The Documented History Of Antigua
This article will discuss the documented history of Antigua. Antigua is an island in the Caribbean that makes up the country of Antigua & Barbuda. The island is approximately 185.22 Nautical/Marine miles (213.147369 miles or 343.02744 kilometers) from Venezuela. It is also approximately 1311.36 Nautical/Marine miles (1509.086137 miles or 2428.63872 kilometers) from mainland Florida. Antigua is a part of the lesser Antilles & the island group known as the Leeward islands. The etymology of the name is that Antigua means ancient in Spanish. This choice of name was most likely a remanent of the Spanish conquest of the Caribbean. This name was given to them by the Spanish when they first landed on Antigua. Antigua has a total of 6 major divisions on the island. These are known as Saint John, Saint George, Saint Peter, Saint Phillip, Saint Paul, & Saint Mary. There are a total of 84 cities on Antigua, however there are unincorporated compounds. Their history was rather defined by the British as they had control of Antigua for centuries. In this article we will discuss the discovery & documented history of Antigua as a whole, The known aboriginals of Antigua, the disaster history of Antigua , & finally a segment on the Antiguan & Barbudan economy.
The Documented History Of Antigua
Before Colonization
The Caribs occupied Antigua for centuries before colonizers came. The Ciboney also occupied Antigua. There is evidence of them tracing back 2900 B.C. The Ciboney eventually left & the Saladoid. The Saladoid migrated from northern Venezuela throughout the greater & lesser Antilles. The Saladoid people farmed & made lots of ceramic pottery. There are many archeological sites on the island where ceramic pottery can be found, these works of art were mostly made from the Saladoid. The Arawaken language spread up the island chain which made that one of Antigua’s prime languages. The Arawaks also arrived on the island in about 400 A.D. The Arawaks introduced many plants to the island which is one of the reasons as to the present biodiversity of Antigua. The Arawaks had canoes, which is how they got to the island in the first place. They most likely came from Guadeloupe or Saint Lucia. These canoes resembled the build of what we modernly know as dug out canoes. Most of the Arawaks however, Left in 1100 A.D. The remaining Arawaks, were targeted by the Caribs & faced many raids. Modernly, People of Carib & Arawak Descent still are found on the island. On Antigua & Barbuda at the time, there were 2 unique tribes of indigenous peoples. These tribes had spilt off from the Arawaks & had formed their own 2 tribes. Their religious beliefs differ severely from the main Arawaken religions. These people were known as the Galashopa & the Galapopa. The Galashopa were rather war like & did not believe in peacefulness. The word Galashopa roughly translates to “War”. The Galapopa were peaceful & did not fully mind the other tribes. The word Galapopa roughly translates into “Peace”. These tribes coexisted peacefully for many years. However, one day the Galashopa decided to attack the Galapopa & enslave them all. The Galashopa were also going to seize all settlements built by the Galapopa. On the 8th of December 1342 the Galashopa attacked the Galapopa in an ambush. However, this attack had been anticipated & the Galapopa tribe had previously prepared. In the end, the Galapopa won the war due to their men being well trained & due to them having proper equipment. The queen of Galapopa known as Marianna, assumed charge of the Galashopa territories after the war. She most likely called the islands both Antigua as Antigua meant God in her Arawaken language, but Barbuda meant devil. Due to bad whether throughout the Caribbean, sacrificial events took place in which they sacrificed things to their god. It is not exactly clear what they would sacrifice. Soon the locals realized that they had to honour both their god & their devil. So they changed the islands name back to Barbuda. As a result of this name change, the poverty rate decreased & their crops prospered for many years. After this things went well for the Galapopa until the next queen assumed power of the isles. However what transpired next cannot be blamed as a fault of the queen. This queens name was Mishlaelae, it was during her rule that Christopher Columbus arrived on Antigua. Christopher Columbus was less then friendly to the locals. He wanted to mine gold on the island & also planned to enslave all of the locals. In order to save her people from enslavement, the queen had an affair with him. It was at this point that many of the Arawaks left.
After Colonization
15th Century
Antigua was visited by Christopher Columbus in the year of 1493. He found the island on his 2nd Caribbean voyages He then named it Antigua. His reason for doing so was that he was naming it after a church known as Church of Santa Maria de la Antigua which is in Sevilla, Spain. He however, did not colonize the island or bring any awareness to it. He then did not do much with the island personally. This led to the island not being used by Europeans until the 17th Century.
16th Century
Many of the Caribs left in the century due to scarcity of freshwater. By this point they were one of the only tribes left. What was left by the Galapopa was conquered by the Caribs but ultimately left behind. At this point most if not all of the remaining Arawaks left the island as well.
