49 Fun Facts About Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda's low-lying shape comes mainly from which kind of rock rather than volcanic activity?

Limestone: northern and eastern Antigua and the whole of Barbuda are low coral limestone, which keeps the islands mostly flat; only Antigua's southwest is volcanic.

What is the capital and most populous city of Antigua and Barbuda?

Around a quarter of the country lives in the city and most of the rest along the All Saints Road.

Barbuda's sole settlement is named after which family, who leased the whole island from 1685?

The single land grant is why Barbudans have held land communally ever since.

The names Antigua and Barbuda are Spanish for what?

Ancient and bearded: antigua means 'ancient' or 'old' and barbuda means 'bearded', a reference either to the islanders' beards or to Barbuda's bearded fig trees.

Which explorer sighted the islands in 1493 and may have named Antigua after an icon in Seville Cathedral?

Christopher Columbus sighted Antigua on his second voyage in 1493 and is credited with naming it after Santa María la Antigua, an image venerated in Seville Cathedral.

The Arawak-speaking Saladoid people introduced which prized fruit to Antigua?

The black pineapple, Antigua's national fruit, is credited to the island's early Arawak farmers; the small, very sweet variety is grown mainly around Cades Bay in the southwest.

In which year did Edward Warner's party establish the first successful British colony on Antigua?

In 1632 Edward Warner, son of St Kitts colonist Sir Thomas Warner, led the party that founded Antigua's first lasting British settlement.

In which year did mining on Redonda end, leaving the island uninhabited?

Redonda's mines, worked since the 1860s, dwindled during the First World War and closed for good in 1929; the island has had no permanent residents since.

Betty's Hope, established in 1650, was Antigua's first large-scale plantation growing what?

Sugar: Betty's Hope, founded in 1650, was Antigua's first large sugar plantation; its twin windmill towers, one restored to working order, survive as an open-air museum.

Which enslaved leader planned a 1736 revolt and had proposed making Antigua an independent kingdom?

Prince Klaas, also recorded as Court or Kwaku Takyi, planned the 1736 uprising; the plot was uncovered and he was broken on the wheel, and Antigua and Barbuda now honours him as a national hero.

Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour is the world's only continuously working dockyard from which era?

Georgian: the Royal Navy built the English Harbour dockyard in the 18th century and it is billed as the only working Georgian-era dockyard left; Nelson served there from 1784 to 1787.

Antigua and Barbuda gained full independence on which date?

Antigua and Barbuda became independent from Britain on 1 November 1981, remaining a Commonwealth realm with the British monarch as head of state.

Which dynasty dominated the country's politics from 1960 to 2004 with only one interruption?

Vere Bird ruled 1981-94 and his son Lester 1994-2004; the airport is named V. C. Bird.

Vere Bird Jr. left Antigua's cabinet in 1990 over smuggling weapons from which country to Colombian traffickers?

Israel: a 1990 inquiry found Vere Bird Jr. had helped route Israeli-made arms through Antigua to the Medellín cartel, and he was barred from holding public office.

Who became prime minister after leading the Labour Party to victory in 2014?

Gaston Browne led the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party to victory in June 2014 and was sworn in as prime minister, succeeding Baldwin Spencer.

Which Texan financier's Antigua-based bank was accused in 2009 of an $8 billion fraud?

Allen Stanford's Stanford International Bank in Antigua was charged by the SEC in February 2009 with running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme; in 2012 he was sentenced to 110 years.

Hurricane Irma in September 2017 damaged or destroyed roughly what share of Barbuda's buildings?

About 95% of Barbuda's buildings were damaged or destroyed when Hurricane Irma struck on 6 September 2017, and the island's entire population was evacuated to Antigua.

After Irma, the government moved to end Barbuda's long-standing system of what?

Communal land ownership: the government amended the Barbuda Land Act 2007 so residents could buy freehold plots, ending the island's communal tenure; critics called the move 'disaster capitalism'.

Boggy Peak, the country's highest point at 402 metres, bore what name from 2009 to 2016?

Mount Obama: Boggy Peak was renamed in 2009, the ceremony falling on Barack Obama's birthday, and reverted to its old name in 2016.

Redonda, the country's uninhabited third island, was once mined for what?

Guano: seabird droppings rich in phosphate were dug from Redonda from the 1860s for fertiliser; the rock later became the setting for the whimsical 'Kingdom of Redonda'.

Codrington Lagoon on Barbuda is famous for its huge breeding colony of which bird?

Magnificent frigatebird: thousands nest in the mangroves of Codrington Lagoon, a colony often called the largest in the Western Hemisphere; courting males inflate a scarlet throat pouch.

The Antigua and Barbuda flag, adopted in 1967, was chosen from a competition with how many entries?

More than 600 designs were entered in the national competition to choose the flag; the winner shows a rising sun for the dawn of a new era, with black for African heritage.

The flag's yellow, blue and white bands stand for the sun, the sea and what?

Sand: the yellow, blue and white bands beneath the flag's rising sun stand for sun, sea and sand; black is for the soil and African heritage, red for energy.

Antigua and Barbuda's currency has been pegged since 1976 at what rate to one US dollar?

EC$2.70: the Eastern Caribbean dollar has been fixed at 2.70 to the US dollar since July 1976 and is shared by eight members, independent states and British territories alike.

What are the two national dishes of Antigua and Barbuda?

