History and Culture

When sighting the island in 1493, Columbus named it Antigua after the miracle-working saint, Virgen De La Antigua (Virgin Of The Old Cathedral), whose icon resides in Seville Cathedral in Spain. However, before Columbus wandered to its shores, it was known as Waladli or Wadadli, meaning ‘ours’ or ‘our own’, a likely inheritance from the indigenous people who inhabited the island some 3,000 years ago. These may have been the Ciboney Indians, who were later replaced by the Arawak and then driven out by the Carib around 1100 AD.

In 1632, a group of colonists from St. Christopher (St. Kitts) settled the island, braving the fierce Caribs and lack of spring water. 1674 brought Sir Christopher Codrington from Barbados, who revolutionised the island’s fortunes by creating the lucrative sugar trade. One such legacy is Betty’s Hope, named after his daughter. In the late 18th Century Admiral Horatio Nelson was posted there to defend the profitable Caribbean shipping routes. It was at this time that slaves were brought from Africa to work the plantations. At its height, about 37,500 slaves were in forced labour and living in wretched conditions. Happily, the slave trade was abolished in 1807 and by 1834, all slaves were emancipated.

A New Era

Unlike many of the other islands, Antigua has had a fairly stable recent past and in the 1960’s, Antigua and Barbuda pushed for greater autonomy from Britain. In 1967 Antigua became an Associated State, with an entirely independent internal affairs administration, culminating on 1 November 1981 with the twin islands becoming fully independent with its own Prime Minister.