Antigua (/ænˈtiːɡə/ ann-TEE-gə), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations on 1 November 1981.
Antigua means “ancient” in Spanish after an icon in Seville Cathedral, “Santa María de la Antigua [es]” — St. Mary of the Old Cathedral. The name Waladli comes from the indigenous inhabitants and means approximately “our own”.[citation needed] The island’s perimeter is roughly 87 km (54 mi) and its area 281 km2 (108 sq mi). Its population was 83,191 (at the 2011 Census). The economy is mainly reliant on tourism, with the agricultural sector serving the domestic market.
Over 22,000 people live in the capital city, St. John’s. The capital is situated in the north-west and has a deep harbour which is able to accommodate large cruise ships. Other leading population settlements are All Saints (3,412) and Liberta (2,239), according to the 2001 census.
English Harbour on the south-eastern coast provides one of the largest deep water, protected harbors in the Eastern Caribbean. It is the site of a restored British colonial naval station named “Nelson’s Dockyard” after Vice-Admiral The 1st Viscount Nelson. English Harbour and the neighbouring village of Falmouth are yachting and sailing destinations and provisioning centres. During Antigua Sailing Week, at the end of April and beginning of May, an annual regatta brings a number of sailing vessels and sailors to the island to take part in sporting events. Every December for the past 60 years, Antigua has been home to one of the largest charter yacht shows, welcoming super-yachts from around the world.
On 6 September 2017, the Category 5 Hurricane Irma destroyed 90 percent of the buildings on the island of Barbuda and the entire population was evacuated to Antigua.
The first inhabitants were the Guanahatabey people. Eventually, the Arawak migrated from the mainland[where? — see talk page], followed by the Carib. Prior to European colonization, Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit Antigua, in 1493.
The Arawak were the first well-documented group of indigenous people to settle Antigua. They paddled to the island by canoe (piragua) from present-day Venezuela, pushed out by the Carib, another indigenous people. The Arawak introduced agriculture to Antigua and Barbuda. Among other crops, they cultivated the Antiguan “black” pineapple. They also grew corn, sweet potatoes (white with firmer flesh than the bright orange “sweet potato” grown in the United States), chili peppers, guava, tobacco, and cotton.
Some of the vegetables listed, such as corn and sweet potatoes, continue to be staples of Antiguan cuisine. Colonists took them to Europe, and from there, they spread around the world. For example, a popular Antiguan dish, dukuna (/ˈduːkuːnɑː/), is a sweet, steamed dumpling made from grated sweet potatoes, flour and spices. Another staple, fungi (/ˈfuːndʒi/), is a cooked paste made of cornmeal and water.
Most of the Arawak left Antigua about A.D. 1100. Those who remained were raided by the Carib coming from Venezuela. According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, the Caribs’ superior weapons and seafaring prowess allowed them to defeat most Arawak nations in the West Indies. They enslaved some and cannibalised others. Watson points out that the Caribs had a much more warlike culture than the Arawak.
The indigenous people of the West Indies built excellent sea vessels, which they used to sail the Atlantic and Caribbean resulting in much of the South American and the Caribbean islands being populated by the Arawak and Carib. Their descendants live throughout South America, particularly Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia. According to A Brief History of the Caribbean, infectious diseases introduced from Europe, high rates of malnutrition and enslavement led to a rapid population decline among the Caribbean’s native population. There are some differences of opinions as to the relative importance of these causes.
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