Antigua and Barbuda
, republic ( 171 sq mi/443
sq km; 1990 pop. 60,847), West Indies, in the Leeward Isls.; Saint John's; 17°03'N 61°48'W. It consists of the isl. of
Antigua and 2 smaller isls., Barbuda and Redonda. Antigua is a hilly
isl. with a heavily indented coast, while Barbuda is a flat coral isl.
dominated by a large lagoon on its W side. Redonda is an uninhabited
islet. Tourism is the dominant industry, although agr., fishing, and
mfg. are also pursued. Antigua was sighted by Columbus in 1493 and
named for a Sp. church in Seville. The isls. were successfully
colonized in 1632, when the British introduced sugarcane from St.
Kitts. Barbuda was colonized from Antigua in 1661. The abolition of
slavery in 1834 hurt the sugar industry; sugar has not been
commercially grown on Barbuda since 1985. Antigua and Barbuda, with
Redonda as a dependency, became an associated state of the Commonwealth
in 1967 and achieved full independence in 1981. Two sites are leased to
the U.S. for use as tracking stations for space vehicles and
missiles.
Capital city or county seat is shown by the symbol
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