Antigua was initially first “discovered” in 1684 by Sir Christopher Codrington. He was interested in creating a large-scale sugar cultivation, similar to the other islands in the Caribbean, and was successful. It was eventually known as the “gateway to the Caribbean” because of the control it had over sailing routes to the different wealthy islands in the Caribbean. Similar to the sugarcane cultivation in the Caribbean, Africans were brought over as slaves in the 1670s in large numbers to Antigua, soon becoming the largest racial group in each country. Antiguan slaves were emancipated in 1834, but remained reliant on their plantation owners due to difficulties in obtaining labor.
In 1967, Antigua became an associated state to the United Kingdom, meaning it was fully self governing concerning all internal affairs, but when it came to external affairs and defense, the UK was in control. In the 70s, under Prime Minister George Walter, an independence movement surged but soon died down when he lost in the 1976 elections to Vere Bird, who stood by regional integration. By 1978, the country reverted back to the want for independence, achieving it by 1981.
In more recent years, the main form of corruption occurring in the country regards the government’s involvement with the banks and being known as a “lax tax haven”. The country gained independence from the UK in 1981 with Prime Minister Vere Bird, being succeeded by his son Lester Bird in 1994. Ten years later, Lester Bird was defeated by Minister Baldwin Spencer, who formed a new government and has been ruling since.
Similarly to many freshly independent countries worldwide, a new government allowed for untroubled corruption. There was always suspicion when the country was under the Bird ruling, with the family accepting money for political favors and different forms of abuses of power. The country is a host of major internet gambling sites, and has enacted legislation for strict bank secrecy. They are also deemed untrustworthy because of their encouragement to be used as an offshore financial center for banks and international companies. In 2009, the country’s economy suffered when Robert Allen Stanford, one of their largest investors, was charged with fraud.
(2014). Antigua and Barbuda / Antigua’s history and culture. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from http://www.antigua-barbuda.org/aghis01.htm
Bak, Mathias, et al. Overview of Corruption and Anti-Corruption in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Transparency International, 2019, www.jstor.org/stable/resrep20499. Accessed 11 Apr. 2021.
Clarke, S. (2011, January). Antigua and Barbuda: History of corruption and the Stanford case. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://www.loc.gov/law/help/ag-corruption/stanford.php“History of Antigua and Barbuda.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/place/Antigua-and-Barbuda/History.
Hello, I really enjoyed your blog post! This historical information was very helpful in understanding some of the concepts and issues covered in the book. It would be interesting to hear the authors thoughts on the historical impacts and her understanding of Antigua.
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your context presentation for this week! I have never heard of Antigua before this class, so I was very interested in reading more about! I had no idea that it was discovered by a man who created it to be a large sugar cultivation and brought slaves over. I found it so crazy to read all the corruption and history that Antigua has gone through.
Hey, thanks for this post! I found it to be super interesting as I have very little knowledge on the background of Antigua and its history. I think they way you explained the political climate as well as the the more recent corruption history does a great job for laying the groundwork to this weeks reading. Also, showing Britain’s involvement highlights how involved western powers were in their political structure.
Hi! I appreciate the research and time you out into this post. Prior to this post, I was not educated on the history of Antigua and its government. I think it is very interesting that Antigua is known as the “lax tax haven” and so involved with fraudulent activity. The corruption in Antigua is definitely well explained and supports the untrustworthy political favors mentioned. This presentation and the background information about Antigua will definitely be useful as I continue into this week’s module.
Hello! I really enjoyed reading your post. I have little knowledge on the history of Antigua, so this was definitely a good and informative introduction. The historical background that you illustrated in your presentation will help in our understanding of the readings this week. Thank you for your post!
Hi! I really liked this blog post because it focused on factual based evidence. I also really appreciated that you included the dates that accompanied with the facts here! I really think this will help giving us a head start on understanding the reading this week!
