ANTIGUA'S and BARBUDA'S HISTORY

Antigua was first inhabited by the Siboney ("stone people"), around 2400 BC. They used stone, shell and bone tools for chipping and grinding. Traces of them are found at Jolly Beach, Deep Bay and North Sound. These Archaic nomads lived on fish and clams from the island's shallow waters along with other wild resources. Then came the Arawaks, a bunch of rather peaceful people who originated in Venezuela and gradually migrated up the chain of islands now called the Lesser Antilles--and succeeded the Siboney. The Arawaks were farmers who cultivated cassava and pineapple. They left Some traces of settlements but were driven off the island in 1200 AD by another bunch of rather less peaceful South Americans - the Caribs. The Caribs preferred raiding over settling and apparently gave the island the name of "Wadadli," still in use today. (And also retained for the local beer brand.) Although the warlike Carib people drove the Arawaks from neighboring islands they did not settle on either Antigua or Barbuda.

During Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the New World in 1493, although his expedition did no more than sail past what was then heavily wooded islands, he named the larger one "Santa Maria de la Antigua" after a shrine in Seville. The Spanish attempted a small and unsuccessful settlement in 1525 but Antigua remained largely untouched until it was claimed in 1632 by English sailors from St Kitts.

Sugar became the main crop from about 1674, when Christopher Codrington resettled at Betty's Hope Estate. He came from Barbados, bringing the latest sugar technology with him. Betty's Hope, Antigua's first full-scale sugar plantation, was so successful that other planters turned from tobacco to sugar. The first forts were built in 1672, one on Blake Island in Falmouth Harbour, and the other on Rat Island in St. John's Harbour. From then until 1815, forty forts were built around Antigua's coasts to protect the valuable sugar industry. This resulted in a huge increase of slaves, as sugar requires so much labor. Sir Christopher Codrington leased Barbuda to raise slaves for his plantations. Barbuda's only town is named after him. Codrington and others brought slaves from Africa's west coast to work the plantations. Within a century the growth of the sugar plantations had led to a massive increase in the population, including 37,808 slaves, 1,230 free people of color, and 2,590 whites.

The West Indian sugar plantations were of immense importance in the 17th century, making the islands far more important to the British economy than the American colonies: imports from Antigua were three times as great as those from New England. Many of the impressive fortifications on Antigua were built to keep the French away from the island. However, relationships between the plantation owners and the slaves were notoriously poor in the next century. Emancipation in 1834 did not mean that the former slaves shared many economic privileges and it took until 1967 for Antigua and Barbuda to achieve self-government. The slaves remained economically dependent on the plantation owners. Economic opportunities for the newly freed men were limited by a lack of surplus farming land, no access to credit, and an economy built on agriculture rather than manufacturing. Poor labor conditions persisted until 1939, which saw the birth of the trade union movement in Antigua and Barbuda.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
     As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is represented in Antigua and Barbuda by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. Antigua and Barbuda has a bicameral legislature: a 17-member Senate appointed by the governor general--mainly on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition--and a 17-member popularly elected House of Representatives. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House and conducts affairs of state with the cabinet. The prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the Parliament. Elections must be held at least every 5 years but may be called by the prime minister at any time. National elections were last held on March 23, 2007.
     Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.
     Antigua and Barbuda maintains an embassy in the United States at 3216 New Mexico Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016 (tel. 202-362-5122).