The Siboney were the first people to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak Indians populated the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early Spanish and French settlements were succeeded by an English colony in 1667. Slavery, to provide labor on 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 of 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
Area Comparative
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate
Tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
Population Distribution
The island of Antigua is home to approximately 97% of the population; nearly the entire population of Barbuda lives in Codrington
Natural Hazards
Hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts
Geography Note
Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a large western harbor