Great post! I think it is so unfortunate that Antigua has a bad reputation with illicit business. Those living on the island had no way of stopping Columbus back then, and it clearly has resulted, over many years, in a nation which has be defined by European colonization. This post does really well by helping everyone to understand some of the root causes of what Antigua is currently experiencing.
Awesome post, Jane. I liked how you mentioned the history of Antigua as well as its first encounters with corruption, following its more recent forms of corruption. It’s interesting that Antigua is home to online gambleing, not only do they face physical deceptions but they also have to deal with issues online that reflect their country, resulting in them coming off as ‘untrustworthy.
Thank you for this insightful post! I was not familiar with Antigua’s history before reading this post, but it did a great job providing some helpful background knowledge. It’s unfortunate that the movement for independence resulted in a corrupt government. It is interesting to hear about how it is often used by foreign banks as a financial center, and I’m curious as to how Antigua become a popular site for these companies.
Thank you for the insight and all of the useful background information. I know that this will be very helpful for this weeks assignments. I particularly enjoyed the countries involvement with banks and how that is very common type of corruption.
Hi! Great post. The last paragraph regarding the current state of Antigua really stood out to me. I cannot believe the amount of corruption that is going on. It is also saddening to hear about another country negatively affected by British colonization. Your presentation gives me a great background as I read the assigned reading for the week.
I really appreciated this post, it was well written and informative. This piece helped me better understand the history of Antigua, which then helped me better understand our story. I also found the part of corruption to be exceptionally informative and enjoyable.
Great blog post! It is very sad and unfortunate to read about all the things Antigua has gone through. Like Antigua, most small nations suffer from some sort of issue. In this case, corruption. I think acknowledging the history of the places we visit is very important so we get a good understanding of the environment and the locals.
This is a very informative post, to understand history is a very important concept because it would lead into the future without going through the pain and sacrifice from the past and prevent them. As well as the actions that needed to disrupt the pain and suffering of slavery and the forced work labor trying to creating a large industry.
Hi!
Thank you for sharing this background knowledge. I have never heard of Antigua before so it was very nice to understand its history. This nation has faced some recent changes and has gone through a lot in the past few years. I could never imaging having a new government be created. I think since we have had our own government in the United States for so long, it is hard to imagine anything else. I wonder what the people of Antigua think of this new government? Thank you for this information!
This was a great and informative post! I was not previously aware of the history of Antigua. I think the fact that the colonialist nature of the UK persisted into the 1980s is unfortunate, but I think it’s interesting that they handled external affairs. I think it’s unfortunate that the company dealt with corruption!
Thank you for your article. Your speech helped me better understand the regretful history that happened in Antigua. From a historical perspective, a corrupt government can only bring more suffering to the citizens. I regret the experience of the local people.
Nice post! You introduced a nice background to us that help me have a better understanding of the history in Antigua. The prosperity of a country is often reflected in the stability of its government. However, a corrupt government will always make its citizen living in suffering. So we can see how corruption will cause a huge negative impact on its people.
Thank you for your post. I didn’t know about corruptions in Antigua and I can’t imagine that there’s such a long history related to corruption in Antigua. This is very new for me since it’s not a common knowledge for me to know. It’s hard to believe what kind of lives the people are living in Antigua
You did a great job on this context research presentation. the post is quite informative about Antigua and really helpful for this week’s reading because I’ve never heard this country before. I’m really shocked at this untroubled corruption and it’s not difficult to get that people there are living a miserable life.
Thank you for your post! Your post really help me learning about the hisstory of Antigua, which is helpful in learning about the history of African slave trade. In my opinion, the history of slave trade is a period of grim history, and it is fortunate that the slaves were liberated.
Hello Jane! I really enjoyed reading your post. I think you did a great job in providing context for the reading and especially Antigua. It is devastating to realize how a corrupted government can have such a great impact on its citizens. It is disheartening to read about slaves and colonization yet again.
Loved the post Jane! Great context and information as well as very attention grabbing. It is very hard to read posts like these knowing what other people are going through and just how corrupt government can be. It really is a very interesting topic to think about learn more about the struggles of foreign governments.