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Coordinates: 17°05′10″N 61°47′22″W / 17.08602, -61.789423

For other places with the same name, see Antigua (disambiguation). A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system.
For more detailed information on Antigua as a political entity, see Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda ( Spanish for "Ancient" and "Bearded" is an Island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea

Antigua (pronounced /ænˈtiːgə/ an-TEE-gah) is an island in the West Indies, Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands part of the West Indies. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Antigua and Barbuda ( Spanish for "Ancient" and "Bearded" is an Island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea It is also known as Wadadli, which means approximately "our own". The island's circumference is roughly 87 kilometres (54 miles) and its area 281 km² (108 square miles). The circumference is the distance around a closed Curve. Circumference is a kind of Perimeter. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. Its population is about 69,000 as of July 2006. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology [1] It is the largest of the Leeward Islands, and the most developed and prosperous due to its upscale tourism industry, offshore banking, internet gambling services and education services, including two medical schools. The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands part of the West Indies. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel An offshore bank is a Bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor typically in a low tax jurisdiction (or Tax haven) that provides financial Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency

Over 31,000 people live in the town of St. John's, at 17°6′N, 61°45′W. St John's is the Capital and largest city of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the The capital is situated in the northwest, near to VC Bird International Airport, and has a deep harbour which is able to accommodate large cruise ships. VC Bird International Airport is located on the island of Antigua, eight kilometres northeast of St Other leading population settlements are All Saints (3,412) and Liberta (2,239), according to the 2001 census. All Saints is the third-largest town in Antigua and Barbuda, with a population of 3412 Liberta is the third-largest town in Antigua. It is located in the south of the island inland from Falmouth Harbour and the port of Falmouth, to which

English Harbour on the southeastern coast is famed for its protected shelter during violent storms and as the site of a restored British colonial naval station called "Nelson's Dockyard". English Harbour is a settlement on the island of Antigua, in the extreme south of the island Captain Horatio Nelson, in correspondence made while stationed at the garrison, made it clear he would prefer to be facing the French. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson 1st Viscount Nelson 1st Duke of Bronté, KB (29 September 1758– 21 October 1805 was a British Today English Harbour and the neighbouring village of Falmouth are an internationally famous yachting and sailing destination and provisioning centre. Yachting is an activity involving boats It may be racing Sailing boats cruising to distant shores or day-sailing along a coast At the end of April and beginning of May, Antigua Sailing Week, an annual world-class regatta started in 1967, brings many sailing vessels and sailors to the island to play sports.

Contents

Geography

Rocky shoreline near St. John's.
Rocky shoreline near St. John's.

The high rocky coast is indented by many bays and arms of the sea, several of which form excellent harbours. The surface is comparatively flat, and there is no central range of mountains as in most other Caribbean islands, but among the hills in the southwest an elevation of 1,319 feet (402 m) feet is attained on Boggy Peak. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Owing to the absence of rivers, the paucity of springs, and the almost complete deforestation, Antigua is subject to frequent droughts, and although the average rainfall is 45. Deforestation is the conversion of Forested areas to non-forest land for use such as Arable land, Pasture, urban use logged area or wasteland 6 inches, the variations from year to year are great. The problem is partly solved by desalination of sea water. Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt and other Minerals from Water

Economy

Antigua's economy is reliant upon tourism, and it markets itself as a luxury Caribbean escape. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel Many hotels and resorts are located around the coastline, and the island's single airport is serviced by several major airlines including Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, US Airways, American Airlines, Continental, Delta Air Lines, BWIA and Air Canada. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd (operating as Virgin Atlantic) is a British airline which is owned by Richard Branson 's Virgin Group (51% and British Airways plc ( is the national Airline and Flag carrier of the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe US Airways Inc is the fifth largest Airline in the United States. American Airlines Inc (AA is a US -based airline and the world's Largest airline in total passenger miles transported and passenger fleet size Delta Air Lines Inc ( is a United States Airline based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. BWIA West Indies Airways, called "B-wee" by locals was the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago. Air Canada () is Canada 's largest Airline and Flag carrier. The airline founded in 1937 has had its corporate headquarters in Montreal The only regular service to Barbuda flies from VC Bird Airport. The United States Air Force maintains a small base near the airport mostly used for space missions and communications.

