James Hay of Fingask , and of Margaret Murray, cousin of George Hay, afterwards 1st Earl of Kinnoull.He was knighted and taken into favor by James VI of Scotland, brought into England in 1603, treated as a "prime...

. Lord Carlisle claimed

Proprietary colony

A proprietary colony was a colony in which one or more individuals, usually land owners, remaining subject to their parent state's sanctions, retained rights that are today regarded as the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so....

 the island through Royal grant on behalf of King Charles I of England

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

in 1627.