Background
History
Antigua (pronounced Anteega) was first inhabited by the Siboney (stone people), whose settlements date back to at least 2400 BC. The Arawaks lived on the island between about AD 35 and 1100. Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493 and named the island Santa María de la Antigua. Spanish and French colonists attempted to settle there, but were discouraged by the absence of freshwater springs and attacks by the Caribs. In 1632 the English successfully colonized the island and, apart from a brief interlude in 1666 when held by the French, the island and its dependencies, Barbuda and uninhabited Redonda, remained British. Sir Christopher Codrington established the first large sugar estate in Antigua in 1674, and leased Barbuda to raise provisions for his plantations. Barbuda’s only village is named after him. Forests were cleared for sugarcane production and African slave labour was imported. Today, many Antiguans blame frequent droughts on the island’s lack of trees to attract rainfall, and ruined towers of sugar plantations stand as testament to the destruction and consequent barrenness of the landscape. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Antigua was important for its natural harbours, where British ships could be refitted safe from hurricanes and from attack. The Dockyard and the many fortifications date from this period.
The slaves were emancipated in 1834 but economic opportunities for the freed labourers were limited by a lack of surplus farming land, no access to credit, and an economy built on agriculture rather than manufacturing. Conditions for black people were little better than under slavery and in many cases the planters treated them worse. Poor labour conditions persisted and violence erupted in the first part of the 20th century as workers protested against low wages, food shortages and poor living conditions. In 1939, to alleviate the seething discontent, the first labour movement was formed: the Antigua Trades and Labour Union. Vere Cornwall Bird became the union’s president in 1943 and with other trade unionists formed the Antigua Labour Party (ALP). In 1946 the ALP won the first of a long series of electoral victories, being voted out of office only in 1971-1976 when the Progressive Labour Movement won the general election.
Antigua was administered as part of the Leeward Islands until 1959 and attained associated status, with full internal self-government in 1967. Antigua and Barbuda, as a single territory, became independent in November 1981, despite a strong campaign for separate Independence by Barbuda. Vere C Bird became the first Prime Minister and in 1989, at the age of 79, he took office for the fourth consecutive time. The general elections were marked by some irregularities and allegations of bribery, but the ALP won 15 of the 16 seats for Antigua in the 17-seat House of Representatives, the remaining seats being taken by the United National Democratic Party and the Barbuda People’s Movement, for Barbuda. Mr Bird appointed a largely unchanged cabinet which included several members of his family.
In 1990 the Government was rocked by an arms smuggling scandal, which exposed corruption at an international level when allegations were made that Antigua had been used as a transit point for shipments of arms from Israel to the Medellín cocaine cartel in Colombia. Communications and Works Minister, Vere Bird Jr, the Prime Minister’s son, became the subject of a judicial inquiry, following a complaint from the Colombian Government, for having signed authorization documents. His Cabinet appointment was revoked but he remained an MP. The Blom-Cooper report recommended no prosecutions, although it undermined the credibility of the Government and highlighted the rivalry between the two sons, Vere Jr and Lester Bird. The report also recommended that Vere Bird Jr be banned from holding public office.
Repeated calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Vere Bird were ignored although several ministers resigned from his Government. Demonstrations were organized in 1992 by the newly formed three-party United Opposition Front, seeking the resignation of the Prime Minister amid allegations of his theft and corruption. Fresh allegations of corruption were published in 1993 by the weekly opposition newspaper, Outlet, concerning property development contracts and misuse of public funds, resulting in a libel action issued by Lester Bird. Outlet, for many years edited by Tim Hector, who died in 2002, was the most outspoken critic of the Bird administration, frequently exposing corruption and fraud.
Vere Bird finally retired as Prime Minister in February 1994 at the age of 84. He was succeeded by his son, Lester, who led the ALP into the general elections held in March, winning its ninth out of 10 elections held since 1951 but with a reduced majority. The United Progressive Party (formerly the United Opposition Front), led by Baldwin Spencer, won five seats, the largest number for any opposition party in the country’s history.
The new government was not free of allegations of corruption scandals (Ivor Bird, a younger Bird brother and general manager of the ZDK radio station was arrested and fined for taking possession of 12kg of cocaine at the airport) although Prime Minister Bird made efforts to portray a more professional administration. Economic adjustment was given priority and new tax policies sparked protest demonstrations and strikes. Efforts were made to clean up Antigua’s poor reputation with the appointment in 1996 of a special advisor on control of illicit drugs and money laundering. Eleven offshore banks were closed by the end of 1997 and new legislation was approved in 1998 to close loopholes taken advantage of by international criminal organizations. However, this did not go far enough to satisfy US and UK regulators, who believed money laundering was still taking place. The Government bowed to the criticism and set up a committee in 1999 to study the areas of concern in its offshore financial services legislation.
In March 1999 the ALP won its sixth successive general election, increasing its representation in parliament to 12 seats, while the UPP won four and the BPM retained the Barbuda seat. The new cabinet was notable for the appointment of Vere Bird Jr as Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries. Corruption was still endemic, with a scandal in 2002-2003 surrounding fraud in the state health insurance fund, where over US$230 million was unaccounted for.
The year 2004 was a momentous one for Antigua, when decades of rule by the Bird family were swept aside at the ballot box. The ALP was beaten into second place with only four seats, while the UPP won 12 and Lester Bird lost his seat. The new government of Baldwin Spencer faced an uphill struggle, given the scale of its financial and social problems, but it enjoyed overwhelming support of the people during its first year in office, with many celebrations of the new order and a general feeling of optimism. By 2005, however, the shine had lost its lustre with a general outcry over the introduction of income tax, even though it was to be paid by only 25% of the population. Lester Bird was re-elected as head of the ALP and forecast his comeback, promising to rescind any income tax legislation.
Economy
The economy was long dominated by the cultivation of sugar, the major export earner until 1960 when prices fell dramatically and crippled the industry. By 1972 sugar had largely disappeared and farming had shifted towards fruit, vegetables, cotton and livestock. The economy is now based on services, principally tourism. Hotels and restaurants contribute about 25% of gross domestic product and employ about one-third of the work force. Tourism receipts make up about 60% of total foreign exchange earnings and there are about 5,000 hotel rooms. Tourist numbers are highly susceptible to disasters such as hurricanes, the 11 September terrorist attacks in the USA, and the vagaries of the airline industry.
There is some light industry which has been encouraged by tax and other incentives, but manufacturing for export is hampered by high wages and energy costs. A major expansion of tourist infrastructure has taken place, with development of harbour, airport, road and hotel facilities. This investment has not yet touched the bulk of the population, and in rural areas small wooden shacks still constitute the most common form of dwelling, often alongside resorts and villa developments.