The University of Health Sciences Antigua (UHSA) and the American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine teach aspiring doctors. The University of Health Sciences Antigua, also known as UHSA, is a private university in Antigua, West Indies

The country's official currency is the East Caribbean dollar. The East Caribbean dollar ( Currency code XCD) is the Currency of eight of the nine members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States However, many prices in tourist-oriented businesses are shown in US dollars. The EC dollar is pegged to the US dollar at a fixed rate of $1 US = $2. 67 EC. for more information, including GDP per capita, see https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ac.html

A panorama of St. Johns Harbor, taken aboard the Serenade of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean International vessel.
A panorama of St. Johns Harbor, taken aboard the Serenade of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean International vessel. Royal Caribbean International () is a Norwegian / American Cruise line company based in Miami Florida.

History

The early Antiguans

The Arawaks were the first well-documented group of Antiguans. The term Arawak (from aru, the Lokono word for Cassava flour was used to designate the Amerindians encountered by the Spanish in This group paddled to the island by canoe (piragua) from Venezuela, ejected by the Caribs--another people indigenous to the area. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Cariban languages Carib, Island Carib or Kalinago people after whom the Caribbean Sea was named live in the Lesser Antilles islands Arawaks introduced agriculture to Antigua and Barbuda, raising, among other crops, the famous Antiguan "Black" pineapple. They also cultivated various other foods including:

Some of the vegetables listed, such as corn and sweet potatoes, still play an important role in Antiguan cuisine. The chili pepper, chilli pepper, or chili, is the fruit of the plants from the Genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade Guava is a Genus of about 100 Species of Tropical Shrubs and small Trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting Trees in the Flowering plant family Anacardiaceae For example, a popular Antiguan dish, dukuna (DOO-koo-NAH) is a sweet, steamed dumpling made from grated sweet potatoes, flour and spices. In addition, one of the Antiguan staple foods, fungi (FOON-ji), is a cooked paste made of cornmeal and water.

The bulk of the Arawaks left Antigua about 1100 A. D. Those who remained were subsequently raided by the Caribs. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Carib's superior weapons and seafaring prowess allowed them to defeat most Arawak nations in the West Indies--enslaving some, and cannibalizing others.

The Catholic Encyclopedia does make it clear that the European invaders had some difficulty identifying and differentiating between the various native peoples they encountered. As a result, the number and types of ethnic/tribal/national groups in existence at the time may be much more varied and numerous than the two mentioned in this Article.

According to A Brief History of the Caribbean, European and African diseases, malnutrition and slavery eventually destroyed the vast majority of the Caribbean's native population. No researcher has conclusively proven any of these causes as the real reason for the destruction of West Indian natives. In fact, some historians believe that the psychological stress of slavery may also have played a part in the massive number of native deaths while in servitude. Others believe that the reportedly abundant, but starchy, low-protein diet may have contributed to severe malnutrition of the "Indians" who were used to a diet fortified with protein from sea-life.

The indigenous West Indians made excellent sea vessels that they used to sail the Atlantic and Caribbean. As a result, Caribs and Arawaks populated much of South American and the Caribbean Islands. Relatives of the Antiguan Arawaks and Caribs still live in various countries in South America, notably Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia. The smaller remaining native populations in the West Indies maintain a pride in their heritage.

Europeans

According to the AntiguaNice web site, Christopher Columbus supposedly named the island "Antigua" in 1493 in honor of the Santa Maria La Antigua Cathedral in Seville. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer Unfortunately, this data seems to be inaccurate since this cathedral actually exists in Castilla y León, Spain. A common practice for Spanish explorers was to name newly "discovered" areas after Catholic saints. San Juan in Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo in Hispaniola, Santa Barbara in the United States and others follow the same trend.

In 1632, a group of English colonists left St. Kitts to settle in Antigua. Under Edward Warner, their leader, they grew cash crops of tobacco, ginger, indigo and sugar.

Slavery

Sugar became Antigua's main crop from about 1674, when Christopher Codrington settled at Betty's Hope Estate. He came from Barbados, bringing the latest sugar technology with him. Betty's Hope, Antigua's first full-scale sugar plantation, was so successful that other planters turned from tobacco to sugar. This resulted in a huge increase of slaves, as sugar requires so much labor.