17th Century
The English managed to finally colonize the island 1632. Their reasoning for doing so is that they wanted to expand their sugarcane industry. Tomas Warner the captain of the guards, was the first British governor of Antigua & Barbuda. Settlers grew many crops such as tobacco, indigo, ginger, & sugarcane. Antigua officially became a British colony in 1667. The first large sugar plantation / estate was founded & owned by Christopher Codrington. It was established in 1674. Codrington also leased Barbuda to raise supplies for his plantations. Unfortunately, work conditions were not documented. However, it can be assumed that he did not treat his workers properly as expansion was often prioritized over livelihoods. Due to the sugar generated from his plantations made the sugar industry so profitable that many farmers switched to farming sugar. It is important to note that a majority of these workers from this point on would be African slaves. This ended up causing great wealth for Antigua. As of now, Barbuda’s only city is named after him. The British government ended up granting the rights to the island over to the Codrington family in the year of 1685. They were also granted the rights to Barbuda, which they ruled until 1860.
18th Century
By the early 1700’s Antigua was the only Caribbean colony with a harbour that could hold larger ships. This made it an important nautical resource of Britain. Antigua became used as a dockyard for British naval ships from the years of 1725 to 1858. It then became an important deep water port as it was sheltered & was deep water. It became an incredibly well-known English dockyard after this point. Horatio Nelson arrived in 1784 as the head of the squadron that was meant for the Leeward islands. His duty was to enforce draconian commercial shipping laws. He also developed multiple naval bases along the harbour in order to enforce these laws. This worked out to be rather successful. This also resulted in Nelsons dockyard being constructed which to date is one of the best dockyards & most valuable nautical assets on Antigua. He also influenced other major port expansions. However, he was not very respected or liked by the settlers who were already there.
19th Century
In 1807, the Codrington family created a large estate that was used for purposes of slavery. This estate was used to assemble a workforce of children by means of enslaved women. This workforce of children would serve Barbuda & would export many resources to Antigua. During 1833, A very small percentage of the population who were aristocratic plantation owners, ruled the island politically & financially. Beneath them, class-wise, was the people known as Afro-Caribbean. These people were the modern day equivalent of the working class. In-between these 2 classes were the middlemen who were the Free People Of Colour & the Portuguese & Syrian Immigrants. The majority of Syrian & Portuguese immigrants came for work of various kinds, they also came for an extremely stable economy. In 1834, Britain abolished all slavery in the majority of their colonies. As a result Antigua immediately instituted full emancipation rather than having a 4-5 year waiting period. This somehow, managed to better the economic circumstances of Antigua & Barbuda. However, the sugar industry began to slow down on growth & began to decline. However, tourism began to become a larger & more demanding industry. Unfortunately, many now-free Slaves were discriminated against harshly. They often were not given enough fertile land & were not given credit at all. In the year 1843 there was a major earthquake in Antigua that caused economic issues. In 1847 there was a major hurricane that caused economic issues as well as destruction to various towns across Antigua & Barbuda. Between the years of 1847 & 1852 over 2,500 Portuguese immigrants came to the island. They mostly came from the island of Madeira which was experiencing extreme famine at the time. They quickly made small businesses & became large contributors to the economy. At this point they would have been the middle class of Antigua. They also became a large part of the agricultural workforce. You see, due to the abolition of slavery, many plantation owners were scrambling for workers. This brought up an interest in European labor, specifically the Portuguese. This ended up in many jobs being opened to the Portuguese & the Portuguese ended up filling jobs that were once done by slaves.
20th Century
The main cash product changed frequently throughout the 20th century. The main cash products from the years of 1953 & 1956 were cotton, sugar, meat, cereals, local vegetables, & local fruit. Over time, the importance of crops & other types of produce went into decline as other nations were able to sell goods at a price no longer feasible to sustain in the Antiguan economy. Another factor that led towards this were Central American countries beginning to start exporting things at extremely low prices. In more recent times, however, Antigua has developed a primarily service-based economy relying on tourism as their leading source of income. Much like other islands & nations that rely on tourism, this can become problematic as their economic stability depends on the willingness of others to travel & explore the area. In the year of 1956 the Leeward islands colony was de-federated, Antigua was a member of this federation. On January 3rd of 1958 the West Indies federation was established & Antigua & Barbuda joined it that same year. However, this was short lived as it dissolved on the 31st of May 1962. Antigua longed for freedom as the Antiguan & Barbudan government persevered to join a federation. Provision was made in what is known as the West Indies Act of 1967 for Antigua to assume a status of association with the United Kingdom on the 27th of February 1967. As an associated state, Antigua became fully self-governing in all internal affairs, while the United Kingdom retained responsibility for external affairs & defense / military issues. In the year of 1981 on November 1st, Antigua & Barbuda became a sovereign entity & formally broke away from the United Kingdom. It remains in the Commonwealth however it is its own country has of 1981. In 1997, Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Lester Bird announced that a group of ecologically sensitive islands just off Antigua's northeastern coast, which at the time were previously proposed for national park status, were being turned over to Malaysian developers for commercial purposes. The Guiana Island Development Project deal, calling for a 1000-room hotel, an 18-hole golf course as well as a rather luxurious casino, sparked widespread criticism by environmentalists, minority members in parliament & the press. The issue came to a head when a local resident shot the Prime Ministers brother in retal. Today, the proposed development is mired in lawsuits & politics. The Antigua & Barbuda Labour Party Or the ABLP won renewed mandates in the general elections in 1984 & 1989. In the 1989 elections, the ruling of the Antiguan & Barbudan Labour Patu won all but two of the 17 seats. During elections in March 1994 the prime ministerial power was passed from Vere Bird to his son who is known as Lester Bird. However Vere Bird decided to remain within the Antiguan & Barbudan Labour Party which won 11 of the 17 parliamentary seats.
