Editing Antigua and Barbuda (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Antigua and Barbuda}}

===Pre-colonial period===
{{Main|Pre-Columbian Antigua and Barbuda}}
Antigua was first settled by [[Archaic period (North America)|archaic age]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous]] hunter-gatherers called the [[Ciboney]].<ref name=Factbook /><ref name=Britannica>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Antigua-and-Barbuda |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Antigua and Barbuda |last1=Niddrie |first1=David Lawrence |last2=Momsen |first2=Janet D. |last3=Tolson |first3=Richard |access-date=8 July 2019 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403214208/https://www.britannica.com/place/Antigua-and-Barbuda |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Commonwealth>{{cite web |url=http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/antigua-and-barbuda/history |publisher=The Commonwealth |title=Antigua and Barbuda : History |access-date=8 July 2019 |archive-date=24 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624235053/http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/antigua-and-barbuda/history |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Radiocarbon dating|Carbon dating]] has established the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Napolitano|first1=Matthew F.|last2=DiNapoli|first2=Robert J.|last3=Stone|first3=Jessica H.|last4=Levin|first4=Maureece J.|last5=Jew|first5=Nicholas P.|last6=Lane|first6=Brian G.|last7=O'Connor|first7=John T.|last8=Fitzpatrick|first8=Scott M.|date=2019-12-18|title=Reevaluating human colonization of the Caribbean using chronometric hygiene and Bayesian modeling|journal=Science Advances|volume=5|issue=12|pages=eaar7806|doi=10.1126/sciadv.aar7806|issn=2375-2548|pmc=6957329|pmid=31976370|bibcode=2019SciA....5R7806N}}</ref> They were succeeded by the ceramic age pre-Columbian [[Arawakan languages|Arawak]]-speaking [[Saladoid]] people who migrated from the lower [[Orinoco River]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caribbean Trade and Networks (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/caribbean-trade-and-networks.htm |access-date=2022-07-19 |website=nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> They introduced agriculture, raising, among other crops, the famous [[Antigua Black Pineapple]] (''[[Ananas comosus]]''), [[maize|corn]], [[sweet potato]]es, [[chili pepper|chiles]], [[guava]], tobacco, and cotton.<ref>Duval, D. T. (1996). Saladoid archaeology on St. Vincent, West Indies: results of the 1993/1994 University of Manitoba survey</ref> Later on the [[Island Caribs|Caribs]] settled the island.<ref>{{cite web |title=Archaeologists say early Caribbeans were not 'savage cannibals', as colonists wrote|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/24/archeology-caribbean-carib-people-cannibalism-colonial-history-wrong|last=Handy|first=Gemma|location=English Harbor, Antigua|date=24 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822165049/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/24/archeology-caribbean-carib-people-cannibalism-colonial-history-wrong|url-status=live|archive-date=22 August 2024|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

[[File:The Mill Yard - Ten Views in the Island of Antigua (1823), plate V - BL.jpg|thumb|left|Antigua in 1823]]

===European arrival and slavery===
[[Christopher Columbus]] was the first European to sight the islands in 1493.<ref name=Britannica /><ref name=Commonwealth /> The Spanish did not colonise Antigua until after a combination of European and African diseases, malnutrition, and slavery eventually extirpated most of the native population; [[smallpox]] was probably the greatest killer.<ref>{{cite book| last = Austin Alchon| first = Suzanne| title = A pest in the land: new world epidemics in a global perspective| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YiHHnV08ebkC&pg=PA62| year = 2003| publisher = University of New Mexico Press| isbn = 0-8263-2871-7| pages = 62–63| access-date = 11 September 2020| archive-date = 29 November 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211129165420/https://books.google.com/books?id=YiHHnV08ebkC&pg=PA62| url-status = live}}</ref>

The English settled on Antigua in 1632;<ref name=Commonwealth /><ref name=Britannica /> Christopher Codrington settled on Barbuda in 1685.<ref name=Commonwealth /><ref name=Britannica /> Tobacco and then sugar was grown, worked by a large population of slaves transported from West Africa, who soon came to vastly outnumber the European settlers.<ref name=Britannica />

