The Documented History Of Antigua

ThePersaudCatalog
Sep 30, 2023
15 min read

Updated: May 13

*A photograph of the bustling, vibrant downtown area of St. John's, the capital of Antigua. Credit to photographer Sean Pavone.*

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 remnant 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 in Antigua, excluding unincorporated compounds.

Their post-Columbian 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

Numerous different indigenous peoples occupied Antigua at different times, including the Arawak, Carib, Saladoid & Ciboney Peoples.

The Saladoid migrated from northern Venezuela throughout the greater & lesser Antilles. The Saladoid people farmed & made lots of ceramic pottery. There are many archaeological sites on the island where ceramic pottery can be found. These works of art were mostly made from the Saladoid.

The Arawakan 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 for 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 are still found on the island. On Antigua & Barbuda at the time, there were 2 unique tribes of indigenous peoples. These tribes had split off from the Arawaks & had formed their own 2 tribes. Their religious beliefs differ severely from the main Arawakan religions. These people were known as the Galashopa & the Galapopa.

The Galashopa were rather warlike & 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 Arawakan language, but Barbuda meant devil. Due to bad weather 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 island's 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 queen's name was Mishlaelae, it was during her rule that Christopher Columbus arrived on Antigua.

Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493, & named the island Santa Maria de la Antigua. He was less than friendly to the locals. He wanted to mine gold on the island & also planned to enslave all of the locals. 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

Historical Events From The 15th Century

Antigua was visited by Christopher Columbus in the year of 1493. He found the island on his 2nd Caribbean voyage. He then named it Antigua. His reason for doing so was that he was naming it after a church known as the Church of Santa Maria de la Antigua, which is in Seville, 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.

Historical Events From The 16th Century

Many of the Caribs left in the century due to the 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.

Historical Events From The 17th Century

The English finally managed to colonize the island in 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.

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 awarded the rights to Barbuda, which they ruled until 1860.

Historical Events From The 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 for 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 & had 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 to enforce these laws.

This worked out to be rather successful. This also resulted in Nelson's 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.

Historical Events From The 19th Century

In 1807, the Codrington family created a large estate that was used for slavery. This estate was used to assemble a workforce of children using 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, were 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 improve the economic circumstances of Antigua & Barbuda.

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 & infrastructural damage.

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.

Historical Events From The 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 to this was Central American countries beginning to export things at extremely low prices.

In more recent times, however, Antigua has developed a primarily service-based economy relying on tourism as its 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, and 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 governments persevered to join a federation. Provisions were 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 has been its own country since 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 resident shot the Prime Minister's brother in retaliation.

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 Antiguan & Barbudan Labour Party 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 Antiguans & Barbudans 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 Arawakan language. They seemed not to 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 near 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 in 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. Many populations had many warlike tactics & were believed to have mandatory combat training.

They were taller, bulkier, & stronger than the Arawaks due to the emphasis on 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 were also 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 dugout canoe. However, they could also use & build sails. They used these to raid the Arawaks as well as to fish. They also utilized the ocean in other ways. 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 conquests, which was wrongfully used to justify conquering their lands & enslaving them. The modern-day word cannibal is said to have been influenced by the word Carib due to their alleged cannibalistic practices. They invented certain types of primitive barbecues as well, which they were alleged to use for barbecuing the flesh of their enemies, as well as fish. 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 said to be 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 males would also paint their bodies and, on occasion, wear 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 males 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 the Caribs as well. They had many different structural styles of pottery. It is also important to note that while most men spoke Island Carib languages, a significant population of women originated from Arawak groups, meaning that they would speak Arawak in the homes. They often used bows & 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 warships to catch European boats. This is one of the main reasons 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 Arawakan languages.

They were comparatively peaceful & often avoided engaging in combat, except in cases where they were acting in defense. As far as we are aware, they did not fight with other Arawak populations often.

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 fish in individual ponds. They hunt any animals that are 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 were also generally quite slim in build. Their skin was a dark tanned colour. Their hair was a black colour & was coarse. 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 group of Arawaks having a chief. For enjoyment & 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 pastime for 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 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 coastlines. Their ambitions concerning 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 Cuba. Alternatively, they may have originated from the southern areas of modern-day Florida. However, they did not have very good maritime technologies, making origin determination difficult.

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 took place from August 30th to September 13th, 2017. It was the first Category 5 hurricane to directly hit the Leeward Islands on record. Its highest winds were at 180 miles per hour. It was the 4th most costly tropical cyclone in Cuban & Leeward Islands history.

It affected all of the Caribbean, Southeastern U.S states, & Cape Verde, causing 52 direct & 82 indirect fatalities. It also severely damaged infrastructure, trade, & industry, costing a cumulative 77.16 billion dollars in cleanup efforts. Adjusted for inflation today, that would be 93.81 Billion Dollars.

No. 2: Hurricane Luis

Hurricane Luis was a Category 4 hurricane that affected the 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 the majority of the Caribbean, the eastern United States, & Newfoundland. It caused extreme damage to Antigua's infrastructure, approximately 3.3 billion dollars worth in 1985, which would be 9.14 billion dollars in today's money adjusted for inflation. In addition to this, it took the lives of 19 islanders, leaving lasting impacts that would scar a generation.

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 takeoff 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 is economically stable, however, they did lose a massive amount of income due to the pandemic of 2020. Their nominal GDP is 1.611 billion USD, at the time of publishing.

Their currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar or the XCD. They are a tourism & service-based economy. They rank 176th in the 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.