g Experience Caribbean g Contents

Antigua and Barbuda

t The pristine white curve of Half Moon Bay, a popular Antiguan beach

Introduction

Area Map

Experience More

Practical Information

Experience Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua’s main attraction today is its many fabulous beaches, but in the past it was the fertility of its land, which was ideal for growing sugar cane. The French, Dutch, and English fought over the island through the 1600s, with the English prevailing, and the island remained in British hands throughout the colonial period. Nelson’s Dockyard – so named because the young Horatio Nelson served there – was constructed in the 1700s in English Harbour on Antigua’s south coast so Britain could maintain its Royal Navy warships to protect its valuable sugar-producing Caribbean islands.

Fast forward to 1981, and Antigua became an independent nation with smaller and far less populated Barbuda to the north. Barbuda lay directly in the path of category 5 Hurricane Irma in September 2017, and most of its homes were destroyed or severely damaged. The island is welcoming back visitors, but recovery and reconstruction will take time. Southwest of Antigua lies Montserrat, a British overseas territory which, thanks to its Irish heritage, calls itself the Caribbean’s Emerald Isle. Here, nature’s force – the eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano in the 1990s, which blanketed the town of Plymouth in ash – has become a major tourist attraction.