===Colonial era===
The English maintained control of the islands, repulsing an attempted French attack in 1666.<ref name=Britannica /> The brutal conditions endured by the slaves led to revolts in 1701 and 1729 and a planned revolt in 1736, the last led by [[Prince Klaas]], though it was discovered before it began and the ringleaders were executed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/antiguas-disputed-slave-conspiracy-of-1736-117569/ |title=Antigua's Disputed Slave Conspiracy of 1736 |access-date=8 July 2019 |archive-date=8 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708151331/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/antiguas-disputed-slave-conspiracy-of-1736-117569/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-31 |title=ANTIGUAN SLAVE REVOLT 1735-1736 |url=https://legacyofrevolution.wordpress.com/antiguan-slave-revolt-1735-1736/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Water, Fire & Ash |language=en}}</ref> [[Slavery]] was abolished in the British Empire in 1833, affecting the economy.<ref name=Commonwealth /><ref name=Britannica /> This was exacerbated by natural disasters such as the 1843 earthquake and the 1847 hurricane.<ref name=Britannica /> Mining occurred on the isle of [[Redonda]], however, this ceased in 1929 and the island has since remained uninhabited.<ref name="kras-2008">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnItHSAgevMC&pg=PA18|page=18|title=Antigua and Barbuda|first=Sara Louise|last=Kras|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|year=2008|isbn=9780761425700|series=Cultures of the World|volume=26|quote=a cableway using baskets was built to transfer the mined phosphate to a pier for shipping|access-date=11 September 2020|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418004906/https://books.google.com/books?id=TnItHSAgevMC&pg=PA18|url-status=live}}</ref>

Part of the Leeward Islands colony, Antigua and Barbuda became part of the short-lived [[West Indies Federation]] from 1958 to 1962.<ref name=Commonwealth /><ref name=Britannica /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-23 |title=History of Antigua - Dadli Directory |url=https://dadlidirectory.com/history-of-antigua/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=dadlidirectory.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Antigua and Barbuda subsequently became an associated state of the United Kingdom with full internal autonomy on 27 February 1967.<ref name=Britannica /> The 1970s were dominated by discussions as to the islands' future and the rivalry between [[Vere Bird]] of the [[Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party]] (ABLP) (Premier from 1967 to 1971 and 1976 to 1981) and the [[Progressive Labour Movement]] (PLM) of [[George Walter]] (Premier 1971–1976). Eventually, Antigua and Barbuda gained full independence on 1 November 1981; Vere Bird became prime minister of the new country.<ref name=Britannica /> The country opted to remain within the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], retaining [[Elizabeth II]] ({{reign|1952|2022}}) as [[Monarchy of Antigua and Barbuda|head of state]], with the first [[List of colonial governors and administrators of Antigua#Governors of Antigua and Barbuda (1967–1981)|governor]], [[Wilfred Jacobs|Sir Wilfred Jacobs]], as [[Governor-general of Antigua and Barbuda|governor-general]]. Succeeding [[Wilfred Jacobs]] were [[James Carlisle]] (1993–2007), [[Louise Lake-Tack]] (2007–2014), and the present since 2014 being [[Rodney Williams (governor-general)|Rodney Williams]].

[[File:1953 Antigua stamps.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Queen Elizabeth II on 1953 Antiguan stamps]]

===Independence era===
The first two decades of Antigua's independence were dominated politically by the Bird family and the ABLP, with [[Vere Bird]] ruling from 1981 to 1994, followed by his son [[Lester Bird]] from 1994 to 2004.<ref name=Britannica /> Though providing a degree of political stability, and boosting tourism to the country, the Bird governments were frequently accused of corruption, cronyism and financial malfeasance.<ref name=Commonwealth /><ref name=Britannica /> [[Vere Bird Jr.]], the elder son, was forced to leave the cabinet in 1990 following a [[Guns for Antigua|scandal]] in which he was accused of smuggling Israeli weapons to Colombian drug-traffickers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bAsgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1313,5601929|title=Antiguan Quits in Weapons Scandal|date=26 April 1990|work=Sun-Journal|access-date=4 July 2011|archive-date=31 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531122652/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bAsgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1313,5601929|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Antigua-Barbuda: Government Finally Orders Probe of Arms Shipment|date=25 April 1990|work=IPS-Inter Press Service}}</ref><ref name=Commonwealth /> Another son, [[Ivor Bird]], was convicted of selling [[cocaine]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite news|title=Younger Brother of Prime Minister Lester Bird Is Arrested on Cocaine Charges|last=Massiah|first=David|date=7 May 1995|work=Associated Press Worldstream|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Prime Minister Lester Bird Promises No Intervention in Brother's Arrest|last=Massiah|first=David|date=8 May 1995|work=Associated Press Worldstream|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

