History and Culture

This is a nation of beautiful people and when you visit, it is a true honour to have the opportunity to respectfully understand the rich tapestry of these islands.

Antigua and Barbuda is home to some of the most talented, creative, innovative, and forward-thinking personalities. On a visit, you will be sure to hear about some of these Antiguans and Barbudans who have made significant contributions to the nation of Antigua and Barbuda.

Antiguans and Barbudans boast a vibrant culture, shaped by their African heritage, British colonial history, and modern influences. This is evident in a number of ways such as the language, cuisine, architecture, religion, music, sporting interests and their art and festivals to include Antigua’s carnival celebrations.

Today, the beach is just the beginning. Visitors to the destination are encouraged to immerse themselves in the local culture.Visit museums in St. John’s and the Nelson’s Dockyard, and interpretation centres for a deeper understanding of their people, and maritime heritage. Be sure to sample the delicious local cuisine, featured on their Eat Like a Local map.

While available all year round but more prominent during Barbuda’s Caribana in May, and Antigua’s Carnival – The Caribbean’s Greatest Summer Festival in July and August – enjoy the enchanting sounds of their music. Take steelpan lessons with Hellsgate Steel Orchestra, one of the oldest steel bands in Antigua. Head to Point and Villa to learn about the iron band, enjoy calypso from our Greats to include The Burning Flames, King Obstinate and King Short Shirt. Let the infectious beats of soca music by Carnival Party Monarchs – Claudette Peters, Tian Winter and Ricardo Drue put you in a party mood,

Take in an international cricket match at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, or a game of warri, (the traditional african Game of Warri played within Antigua and Barbuda, is said to be one of the most challenging mind games and Trevor Simon is said to be its Grand Master), take a walking tour through their cultural sites, explore the city with statues of National Heroes – Sir Vere C. Bird Sr. and Sir Isaac Vivian Richards, visit art studios featuring work of artists such as Heather Doram (GCM), attend their festivals or just interact with the friendly people within these vibrant communities.

The country’s other National Heroes are Prince Klass, a revolutionist; Dame Georgina Nellie Robinson, an educator; and former Prime Ministers Sir Lester Bryant Bird and Hon. Winston Baldwin Spencer.

Before the arrival of Europeans in the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda was inhabited by the Ciboney/Siboney (Stone People) – peaceful Amerindians who traversed the island chain from South America. Researchers revealed that they were very proficient in making stone tools and shell jewellery. Remnants of Amerindian civilisation have been found at Greencastle Hill National Park, the home of Antigua and Barbuda’s very own megaliths, often dubbed, “The Stonehenge of the Caribbean.”

The indigenous inhabitants, called Antigua “Waladli,” a word which has been transformed into the modern “Wadadli” which is what many locals call the island today and is also the name of the island’s local lager beer. Antigua’s sister island Barbuda is indigenously known as Wa’Omoni.

The destination’s current name is a result of Christopher Columbus’ viewing of Antigua in 1493 on his second voyage to the Caribbean where he reportedly named it after a church in Seville, Spain – Santa María de la Antigua.

Antigua remained uncolonized until 1632 when the British took control, while neighbouring Barbuda was first colonised in 1678. In 1685, Christopher Codrington II, of the wealthy Barbados-based Codrington family, received a royal grant for the whole of Barbuda, which he used to produce food for his sugarcane plantation on Antigua – Betty’s Hope – named after his daughter. Today, the sugar mill and other surrounding infrastructure at Betty’s Hope have been preserved and are open to visitors. The main town in Barbuda still upholds the name Codrington.

During the colonial era, Antigua was also strategically important for the British navy. Antigua’s Naval Dockyard also referred to as Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour, positioned on the southern side of the island, was an important location for monitoring the French territory of Guadeloupe. Also, the harbour is naturally protected on all sides making it well-suited for docking ships during tropical storms and hurricanes. The Georgian Dockyard was named after British war hero, Admiral Horatio Nelson, who lived there from 1784 through 1787.

On the 8th of March 1744, an explosion ripped through English Harbour. A tent storing gunpowder ignited, killing eight enslaved African men. Their names were Billy, London, James Soe, Caramatee, Quamono, Dick, Joe, Scipio, and Johnno.

Named after the date of the explosion, the 8th of March 2020 Commemoration Project is a collaborative, community oriented, interdisciplinary research project, headed by the Heritage Department at the National Parks. The goals of the project are to recover and commemorate the names and lives of the enslaved and free Africans who laboured in the Dockyard and lived in English Harbour, and to celebrate the continuous cultural landscape that is the English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour communities.

Antigua and Barbuda is known for its strong nautical heritage, and has created renowned sailors and yachting industry pioneers to include Sir Hugh Bailey, Franklyn Brathwaite (GOH) and Karl James (MBE).

Today, the Antigua Naval Dockyard and its Related Archaeological Sites make up the country’s UNESCO World Heritage site. The fully restored and working dockyard is complete with a hotel, restaurants, museum, Shirley Heights; and Blockhouse, part of an old Fort. Remnants of other fortresses built by the British include Fort James, Fort Barrington, Fort Berkeley. They make for interesting hikes and sightseeing.

Other remains of the islands’ British past include the dozens of Anglican churches dotting the landscape, most notably the 170-plus-years-old Cathedral of Saint John the Divine which sits triumphantly on a hill overlooking the capital city of St John’s.

After the abolition of slavery on August 1, 1834 (commemorated annually with the Antigua Carnival celebrations July through August), Antigua received political independence from Great Britain in 1981 under the leadership of then Premier and the country’s first Prime Minister Dr. Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Snr. (affectionately known as Papa Bird) who is a national hero and considered the ‘father of the nation.’ The V.C. Bird International airport where visitors arrive is named in his honour and a stately bust of him sits in downtown St. John’s near the public market.