Antigua, The Carribean

The Island, Itself

Antiqua

Antiqua - St. John's - Kincaid's Home

The Dreaded Breadfruit

Breadfruit - Up Close

Antigua - European Arrival The current name, "Antigua," given by Christopher Columbus in 1493 In 1632, a group of English colonists left St. Kitts to settle on Antigua. Sir Christopher Codrington, an Englishman, established the first permanent European settlement From then on, Antiguan history took a dramatic turn. Codrington guided development on the island as a profitable sugar colony. Think Rum. Lord Horatio Nelson, a major figure in Antigua history, arrived in the late 18th century to preserve the island's commercial shipping prowess

The Problems of British Colonialism According to A Brief History of the Caribbean, European and African diseases, malnutrition and slavery eventually destroyed the vast majority of the Caribbean's native population. In fact, some historians believe that the psychological stress of slavery may also have played a part in the massive number of native deaths while in servitude. Others believe that the reportedly abundant, but starchy, low-protein diet may have contributed to severe malnutrition of the "Indians" who were used to a diet fortified with protein from sea-life.

Slavery... Sugar became Antigua's main crop in about 1674 This resulted in the importing tens of thousands of slaves, largely from West Africa, as sugar cultivation and processing was labor intensive Unrest among the slaves became increasingly common The American Revolution in the late eighteenth century disrupted the Caribbean sugar trade. At the same time public opinion in Britain gradually turned against slavery Great Britain abolished the slave trade in 1808, and all existing slaves were emancipated in 1834

More Recently, Independence... In 1968, with Barbuda and the tiny island of Redonda as dependencies, Antigua became an associated state of the Commonwealth In 1981 it was disassociated from Britain Economy is based upon tourism Unemployment Rate of 11% compared to USA's 9.1% Literacy Rate of 85% compared to USA: 97%

Who Lives There...? The ethnic distribution consist of: 91% of African Descent and mixed African/Native Caribean 4.4% Other Mixed Race 1.7 % European. The majority of the European population is ethnically Irish, British, and Portuguese 2.9% Other (primarily East Indian and Asian) There are also Christian Levantine Arabs (primarily of Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian descent) and a small population of Sephardic Jews

Lastly, Post-Colonialism Antigua, like the US, Canada, Mexico, Ireland, India, etc. is a post-colonial nation. This fact will influence the way Annie views the world At times, we can infer that decisions and actions of certain characters (and the author's intent) are influenced by the idea of Post-Colonialism What can we see in the novel that demonstrates or may demonstrate colonial influence?

Colonial Influences? The Obvious Few to Look For... Teachers? Language? Cities and design? Food? Where is breadfruit from? Obeah women? Religion? Whatever/Whoever else?