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. 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). Its population is about 69,000 as of July 2006.^[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. There is more than one entry for the locale Antigua in Wikipedia: Antigua is an island in the Caribbean, part of Antigua and Barbuda. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles. ... West Indies redirects here. ... The circumference is the distance around a closed curve. ... “km” redirects here. ... Look up Mile in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... The Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles. ... Tourist redirects here. ... An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction that provides financial and legal advantages. ... Gamble redirects here. ...

Over 31,000 people live in the town of St. John's, at 17°6′N, 61°45′W. 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. Other leading population settlements are All Saints (3,412) and Liberta (2,239), according to the 2001 census. St Johns is the capital city of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. ... , V.C. Bird International Airport (IATA: ANU, ICAO: TAPA) is located on the island of Antigua, 8km northeast of St. ... All Saints is the third-largest town in Antigua and Barbuda, with a population of 2,700. ...

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". Captain Horatio Nelson, in correspondence made while stationed at the garrison, made it clear he would prefer to be facing the French. Today English Harbour and the neighbouring village of Falmouth are an internationally famous yachting and sailing destination and provisioning centre. 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. English Harbour is a settlement on the island of Antigua, in the extreme south of the island. ... Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, KB (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British admiral famous for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars, most notably in the Battle of Trafalgar, a decisive British victory in the war, during which he lost his life. ... Yachting is a physical activity involving boats. ...

Geography

Rocky shoreline near St. John's.

• Capital: St. John's
• Land area: 108 sq. mi. (280 km²)
• Location : 17.09° N 61.80° W
• Capital and largest city: St. John's, pop. 31,000
• Climate: tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation.
• Terrain: mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas.
• Elevation extremes: 402 m (Boggy Peak), sea level.

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. 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 45.6 inches, the variations from year to year are great. The problem is partly solved by desalination of sea water. St Johns is the capital city of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... Extant Subclasses and Orders Alcyonaria    Alcyonacea    Helioporacea Zoantharia    Antipatharia    Corallimorpharia    Scleractinia    Zoanthidea [1][2]  See Anthozoa for details For other uses, see Coral (disambiguation). ... This article is about volcanoes in geology. ... For other uses of the word, see Elevation In geography, the elevation of a geographic location is its height above mean sea level (or possibly some other fixed point). ... West Indies redirects here. ... This article is about the process of deforestation in the environment. ... Shevchenko BN350 desalination unit situated on the shore of the Caspian Sea. ...

Economy

Antigua's economy is reliant upon tourism, and it markets itself as a luxury Caribbean escape. 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. 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. Tourist redirects here. ... Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. ... For the 1930s airline of similar name, see British Airways Ltd. ... US Airways is a low-cost carrier[2][3] owned by US Airways Group, Inc. ... American Airlines, Inc. ... Continental may refer to: The adjective of continent, such as in continental Europe, continental breakfast, or continental climate, or Continental Glacier; The culture of the continental nation states of Europe, inasmuch as it contrasts with the culture of Anglo-Saxon England; The Lincoln Continental, a car made by Lincoln division... Delta Air Lines, Inc. ... BWIA West Indies Airways, called Bwee by locals, is the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago. ... Air Canada (TSX: AC.A, TSX: AC.B) is Canadas largest airline and flag carrier. ... USAF redirects here. ...

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. 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 The East Caribbean dollar (currency code XCD) is the currency of eight members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. ...

Serenade of the Seas is a member of the Radiance-class of ships, belonging to the Royal Caribbean fleet. ... U.S. headquarters in Miami, Florida. ...

History

The early Antiguans

The Arawaks were the first well-documented group of Antiguans. This group paddled to the island by canoe (piragua) from Venezuela, ejected by the Caribs--another people indigenous to the area. Arawaks introduced agriculture to Antigua and Barbuda, raising, among other crops, the famous Antiguan "Black" pineapple. They also cultivated various other foods including: Arowak woman (John Gabriel Stedman) The term Arawak (from aru, the Lokono word for cassava flour), was used to designate the Amerindians encountered by the Spanish in the West Indies. ... Carib family (by John Gabriel Stedman) Drawing of a Carib woman Carib, Island Carib or Kalinago people, after whom the Caribbean Sea was named, live in the Lesser Antilles islands. ...

