Antigua's history of habitation extends thousands of years, with the first settlements, dating from about 2400 B.C. with the Siboney (an Arawak word meaning "stone-people"), peripatetic Meso-Indians and followed by Arawaks (35-1100 A.D.) who were displaced by the Caribs, an aggressive people who voyaged all over the Caribbean. The earliest European contact with the island was made by Christopher Columbus during his second Caribbean voyage (1493), who sighted the island in passing and named it after Santa Maria la Antigua, the miracle-working saint of Seville.
In 1632, a group of Englishmen from St. Kitts were able to establish a settlement, and in 1684 the island entered the sugar era. Antigua was in an important strategic location - known as the gateway to the Caribbean
during the 18th century and offering control over the major sailing routes. Nelson arrived in 1784 to develop the British naval facilities at English Harbour and to enforce commercial shipping laws.
In 1834, Britain abolished slavery in the empire, and alone among the British Caribbean colonies, Antigua instituted immediate full emancipation rather than a four-year 'apprenticeship,' or waiting period; today, Antigua's Carnival festivities commemorate the earliest abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean.
Emancipation actually improved the island's economy, but the sugar industry of the British islands was already beginning to wane. Until the development of tourism in the past few decades, Antiguans struggled for prosperity.
The rise of a strong labour movement in the 1940s provided the impetus for independence. In 1967, with Barbuda and the tiny island of Redonda as dependencies, Antigua became an associated state of the Commonwealth, and in 1981 it achieved full independent status.
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Where is Antigua and Barbuda?
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the Americas, lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda separated by 63 km, and smaller islands. The permanent population number is about 97,120, with 97% being resident on Antigua.
Capital: St. John's Religion: 76.5% Christianity, 12.1% Other, 5.9% No religion, 5.5% Unspecified Demonym: Antiguan, Barbudan
Currency: East Caribbean dollar
Legislature: Parliament
Motto: "Each Endeavouring, All Achieving"
Anthem: "Fair Antigua, We Salute Thee"