Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Antigua and Barbuda are part of the Lesser Antilles archipelago. In 2011, about 81,800 people lived there. The capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua. The country used to be a part of the British Empire. The nation still belongs to the British Commonwealth.

The original inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda were indigenous the Taino and the Kalinago.

The first people to live in Antigua were Indigenous hunter-gatherers called the Ciboney. They arrived around 3100 BC. Later, a group called the Arawak-speaking Saladoid people came from the Orinoco River area. They brought farming and grew crops like the famous Antigua Black Pineapple, corn, sweet potatoes, chilies, guava, tobacco, and cotton. After them, the Caribs came to the island.

Christopher Columbus was the first European to see Antigua in 1493. The Spanish didn’t settle there, but diseases, poor health, and slavery killed most of the native people. Smallpox was likely the deadliest disease.

The English settled on Antigua in 1632. In 1685, Christopher Codrington settled on Barbuda. They grew tobacco and then sugar, using many African slaves who soon outnumbered the Europeans.

The English stayed in control, fighting off a French attack in 1666. Slaves faced very harsh treatment, which led to revolts in 1701 and 1729. A major revolt was planned in 1736, led by Prince Klaas, but it was discovered early and the leaders were executed.

Slavery was ended in the British Empire in 1833, which hurt the islands’ economy. Natural disasters like the 1843 earthquake and 1847 hurricane made things worse.

Mining took place on the island of Redonda but stopped in 1929. The island has been uninhabited since.

Antigua and Barbuda were part of the British colony called the Leeward Islands. From 1958 to 1962, they joined the short-lived West Indies Federation. In 1967, they became a self-governing state linked to the UK.

During the 1970s, there were many talks about independence. There was also political rivalry between Vere Bird of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) and George Walter of the Progressive Labour Movement (PLM).

Antigua and Barbuda became fully independent on 1 November 1981. Vere Bird became the first Prime Minister. The country stayed in the Commonwealth and kept Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. The first governor-general was Sir Wilfred Jacobs. Later ones included James Carlisle, Louise Lake-Tack, and currently Rodney Williams (since 2014).

After independence, politics were mostly controlled by the Bird family and the ABLP. Vere Bird led until 1994, followed by his son Lester Bird until 2004. They helped tourism grow but were often accused of corruption and mismanagement.

In 1990, Vere Bird Jr. left the government after being linked to a scandal involving weapons smuggling. Another son, Ivor Bird, was convicted of selling cocaine in 1995.

Hurricane Luis caused major damage to Barbuda in 1995.

In 2004, the ABLP lost to the United Progressive Party (UPP), and Winston Baldwin Spencer became Prime Minister until 2014. In that year, the ABLP returned to power with Gaston Browne as Prime Minister. In the 2018 election, ABLP won 15 out of 17 seats.

In 2016, Nelson’s Dockyard became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In September 2017, Hurricane Irma hit Barbuda with winds up to 295 km/h (185 mph), destroying 95% of its buildings. Almost everyone had to leave for Antigua. Rebuilding was expected to cost at least $100 million. The government also announced that residents could buy land, ending a long tradition of shared land ownership. Some criticized this change as taking advantage of the disaster.

Antigua and Barbuda is divided into six parishes and two dependencies:

• Parishes
  1. Saint George
  2. Saint John
  3. Saint Mary
  4. Saint Paul
  5. Saint Peter
  6. Saint Philip
• Dependencies
  1. Barbuda
  2. Redonda

Note: Though Barbuda and Redonda are called dependencies, they are important parts of the state. Dependency is simply a title.

Below is a list of the ten largest cities. For other cities see List of cities in Antigua and Barbuda.

1. Saint John's 22,634
2. All Saints 3,412
3. Liberta 2,239
4. Potter's Village 2,067
5. Bolans 1,785
6. Swetes 1,573
7. Seaview Farm 1,486
8. Pigotts 1,363
9. Parham 1,276
10. Clare Hall 1,273

Below is a list of the islands of the country.

Tourism is the main part of the economy. It is more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Antigua is famous for its many luxury resorts. Investment banking and financial services are also important.

The Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force has 285 members.

English is the official language, but many of the locals speak Antiguan Creole. The Barbudan accent is slightly different from the Antiguan.

• Antigua and Barbuda at the Olympics
• Antigua and Barbuda national football team
• List of rivers of Antigua and Barbuda

• Media related to Antigua and Barbuda at Wikimedia Commons
• Antigua and Barbuda travel guide from Wikivoyage