According to A Brief History of the Caribbean, many West Indian colonists initially tried to use Indians and whites as slaves. Unfortunately, these groups succumbed very easily to disease and/or malnutrition, and died by the thousands. The African slaves had the misfortune of adapting well to the new environment; and thus became the number one choice of "unpaid labor. " In fact, the slaves thrived physically and also provided medical services, and skilled labor, such as carpentry for their slave masters.

Today, collectors prize the uniquely designed "colonial" furniture created by West Indian slaves. Many of these works feature what are now "traditional" motifs in slave-made West Indian furniture. These details include pineapples, fish and stylized serpents. The popular decorating magazine, Veranda, features a fascinating article on this subject; peppered with interesting photographs of the uniquely West Indian furnishings.

By 1736, so many slaves had been brought in from Africa that their conditions were crowded and open to unrest. A slave called "Prince Klaas" (whose real name was Count) planned an uprising in which the whites would be massacred, but the plot was discovered and put down. Prince Klaas and four other accomplices were caught and executed by the breaking wheel. The breaking wheel (also known as the Catherine wheel) was a torturous Capital punishment device used in the Middle Ages and early modern times for Six other slaves were hung in chains and starved to death, and another fifty-eight were burned at the stake. Execution by burning has a long history as a method of Punishment for Crimes such as Treason, Heresy and Witchcraft Ironically, the location of this torture and execution is now the Antiguan Recreation Ground.

Lord Horatio Nelson

Nelson's dockyard was started in 1725, to provide a base for a squadron of British ships whose main function was to patrol West Indies and thus maintain Britain's sea power.

Lord Nelson was Senior Naval Officer of the Leeward Islands from 1784 to 1787 on H. M. S. Boreas. During his tenure, he tried to enforce the Navigation Acts. These acts prohibited trade with the newly formed United States of America. Most of the merchants in Antigua depended upon American trade, so many of them despised Lord Nelson. As a result, he was unable to get a promotion for some time after his stint on the island.

Conversely, the British considered Nelson a hero. The following quote from The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson by Robert Southey sums up his views about the controversial Navigation Acts:

The Americans were at this time trading with our islands, taking advantage of the register of their ships, which had been issued while they were British subjects. Nelson knew that, by the Navigation Act, no foreigners, directly or indirectly, are permitted to carry on any trade with these possessions. He knew, also, that the Americans had made themselves foreigners with regard to England; they had disregarded the ties of blood and language when they acquired the independence which they had been led on to claim, unhappily for themselves before they were fit for it; and he was resolved that they should derive no profit from those ties now. Foreigners they had made themselves, and as foreigners they were to be treated.

Southey then quotes Nelson as saying that "[The Antiguan Colonists] are as great rebels as ever were in America, had they the power to show it. "

Political status

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 independence from Britain. The country was then led by what many describe as an elected family dynasty, with Vere C. Bird, the first prime minister, having been succeeded in 1993 by Lester B. Bird, his son, who retained the post until 2003.

Sport

The major Antiguan sport is cricket. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries Antigua was the location of a 2007 Cricket World Cup site, on a new Recreation Ground constructed on an old cane field in the north of the island. The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was a Men 's Cricket Tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007 using the sport's Sir Vivian ("Viv") Richards is one of the most famous Antiguans, who played for, and captained, the West Indies team. Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, (born St John's, Antigua on 7 March 1952 is a former West Indian Cricketer. Both soccer and basketball are becoming popular among the island youth.

Internet hosting & gaming

Antigua is a recognized centre for online gambling companies. Online gambling is a general term for Gambling using the Internet Antigua was one of the first nations to legalize, license and regulate online gaming. Some countries, most notably the United States, argue that because the gaming transaction is initiated in their jurisdictions that the act of online wagering is illegal. This argument has been repudiated by the World Trade Organization. [2] However in 2006 the United States Congress voted to approve the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act which criminalizes the operations of offshore gaming operators which take wagers from American-based gamblers. The Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 (or SAFE Port Act,) was an Act of Congress in the United States covering Port security Software company SlySoft is based in Antigua, allowing it to avoid nations with laws that are tough on anti-circumvention of technological copyright measures, in particular the DMCA in the United States. SlySoft Inc is a Software company located in the capital city St The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA is a United States Copyright Law which implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property

Gallery

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ Nation by Nation population estimate
  2. ^ World Trade Organization: United States — Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services

External links

Dictionary

Antigua

-proper noun

  1. The largest island of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, in the Caribbean
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