Brief overview of Antigua & Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is an independent Commonwealth state in the Eastern Caribbean. With some 365 beaches of clean, clear, turquoise waters, the lush tropical island of Antigua is an inviting paradise and considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. As a result, tourism is the key driver of GDP and generates around 60% of the island’s income, with key target markets being Canada, Europe, and the USA.
Antigua has experienced a challenging economic environment in recent years. However, the government has been credited with its implementation of the National Economic and Social Transformation Plan and a debt restructuring effort. One of the initiatives to support the island nation's economy is the introduction of a citizenship by investment program.
Antigua has a peak named after President Obama.
Barbuda is home to the largest frigate bird colony in the Western Hemisphere.
The flag of Antigua and Barbuda as adopted on 27 February 1967 it features a white field that symbolizes hope, two red fields for the will to change and think in new ways, a black field for its African heritage and a blue field for the blue and beautiful Caribbean Sea. The yellow rising sun on the flag symbolizes independence. The flag of Antigua and Barbuda was the winning entry in a national competition with over 600 competitors.
CULTURE
The culture is primarily influenced by the traditions of West Africa as well as those of the United Kingdom. The most popular sport in the country is cricket. Football, boat racing, and surfing are three additional popular forms of athletic competition. (Antigua Sailing Week attracts locals and visitors from all over the world).
RELIGION & TRADITIONS
Since the majority of Antiguans and Barbudans are descended from West Africans who were brought to the islands as slaves by Europeans, the musical traditions of Antigua and Barbuda are predominately of African origin and have only been marginally influenced by European musical traditions.
The island nation of Antigua and Barbuda can be found in the Caribbean's Lesser Antilles chain of islands. It is a second home for many of the popular music genres that are popular throughout the Caribbean, including calypso, Soca, steel drum, zouk, and reggae, and it has produced stars in these genres. Steel drum and calypso are two musical styles that were brought to Antigua from Trinidad and Tobago, and they are the two that have had the most significant impact on the development of modern Antiguan popular music.
POPULATION SIZE & PEOPLE:
The country consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda, which are approximately 40 km (25 mi) apart, and several smaller islands.
LANGUAGE: Antigua’s official language is English.
ECONOMY:
The currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar (ECD), which is pegged to the USD at a rate of 2.70. Antigua is a member of the British Commonwealth, CARICOM, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations, among many other international organizations. Holders of this passport, like all Caribbean countries, require a visa to enter the USA as the nation is not a member of the USA Visa Waiver Program.
Antigua was first settled by archaic age hunter-gatherer Native Americans called the Ciboney. Carbon dating has established the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC. They were succeeded by the ceramic age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River. They introduced agriculture, raising, among other crops, the famous Antigua Black Pineapple (Ananas comosus), corn, sweet potatoes, chiles, guava, tobacco, and cotton. Later on, the more bellicose Caribs also settled the island, possibly by force.
European arrival and settlement
Christopher Columbus was the first European to sight the islands in 1493. The Spanish did not colonize 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.
The English settled on Antigua in 1632; Christopher Codrington settled on Barbuda in 1685. 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. Antigua is 14 miles long and 11 miles wide and its flatland topography was well-suited to produce its early crops of tobacco, cotton, and ginger. The main industry, however, developed into sugar cane farming, which lasted for over 200 years. Today, following its independence from Britain in 1981, Antigua’s key industry is tourism and related service industries. The next largest job-creating sectors are the finance services industry and the government.
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