Island of Antigua

Antigua is an extremely dry island compared to the others we visited. It's fame (and dryness) arises from its location in the far east of the Caribbean. It's excellent harbors also made it an ideal location for ships arriving from Europe. The British took advantage of this by building a fortified dockyard, where ships could make port for repairs and restocking.

The island was also used for large-scale sugarcane cultivation; by the 1700's there were 150 sizeable plantations, each with its own windmill-powered sugar mill. Most of the island's inhabitants today are the descendants of slaves brought to the island to work these plantations, freed in 1834 when the British abolished slavery. Unfortunately, demand for sugarcane dropped off soon after and it was not until the increase of tourism in the late 20th century that prosperity returned.