• Corn
• Sweet potatoes (White with firmer flesh than the bright orange "sweet potato" used in the United States.)
• Chilis
• Guava
• Tobacco
• Cotton
• Mangos

Some of the vegetables listed, such as corn and sweet potatoes, still play an important role in Antiguan cuisine. 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. Binomial name L. Corn (Zea mays L. ssp. ... Binomial name (L.) Lam. ... For other uses, see Chili. ... Species About 100 species, see text. ... Shredded tobacco leaf for pipe smoking Tobacco can also be pressed into plugs and sliced into flakes Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. ... For other uses, see Cotton (disambiguation). ... Species About 35 species, including: Mangifera altissima Mangifera applanata Mangifera caesia Mangifera camptosperma Mangifera casturi Mangifera decandra Mangifera foetida Mangifera gedebe Mangifera griffithii Mangifera indica Mangifera kemanga Mangifera laurina Mangifera longipes Mangifera macrocarpa Mangifera mekongensis Mangifera odorata Mangifera pajang Mangifera pentandra Mangifera persiciformis Mangifera quadrifida Mangifera siamensis Mangifera similis Mangifera...

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. 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, Santo Domingo in Hispaniola, Santa Barbara in the United States and others follow the same trend. Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ...

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. Six other slaves were hung in chains and starved to death, and another fifty-eight were burned at the stake. Ironically, the location of this torture and execution is now the Antiguan Recreation Ground.^{[citation needed]} The breaking at the wheel) was a form of punishment used during the english civil war. ... Burning of two sodomites at the stake (execution of individuals by fire. ...

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. 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. Sir Vivian ("Viv") Richards is one of the most famous Antiguans, who played for, and captained, the West Indies team. Both soccer and basketball are becoming popular among the island youth. This article is about the sport. ... The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was a mens cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sports one-day international format. ... Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born St Johns, Antigua on 7 March 1952), better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv is a former West Indian cricketer. ...

Internet hosting & gaming

Antigua is a recognized centre for online gambling companies. 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. 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. Online gambling is a general term for gambling using the Internet. ... WTO redirects here. ... The Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 (or SAFE Port Act, Pub. ... SlySoft Inc. ... The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a controversial United States copyright law which criminalizes production and dissemination of technology that can circumvent measures taken to protect copyright, not merely infringement of copyright itself, and heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet. ...

Gallery

Notable residents

• Viv Richards, West Indian cricket legend; the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua was named in his honour
• Marie-Elena John, Antiguan writer and former African Development Foundation specialist. Her debut novel, Unburnable was selected Best Debut of 2006 by Black Issues Book Review
• Jamaica Kincaid, novelist famous for her writings about life on Antigua. Her book A Small Place was banned under the Vere Bird administration
• Oprah Winfrey, American television/entertainment icon and entrepreneur; owns a home near Galley Bay
• Eric Clapton, established an Antiguan drug treatment centre; has a home on the south of the island
• Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer; owns a home near Galley Bay
• Calvin Ayre, billionaire founder of internet gambling company Bodog Entertainment Group
• Allen Stanford, Texan billionaire, and business tycoon.
• Robin Leach
• Larry Flynt, US-based Publisher.
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste actress, is of Antiguan parentage.
• Oungku, Onyan and Krokuss, members of the Burning Flames International Soca band.
• Andriy Shevchenko, football player currently with Chelsea

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born St Johns, Antigua on 7 March 1952), better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv is a former West Indian cricketer. ... Marie-Elena John (born 1963) is a Caribbean writer whose first novel, Unburnable, was published in 2006. ... The [African Development Foundation http://www. ... Unburnable, a novel published in 2006 by HarperCollins/Amistad, was penned by Caribbean writer Marie-Elena John (born in Antigua), who spent a career as an Africa Development specialist in New York and Washington, D.C. prior to turning to writing. ... Jamaica Kincaid (b. ... A Small Place is an essay published in 1988 by Jamaica Kincaid. ... Vere Cornwall Bird (December 7, 1910–June 28, 1999) was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. ... Oprah Winfrey, (born January 29, 1954) is a multiple-Emmy Award winning host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest rated talk show in television history. ... Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE[2] (born 30 March 1945) [3], nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... This article is about the fashion designer. ... Calvin Ayre (born May 25, 1961 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada) is the Founder of the Bodog Entertainment Group, which he launched in 1994. ... Allen Stanford[1], [2] is an American billionaire and philanthropist, and is well known as a sponsor of professional sports. ... Robin Leach in 2007 Robin Douglas Leach (born August 29, 1941 in London, England) is an English celebrity writer famous for hosting his first show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in the 1980s, which focused on profiling well-known celebrities and their lavish homes, cars, and other materialistic accoutrements. ... Larry Flynt in 2007 Larry Claxton Flynt, Jr. ... Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste (born on 26 April 1967 in London, England) is an English actress. ... From Antigua and Barbuda, this band represents the epitome of the high-energy, multiple-influenced, synthesizer-driven soca. ... Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (Ukrainian: , born 29 September 1976, Dvirkivschyna, Kiev Oblast) is a Ukrainian football striker who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League. ...

References

External links

• Government of Antigua and Barbuda
• Map of Antigua From Paradise Islands (non commercial site)
• Antigua Villas
• Antigua Barbuda Department of Tourism
• Antigua Sandals resort
• Cruise Ship Webcam