The Aboriginals Of Antigua
The Saladoid Indigenous Peoples
The Saladoid people lived throughout northern Venezuela & the Caribbean. They inhabited many areas of the Orinoco river. They were one of the oldest of these groups. They often made pottery & ceramics which provide some of the oldest artifacts of the Caribbean. They had 4 distinct pottery styles. These pottery styles were created by other cultures, however only 3 have been connected to existing cultures. These cultures were known as Hacienda Grande, Cuevas, & Coral-Bay Longford. They spoke an Arawaken language. They seemed to not interact with many other tribes so their attitude to them is unknown. They often made exotic jewelry with carnelian, turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, amethyst, crystal-quartz, & different types of wood. They prioritized agriculture in their lives. They had different types of farms nearby rivers & creeks. After approximately 250 B.C they diminished greatly, & after that point they slowly disappeared. The reason for this is unfortunately unknown.
The Carib / Kalingo Indigenous Peoples
The Caribs of Antigua were an indigenous Amerindian of the Caribbean lesser Antilles. They are also known as the Kalingo or Kalina. They also lived through South America. They spoke a language that is modernly known as Island Carib which is classified as a highly endangered language. They were one of the least peaceful tribes of the Caribbean. They had many warlike tactics & were believed to have mandatory combat training. They were taller, bulkier, & stronger then the Arawaks due to the emphasis of being a warrior & being able to defend their home. They utilized their marine resources often & had a strong fishing industry. Fish was one of the most common foods, they also were believed to have bred some fish. They had large boats which were most similar to a modern day Canoe, these boats could hold up to 12 persons. However, their largest warships could hold up to 100 persons. These boats looked similar to a modern day dug out canoe. However, they also had the ability to use & build sails. They used these to raid the Arawaks as well as to fish. They also utilized the ocean in other ways often. They fought with the other tribes of The lesser Antilles such as the Arawaks who were relatively peaceful. They hunted mammals as well. They revered the bones of their elders or family members & they burnt off fat from their enemies or prisoners of war during battle rituals. They were labelled as cannibals & savages by the Spanish & British on their individual conquests, this was in an effort to justify conquering their lands & enslaving them. The modern day word cannibal, originates from the word Carib due to their alleged cannibalistic practices. They invented certain types of primitive barbecues as well which they most likely used to barbecue the Arawaks. However, if they were cannibalistic they did not consume the entire body. Allegedly, their reasoning for this was that if they consumed a little bit of their enemy after they were dead, they would assume the characteristics of that person. Also, there is evidence to believe that early Caribs were not cannibals. They were on average approximately 5 feet 5 inches. They had a brown hue to their skin similar to that of a modern day Latin American person. They did not appear to wear clothing of any kind. The women would paint their skin with a red dye known as Roucou which is made from the extract of the seeds of the Achiote tree. The women also circled their eyes with black pigment. The male’s would also painted their bodies and on occasion wore feathered headdresses, jewelry & piercings of all kinds through their lips, and large hoop jewelry through their noses. Nose piercings were fairly common among both genders. The male’s also wore the Caracoli which was a necklace of small bones along with the teeth of defeated enemies from which a crescent-shaped bone carved ornament was suspended. The Caracoli necklace was worn to represent the courage of the wearer, it was typically worn by men & there isn’t much evidence that it was worn by women. The women also commonly lived in different houses from the men. Arts were common among the Caribs. Basket weaving was a common type of art that was done both for function & for art. Pottery was quite common among Caribs as well. They had many different structural styles of pottery. It is also important to note that most men spoke Island Carib languages, however women spoke mostly Arawakan languages. They often used bow & arrows when hunting or fighting. This weaponry unfortunately was not very helpful during the initial British Invasion. However, their boats were. They were infamous for using one of their war ships to catch European boats. This is one of the main reasons as to why Saint Lucia wasn’t colonized for such a long time. They did not have a social or societal construct & did not have any form of government. Little is known about their religion however it is believed that they practiced polytheism.