In 1995, [[Hurricane Luis]] caused severe damage on Barbuda.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anumetservice.wordpress.com/2015/09/05/20th-anniversary-of-hurricane-luis/|title=20th Anniversary of Hurricane Luis|date=5 September 2015|website=Anumetservice.wordpress.com|access-date=30 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912011401/https://anumetservice.wordpress.com/2015/09/05/20th-anniversary-of-hurricane-luis/|archive-date=12 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The ABLP's dominance of Antiguan politics ended with the [[2004 Antiguan general election]], which was won by [[Winston Baldwin Spencer]]'s [[United Progressive Party (Antigua and Barbuda)|United Progressive Party]] (UPP).<ref name=Britannica /> Winston Baldwin Spencer was [[Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda]] from 2004 to 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caribbean Elections Biography {{!}} Winston Baldwin Spencer |url=http://www.caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/biography/bios/spencer_baldwin.asp |website=www.caribbeanelections.com |access-date=29 December 2021 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225020401/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/biography/bios/spencer_baldwin.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> However the UPP lost the [[2014 Antiguan general election]], with the ABLP returning to power under [[Gaston Browne]].<ref name="bald">{{cite web |last=Charles |first=Jacqueline |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/13/4175779/antigua-prime-minister-baldwin.html |title=Browne becomes new prime minister of Antigua, youngest ever |work=The Miami Herald |access-date=14 June 2014 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714173815/http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/13/4175779/antigua-prime-minister-baldwin.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ABLP won 15 of the 17 seats in the [[2018 Antiguan general election|2018 snap election]] under the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister Gaston Browne.<ref>{{cite news |title=Speculation about early election in Antigua |url=https://barbadostoday.bb/2021/06/12/speculation-about-early-election-in-antigua/ |work=Barbados Today |date=12 June 2021 |access-date=29 December 2021 |archive-date=18 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218232206/https://barbadostoday.bb/2021/06/12/speculation-about-early-election-in-antigua/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2016, [[Nelson's Dockyard]] was designated as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua now a Unesco heritage site: Travel Weekly |url=https://www.travelweekly.com/Caribbean-Travel/Nelsons-Dockyard-in-Antigua-now-a-Unesco-heritage-site |work=travelweekly.com |language=en}}</ref>

Most of Barbuda was devastated in early September 2017 by [[Hurricane Irma]], which brought winds with speeds reaching 295&nbsp;km/h (185&nbsp;mph). The storm damaged or destroyed 95% of the island's buildings and infrastructure, leaving Barbuda "barely habitable" according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne. Nearly everyone on the island was evacuated to Antigua.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |last1=Panzar |first1=Javier |last2=Willsher |first2=Kim |date=9 September 2017 |title=Hurricane Irma leaves Caribbean Islands Devastated |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-irma-islands-20170909-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=11 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911024806/http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-irma-islands-20170909-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Amidst the following rebuilding efforts on Barbuda that were estimated to cost at least $100&nbsp;million,<ref name="time.com">{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4935433/hurricane-irma-barbuda-antigua-survivors-caribbean/|title=Hurricane Irma Flattens Barbuda, Leaving Population Stranded|first=Tara|last=John|date=11 September 2017|magazine=Time|access-date=1 September 2020|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807130608/https://time.com/4935433/hurricane-irma-barbuda-antigua-survivors-caribbean/|url-status=live}}</ref> the government announced plans to revoke a century-old law of [[communal land|communal land ownership]] by allowing residents to buy land; a move that has been criticised as promoting "[[disaster capitalism]]".<ref name="NACLA-disaster-capitalism">{{cite news |last1=Boger |first1=Rebecca |last2=Perdikaris |first2=Sophia |title=After Irma, Disaster Capitalism Threatens Cultural Heritage in Barbuda |url=https://nacla.org/news/2019/02/12/after-irma-disaster-capitalism-threatens-cultural-heritage-barbuda |access-date=1 September 2020 |work=[[NACLA]] |date=11 February 2019 |language=en |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225153657/https://nacla.org/news/2019/02/12/after-irma-disaster-capitalism-threatens-cultural-heritage-barbuda |url-status=live }}</ref>