History of Antigua and Barbuda

Christopher Columbus.

The first inhabitants of the islands of Antigua and Barbuda arrived around 2400 BC. C., who were pre-ceramic Amerindians. Later, the Arawak Amerindian tribes and later the Caribs populated the islands. The island of Antigua was originally called Wadadli by the natives.

Christopher Columbus sighted the islands on his second voyage in 1493, naming the largest one Antigua in honor of Santa María la Antigua of Seville. The first European attempts to establish themselves on the islands failed due to the excellent defenses of the Caribs. The island was first colonized by the Spanish, but soon came under the control of the buccaneers. The first English colony dates back to 1632. They came from San Cristóbal and its first governor was Thomas Warner, later Irish colonists settled. Its economy was based mainly on the cultivation of tobacco, indigo and sugar. Slavery, established to promote the growth and profitability of sugar plantations in Antigua, was abolished in 1834.

The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth in 1981, and Vere Bird became Prime Minister.

In 2005, Baldwin Spencer of the UPP (United Progressive Party) became Prime Minister