Antigua and Barbuda

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Antigua and Barbuda
Flag of Antigua and Barbuda
Flag
Coat of arms of Antigua and Barbuda
Coat of arms
Location of Antigua and Barbuda
Capital
and largest city
St. John's
Common languagesAntiguan and Barbudan Creole
English
GovernmentParliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch
Charles III
• Prime Minister
Gaston Browne
Area
• Total
440 km²
Population
• 2022 estimate
100,772


Antigua and Barbuda is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It is a former colony of the British, and retains the British Monarch, Charles III, as its head of state.[1]

History

British Rule

In 1685, the British leased the island of Barbuda to the slaveholding Codrington family. Enslaved Africans organized a series of rebellions between 1741 and 1835. In 1834, the British tried to transport slaves in Barbuda to Antigua, but they rebelled, took control of Barbuda, and established communal ownership of land.[2]

Independence

In 1981 Antigua and Barbuda were granted independence from the United Kingdom leading to a politically dominant Antigua as the island holds over 95% of the nations population.

Hurricane Irma devastated Barbuda in 2017 leading to the majority of the residents moving to Antigua as refugees. The Antigua Labor Party (ALP) lead by Prime Minister Gaston Browne took this opportunity to start taking control of Barbudan land, and selling it to American tourism firms. [1]

In 2019, Prime Minister Browne demanded reparations from Harvard University, which received hundreds of acres of land from the Codringtons.[2]

Economy

Antigua and Barbuda's economy relies on oil exports and tourism from the Global North. 82% of workers in Antigua and Barbuda work in the service industry.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Dr. Matthew Quest (2018-06-13). "Enclosure, Dispossession and Disaster Capitalism in Antigua and Barbuda" Black Agenda Report. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matsemala Odom (2021-03-15). "Africans in Antigua and Barbuda fight for land, demand reparations" The Burning Spear. Archived from the original on 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13.