Fungee and pepperpot: fungee is a cornmeal-and-okra dough similar to polenta, and pepperpot is a thick stew of salted meat with greens such as spinach, eggplant and okra.

Which beer, named after Antigua's Amerindian name, is brewed on the island?

Wadadli, brewed by Antigua Brewery, takes its name from the Arawak name for Antigua; the rival Caribbean lagers come from Trinidad, St Lucia and Dominica.

Sir Viv Richards scored a 56-ball Test century in Antigua in 1986 against which team?

England: Richards hammered 110 not out from 56 balls in Antigua in April 1986, the fastest Test century until Brendon McCullum's 54-ball hundred in 2016.

Wisden named Viv Richards one of its five Cricketers of the Century in which year?

In 2000 Wisden named Viv Richards one of its five Cricketers of the Century alongside Bradman, Sobers, Hobbs and Warne; he never lost a Test series as captain.

Curtly Ambrose took a famous 7 wickets for 1 run against which side in 1993?

Australia: at Perth in February 1993 Ambrose took seven wickets for one run in 32 balls, and West Indies won the Test by an innings to take the series 2-1.

Brian Lara set the record Test score of 400 not out at which Antiguan venue in 2004?

The Recreation Ground in the capital staged Lara's 400 not out in April 2004, a decade after he had made his 375 on the same pitch.

A 2009 Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was abandoned after just ten balls because of what?

A sandy, unsafe outfield: bowlers' feet sank into the loose, sandy run-ups, so the umpires abandoned the Test after ten balls and a replacement match began at Antigua's older ground two days later.

Devil's Bridge, a natural rock arch carved by Atlantic surf, stands at which end of Antigua?

The east: Devil's Bridge is at Indian Town Point on Antigua's eastern tip, where Atlantic breakers have eroded the arch and blowholes over thousands of years.

Antigua's Carnival, celebrating freedom from slavery, ends on the first Tuesday of which month?

August: Antigua's Carnival runs from late July to the first Tuesday of August, with Carnival Monday and Tuesday both public holidays; it commemorates emancipation in 1834.

Which is the largest single religious denomination in Antigua and Barbuda, at about 17.6%?

Anglican: the 2011 census put Anglicans at 17.6% of the population, ahead of Seventh-day Adventists (12.4%) and Pentecostals (12.2%).

What was the estimated population of Antigua and Barbuda in 2026?

That is a 24% rise on the 2011 census, though still one of the Caribbean's smallest populations.

Antigua is divided into how many parishes?

Six: Antigua is split into six parishes, each named for a saint, while Barbuda and Redonda are administered separately as dependencies rather than parishes.

Antigua and Barbuda belonged to which short-lived political union from 1958 to 1962?

The West Indies Federation united ten British Caribbean colonies, Antigua among them, from 1958 until Jamaica's 1961 vote to leave brought its collapse in 1962.

Antigua and Barbuda is a Commonwealth realm; who became its head of state in 2022?

Charles III became king, and so Antigua and Barbuda's head of state, on 8 September 2022; Governor-General Sir Rodney Williams represents him on the islands.

Which court is the country's final court of appeal?

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London hears the country's final appeals; a November 2018 referendum on moving to the Caribbean Court of Justice fell short of the two-thirds majority needed.

V. C. Bird International Airport began life around 1941 as a base for which country's forces?

The United States built Coolidge Field in 1941 as an Army Air Forces base under the wartime bases deal with Britain; the civilian airport grew from it and opened a new terminal in 2015.

Which Antiguan sculptor and artist designed the national flag?

Sir Reginald Samuel, an Antiguan artist and sculptor, won the national competition to design the flag, which was adopted when the islands gained internal self-government as an associated state.

Antigua and Barbuda took in some 3,000 refugees in 1997 after a volcanic eruption on which island?

Montserrat's Soufrière Hills volcano erupted from 1995 and buried the capital Plymouth in 1997; Antigua, about 45 km away, took in some 3,000 of the displaced islanders.

In 2016 Antigua and Barbuda abolished which tax to attract wealthy residents?

Personal income tax was abolished in 2016 after the government argued it deterred investment; revenue leans instead on the sales tax, customs duties and the citizenship-by-investment programme.

Roughly what share of Antigua and Barbuda's tourists come from the United States?

One-third to one-half: American travellers make up roughly 40-50% of stayover visitors, with Britain the second-biggest market at around a quarter.

Which Antiguan-born writer published 'A Small Place', a searing 1988 essay about the island's tourism?

Jamaica Kincaid, born Elaine Potter Richardson in Antigua in 1949, wrote 'A Small Place' (1988), an angry account of colonial legacy and tourism on the island.

Benna, Antigua's indigenous folk music, arose after emancipation and is known for what format?

Call and response: a benna lead singer chanted verses of scandalous local gossip and the crowd sang back the refrain; by the early 20th century it doubled as a way of spreading news.

Barbuda's main festival, Caribana, is timed to which holiday each year?

Whit Monday: Barbuda's Caribana runs over the Whitsun long weekend in late May or early June, with pageants, calypso contests and beach parties.

'John Bulls', once central to the islands' Christmas festivities, are replicas of what?

Masked African witch doctors: the John Bull was a masked, costumed figure who roamed the streets at Christmas frightening children, a tradition modelled on African masquerade witch doctors.

In which year was the Antigua and Barbuda national football team founded?

1928: the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association dates from 1928, though it did not join FIFA until 1972; football trails only cricket in popularity on the islands.