(Reproduced from the Princess Cruises "Adventures Ashore" port guide)
Christopher Columbus sighted Antigua on his second voyage to the New World in 1493. He named the island Santa Maria de la Antigua at that time, after a miracle-working saint in the Seville Cathedral. The British mispronounced the name as "An-tee-ga", and it has remained so ever since.
In 1632, Edward Warner, under the command of his father, Sir Thomas Warner, came across from St. Kitts and colonized the island as a British Territory. No attempt at colonization was made before this date, due to the inhospitable population of Carib Indians and lack of natural spring water. It has remained British ever since, with the exception of a brief occupation of the French in 1666-67.
In 1674, the first major sugar estate was established by a British sugar planter, Sir Christopher Codrington, who came from Barbados. He named the estate Betty's Hope, after his daughter. The introduction of sugar to the island brought about slave labor.
The island's sugar economy was dependent on slave labor as well as protective tariffs, which maintained high prices back in England. When slavery was abolished in 1834, the economy was hit extremely hard. With continuous pressure for a free trade market in sugar, the prices plunged and the sugar estates collapsed. Despite the collapse, sugar remained an important industry in Antigua.
In 1967, led by V.C. Bird, Antigua achieved Statehood in Association with Britain, with independent internal affairs and foreign affairs. On November 1, 1981, Antigua achieved full political sovereignty, with V.C. Bird as Prime Minister.
Antigua - Nelson Dockyard and Fort Berkeley Tour