Antigua and Barbuda History

By | March 8, 2021

Antigua and Barbuda is a small island nation located in the Caribbean Sea. According to homosociety, it has a population of over 97,000 people and an area of 442 square kilometers. The official language is English while Antiguan Creole is also widely spoken. The currency used is the East Caribbean Dollar (XCD). The capital city of Antigua and Barbuda is St. John’s which has a population of over 24,000 people. The climate in Antigua and Barbuda varies from tropical with hot summers and mild winters. Agriculture plays an important role in the economy with sugarcane, cotton, fruits, vegetables being some of the main crops grown. Tourism also plays a significant role in the country’s economy due to its white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. Antigua and Barbuda also has rich natural resources such as timber, fish and marine life. Despite its natural resources however it remains one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean due to its high unemployment

Columbus discovered Antigua, inhabited by Caribbean Indians, in 1493. The island was first colonized after 1632 by Britain. They also colonized Barbuda in the 1660s and 1970s, but ended up in private ownership in 1680. Barbuda returned to the British crown in the late 1800s and could then be united with Antigua. The islands were administered until 1959 as part of the British colony of Leeward Islands.

In the 1960s, Antigua and Barbuda gained greater autonomy and gained their own constitution. In 1967, the Legislative Council was replaced by a House of Representatives and a Senate, and a General Governor was appointed. See abbreviationfinder for geography, history, society, politics, and economy of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda have been an independent state in the British Commonwealth since 1981. The policy was dominated between 1976 and 2004 by the Antigua Labor Party (ALP), whose results in the parliamentary elections, however, gradually decreased in favor of the United Progressive Party(UP). The ALP is known for being a political tool in the hands of the powerful Bird family and has been regularly employed by major corruption scandals. In 2009, US billionaire Allen Stanford was sentenced to a long prison sentence for fraud; Stanford had major business interests in Antigua and Barbuda and close links with the Bird family.

  • COUNTRYAAH.COM: Provides latest population data about Antigua and Barbuda. Lists by Year from 1950 to 2020. Also includes major cities by population.

From 2004 to 14, the government was held by the UP and Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer (born 1948). Under the leadership of Gaston Browne (born 1967), party leader since 2012 and subsequently inducted into the Bird family, the Antigua and Barbuda Labor Party (ABLP), which the party then renamed, returned to office after the 2014 election. In the 2018 election, ABLP and Browne made it.

Antigua and Barbuda Life Expectancy 2021