The Arawak Indigenous Peoples
The Arawak Indigenous peoples existed throughout the lesser Antilles & heavily throughout northern South America. They were also known as the Taino people. They spoke many different dialects of Arawaken languages. They were quite peaceful & often avoided to engage in combat. They mostly only fought in defence or if they were being directly threatened. They often did not fight with other Arawak populations. They often practiced farming of corn, beans, pepper, sweet potatoes, ground nuts, & cassava. They also practiced fishing with nets & spear fishing. They used weaving techniques to build the nets. They also bred their own fish in individual ponds. They hunt any animals that were available using spears, bows, & blow guns. They however, did not use the pelts to make clothes. Most of the time Arawaks stood naked, with men occasionally wearing loincloths. The women wore short skirts & beaded shell necklaces. They also did not make shoes of any kind. On occasions, they would paint their bodies various colours such as black, white, or red. They were described as being of medium height by Columbus, which most likely means approximately 5 feet & 3 inches. They also generally were quite slim in build. Their skin was a dark tanned colour. Their hair was a black colour & was corse. They often wore jewellery & ornaments on their neck, ears, lips, & noses. These ornaments varied in material however they were often made with clay, shell, or cotton. Some of these ornaments were braided into hair & used as hair pieces as well. They did have social & societal constructs, with each individual group of Arawaks having a chief. For fun & religious purposes, they had festivals. These festivals entailed singing, dancing, & eating food with the community. They had instruments such as wooden gongs, reed pipes, & certain types of drums. They also had a kind of primitive oven which was used to bake small flat cakes. Games were also a common past time of them, one game they invented was a ball game called Batos. Their religion was polytheistic & their gods were called Zemi. These Zemi would control various sectors of the known universe.
The Ciboney Indigenous Peoples
The Ciboney indigenous peoples lived all throughout the Caribbean. They lived throughout Cuba & as well as the greater & lesser Antilles. They were also known as the Siboney. Their language was unknown & it was a language was an isolate. They often stayed out of the way & lived on the coast lines. Their ambitions in relation to war & peace are unknown. They did not farm anything to our knowledge, instead opting to hunt & gather their supplies. They did not write anything down, so extremely little is known about them as the majority of them were gone before the Europeans arrived. Some of their primary sources of food were shellfish, turtles, & certain available island rodents. They also lacked in arts such as pottery & weaving. They may have originated from southern America in the areas of modern day Venezuela. If they were, they would have migrated to up to Cuba. Alternatively, they may have originated from the southern areas of modern day Florida. However, they did not have very good maritime technologies.
The Most Destructive Man- Caused & Natural Disasters Of Antigua
No.1 Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma was a category 5 hurricane that struck the Leeward islands it took place from August 30th to September 13th 2017. It was the first category 5 hurricane to directly hit the Leeward Islands on file. Its highest winds were at 180 miles per hour. It was the 4th most costly tropical cyclone in Cuban & Leeward Island History. It affected all of the Caribbean, Southeastern U.S states, & Cape Verde. It caused 52 direct & 82 indirect fatalities. It cost 77.16 billion dollars in 2017. Adjusted for inflation that would be 93.81 Billion Dollars.
No.2 Hurricane Luis
Hurricane Luis was a category 4 hurricane that affected majority of the Caribbean. It took place from August 28th 1985 to September 20th 1985. It was the most powerful hurricane to make landfall during the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season. Its highest winds were 150 miles per hour. It affected majority of the Caribbean, the eastern united states, & Newfoundland. However, it caused extreme damage to Antigua. It caused 19 total fatalities. It coast 3.3 billion dollars in 1985. Adjusted for inflation that would be 9.14 billion.
No.3 FlyMontserrat Flight 107
Flight 107 was a commercial flight that took off from Antigua V.C Bird International Airport & was meant to reach Montserrat John A. Osborne. The aircraft type was a Britten-Norman Islander. During take off there was engine failure & the plane crashed. It caused 3 fatalities & 1 Injury. There was a total of 1 survivor from the crash.
The Economy & Public Stock Market Of Antigua & Barbuda
Antigua & Barbuda as a whole are economically stable, however they did loose a mass amount of income due to the pandemic of 2020. Their nominal GDP was 1.611 billion USD. Their Currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar or the XCD. They are a tourism & service-based economy. They rank 176th on country by GDP. Their GDP per capita is 14,900.80 USD. Their inflation has only been 1.205% since 2018. Their unemployment rate is 11% of the total population. Their public debt is 458 million dollars as of 2023. Their primary industries are: agriculture, fishing, mining, animal husbandry, & tourism.
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