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Main article: History of Barbuda
Archaic period[edit]
The first settlements on Barbuda date to 2,900–3,000 BC with the arrival of Archaic Age people. Some scholars have referred to these first settlers as Ciboney or Siboney. Other scholars say these people were not the Ciboney, who inhabited Cuba, Jamaica, and Haiti, and thus refer to them as Archaic Age people, "Archaic People", or first settlers. These first settlers arrived in Barbuda by canoe and were hunter-gatherers. Sources disagree on whether they came from South America or the Greater Antilles, or from the Yucatán region of Mexico.
Artifacts from the Archaic period include cutting blades made from gastropods, along with hoes, picks, and water containers constructed from conch, trumpet, and whelk shells. Archeological sites have been discovered on the southwest coast of Barbuda, from Coco Point up to River, and the southeast corner of the Lagoon. Additional habitat locations have been found in Codrington, River, Sucking Hole, Factory, and Goat Pen along the coast. At Boiling Rocks, close to Spanish Point, more recent human remains that were carbon-dated as being 3,100 years old were discovered.
Ceramic period[edit]
The successors of the Archaic People were the Arawaks, who were present on Barbuda and Antigua from at least 1,000 BC. Their population on Barbuda peaked between 1,500 and 800 years ago. They likely arrived from present-day Venezuela and Guyana, and used Barbuda for brief stays or seasonal supplies. They lived mostly in the Barbuda Highlands and Spanish Point in the easternmost parts of the island, but six or more village additional sites are known including Sufferers, Indian Town Trail, Highland Road, Guava, and Welches. The Arawaks grew sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts, cotton, tobacco, as well as a variety of other fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants. They also made intricate pottery known as Saladoid. This unique pottery, characterize its white-on-red designs, were decorated with zoned-incised crosshatching. The pottery has been found at Indian Town Trail, close to Two Foot Bay, as well as Sufferers in the Spanish Point region.
The Kalinago people spent time in Barbuda as well. By the time the Europeans arrived, they had probably displaced the Arawaks. The Kalinago preferred the mountainous and well-watered islands of Saint Kitts and Dominica, and visited Barbuda only sometimes to harvest seafood and whatever crops and land animals they could find. In the early 1700s, the British Royal Navy was forced to defend the people of Codrington against Kalinago raids because the Kalinago served as a deterrent to European colonization. The Kalinago called Barbuda "Wa'omoni", which is thought to mean "Island of Herons"; however, it may have also referred to frigate or weather birds, also common on Barbuda.
Colonial period[edit]
Christopher Columbus traveled through the eastern Caribbean south of Antigua in 1493, but it's unclear if he ever sighted Barbuda. Under a Letters Patent granted to the Earl of Carlisle in 1625, Captain Smith and John Littleton attempted to colonize Barbuda from St. Kitts. Barbuda was referred to as "Barbado" in these Letters Patent. Some earlier settlers also called the island "Dulcina". By 1666 the village of Codrington had become the primary residential area. In 1668, a group of about 240 Kalinago attacked the 20 English inhabitants. Eight of settlers died. Around this time, several Europeans were farming on the island on four grants. By 1681, Barbuda was exporting goods to other islands. Ultimately, due to strong Kalinago resistance and drought conditions, this attempt at colonization failed. The island was granted to the Codrington family by the crown in 1685. The colonisers intended Barbuda to be a slave forced reproduction colony but this never went through.
The Codrington family held Barbuda from 1685 to 1870, and were absentee owners of the island. The Codringtons were represented on Barbuda by their resident managers. John Codrington built a castle that eventually became the centrepoint of the village. In March 1710, the castle was attacked by a French force. This force was led by John Bermingham and also resulted in the deaths of several people and some livestock. The slave population in Barbuda grew from 172 in 1746 to 503 in 1831. Due to the increase in the slave population, to increase profits, the Codringtons attempted to transfer some of slaves to Antigua, which was ultimately unsuccessful.
Beach's Rebellion, the first slave rebellion on Barbuda, occurred in 1741 as a result of claims of cruel and inhuman treatment of the island's slaves by the island manager Thomas Beach. This resulted in the killing of several animals, property of the Codringtons damaged, and the escape of several slaves. In 1745, another island manager, named McNish, was killed with seized arms after the mutilation of slaves as a punishment for stealing sheep and cattle. The slaves successfully occupied the Codringtons' castle and its arms and ammunition. To put down the rebellion, soldiers were brought from Antigua, and two slaves (known as "afro heroes") were burned alive in front of the castle at the main gate.
In 1834, slavery was abolished in Barbuda per the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Because the entire island had been covered by a single land grant, the Barbudans kept on autonomous cultivation on communal property after slavery's abolition.
In 1860, Barbuda was annexed as a dependency of Antigua, after the passing of the Barbuda (Extension of Laws of Antigua) Act (c. 43 (Antigua)) in 1859. This made Barbuda subject to the laws of the Antigua colony.
Modern history[edit]
Barbuda was first granted a status of autonomy in 1976, during the concluding era of the Associated State of Antigua. This autonomous status came after the passing of the Barbuda Local Government Act. This established the Barbuda Council, which allowed Barbuda to regulate its own public works, finance, and agriculture, among other activities. The Barbuda Local Government Act was later enshrined in the constitution under the Antigua and Barbuda Constitution of 1981. The Barbuda Council elects a chairperson and a vice chairperson, with Devon Warner serving as chairperson since 2024.
In 1981 the island gained its independence from the United Kingdom as an integral part of Antigua and Barbuda. It remains part of the Commonwealth of Nations, and remains a constitutional monarchy, with Charles III as King of Antigua and Barbuda.
The right for Barbudans to use the island's lands in common was enshrined in the law in 2007 by the Baldwin Spencer-led United Progressive Party government. On April 5, 2007, the Barbuda Council released the final copies of the Barbuda Land Act, which created a land registry, a Barbuda Planning Commission, and a National Park Authority, all subordinate to the council. In 2017, immediately after Hurricane Irma which devastated Barbuda, this was considered the starting point of the Barbuda land grab which has resulted in various policies and laws made by the Gaston Browne-led administration relating to Barbudan land. On August 1, 2023, it was announced by the Barbuda People's Movement, which controls the Barbuda seat in parliament, and controls the council, that a bill proposed and passed days earlier that would end Barbudan communal land ownership, would vow to do everything to reverse the decision, with the council being in support of the stance of the Barbuda People's Movement.
Christianity is the largest religion on the island, and the main ethnic group being those of African descent. English and Barbudan Creole are the most commonly spoken languages on the island. Based on voter registration records, the population of Barbuda has grown significantly since Irma.
