|
The Siboney were the first people to inhabit the islands of
Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 BC, but Arawak Indians populated
the islands when Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493.
Early Spanish and French settlements were succeeded by an
English colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar
plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands
became an independent state within the British Commonwealth
of Nations in 1981. On 6 September 2017, Hurricane Irma passed
over the island of Barbuda, devastating the island and forcing
the evacuation of the population to Antigua. Almost all the
structures on Barbuda were destroyed, and the vegetation stripped,
but Antigua was spared the worst.
Location:
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico.
|
