ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: ONE OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMONWEALTH STATES

At the end of 2023, my family and I did our first international cruise. Part of that experience was having a one day layover in Antigua which is the larger more populated island of the two. Going into the Caribbean for the first time, it does surprise you how poverty-ridden many of the islands are. Especially if you mix in a few trips to a couple of United States territories. On that trip, we went to three territories in which all three islands had more cultural appeal and more wealth (Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands which are United States territories and the island of Saint Maarten which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) than their independent national counterparts. Of those three with national sovereignty, the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua were difficult to enjoy. Throwing in a couple of other poverty ridden countries (Belize and Honduras) from a later cruise (Which will be discussed later), my family and I decided that we would avoid the resorts (We never left it in Honduras and quickly went back to the resort in the Dominican Republic after being surrounded by the worst poverty) and went to see the interior of Antigua while throwing in a ziplining adventure along the way. While the ziplining was fun (But not as enjoyable as the one in the Forests of “DELIVERANCE” Georgia}, the drive through the heart of Antigua was depressing. Shacks and rickety sheds litter the highway with families loitering around the streets playing ball and trying to find some sense of enjoyment. There does seem to be an attempt to clean the island up but this drive ruined the enjoyment of the zipline tour. While the lush vegetation of the island is beautiful in many spots, it is often ruined by the sense of hopelessness that you will perceive upon traveling through the interior. During our time in and around the St. John’s tourism resort, there was a shooting nearby that led to a flood of emergency vehicles on the street. Casinos are legal on the island and can be found in almost every tourist location. One of the more enjoyable experiences was talking to workers who ferried over from Barbuda to work their full-time jobs. Many of them do this every day. The ferry ride is 90 minutes meaning many of these people spend 12 hours a day working and transporting themselves back and forth between the two islands.
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There is evidence of people living on this island as far back as 5000 years ago. While not much is known of this tribe or where they originated, much more is known of the first inhabitants of Antigua and Barbuda in recent history. The Arawaks which were a tribe that lived in the north of South America and the Antilles islands (Including Trinidad & Tobago) settled Antigua and Barbuda in the 1200s and brought a sustainable agricultural economy to Antigua and Barbuda including tobacco, corn, sweet potatoes, guava, and cotton. The Arawakan language is one of the few remaining on the planet that originated among the indigenous tribes of South America. It is considered one of the most diverse languages on the planet with elements of it found in hundreds of other languages as well as being widespread throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America. In the 1500s, the Caribs who originated in the Guyana and Orinoco areas took over the island. They were known among tribes for their advanced maritime skills. The name of the island “Antigua” comes from Christopher Columbus who discovered it in 1493 and named it after a church in Spain. The English eventually settled Antigua in 1632 and turned the country into a sugar plantation slave state with the usage of many native Caribs and imported Africans as the labor force. Barbuda was colonized later in 1678 and was turned over to the noble British Codrington Family who had a significant presence in the Caribbean (And will be discussed again). The Codringtons intended on turning Barbuda into a slave breeding colony but the experiment failed. The slaves that were left over ended up creating their own community. Emancipation of the slaves occurred in 1834 and like is often the case with British colonies, both islands quickly fell into an economic decline which the island still seems to be recovering from to this day. The push for sovereignty was slow. The British slowly gave them nation state status under the Commonwealth in 1967. Full independence did not occur until November, 1, 1981. Antigua and Barbuda remains an active part of the UK’s Commonwealth of Nations with other nations like Canada and Australia. As the country tries to rebuild itself, it has focused on tourism as the primary driver of its economy due to the large amount of scenic beaches that litter the coasts of both islands.

St. John’s is the capital of Antigua and the biggest city with a population of a little over 22,000. Antigua is the larger island and very heavily populated with a little over 95,000 people. Barbuda is not very well developed with only about 2300 people living on the island and is located 38 miles due north. Antigua is close to four times the size of Barbuda. Barbuda has the famous Pink Sand and Princess Diana Beaches on its southern side which are often considered two of the nicest beaches in the Caribbean. St. John’s is angled down towards the ocean from the landmark Anglican Saint John’s Cathedral looking over the city with many of the most famous buildings being located at the top of this hill. Like other Caribbean nations, Antigua and Barbuda operate on the Caribbean dollar.
The flag of Antigua and Barbuda is very unique. Created in 1967 after the country was granted limited sovereignty, the flag has a red base with an inverted isoceles triangle in the middle. The triangle portrays a rising sun representing the dawn of a new nation. The sun rests on the color black (Representing the people), blue (Representing the ocean), and white (Representing the land). The country is anywhere between 65 to 80% Christian with the state religion of the UK, Anglicanism, being the largest Christian minority sect.

I can not recommend a trip to Antigua but the isolated island of Barbuda should defiitely be seen. It is a very quiet island with beautiful peaceful beaches with very few tourists to ruin the experience.

Next week, an even more unique island nation, Vanuatu. Until then.