Background Section
The first inhabitants of Barbuda were the Arawaks and Kalinago group of people who were described as canoe-driving hunter-gatherers. They arrived around 4000 years ago and grew and ate food such as sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts, cotton, tobacco, vegetables, medicinal plants and other fruits and vegetables.
Examples of pottery artifacts found in Barbuda
They also created unique pottery designs which were left on the islands as artifacts which were found at the Indian Town Trail and the Spanish Point region and were relocated to the museum of Antigua and Barbuda.
Upon on the arrival of the Europeans to the island the early settlers were displaced. The English colony was formed on the island in 1666 and in 1685 the island of Barbuda was rented out to Christopher and John Codrington. The purpose of the colony was to breed more slaves, but this proved to be unsuccessful. However, the slave population on the island increased and soon a rebellion occurred.
The Beach Rebellion took place in 1741 due to claims of inhumane and horrendous treatment of the salves by the islands manager Thomas Beach. As a result, extensive damage was done to properties and some slaves escaped the island. A second rebellion occurred in 1774 where the manager at the time McNish was killed after dismembering slaves. The slaves were able to successfully seize Codrington’s castle however the rebellion was short lived as reinforcement was sent from Antigua to end the rebellion. This resulted in two well-known slaves called the afro heroes were burned alive in front of Codrington’s castle main gate.
In 1834, slavery was abolished in Barbuda according to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 however Barbudans continued to work the land for food cultivation. In 1859, Antigua took possession of Barbuda after the passing of the Barbuda (Extension of Laws of Antigua) Act. This made Barbuda subject to the laws of the Antigua colony.
Flag of the Barbuda Council
In 1976, the island of Barbuda was granted autonomy from Antigua which allowed Barbuda to be responsible for regulating its own public works, agriculture, finance etc. After the establishment of the Barbuda Council. On November 1st, 1981, Antigua and Barbuda gained independence from the United Kingdom which established Antigua and Barbuda as an independent state. This led to the Barbuda Local Government Act being included in the constitution under the Antigua and Barbuda Constitution. As of present, a representative for Barbuda is elected by the council to speak on the needs and represent the needs of the Barbudans.
Info from: Wikipedia
Info from: VisitingAntiguaBarbuda