Alexis Andrews

Barbuda&ImagesAntigua

[ 02 ] [ 03 ]

Zemi , Barbuda 2000 B.C .

Barbuda 4000 years later

[ 04 ] [ 05 ]

Copyright 2007 alexis andrews

Indian Creek Publishing

ISBN-13: 978-0-9790114-0-5

ISBN-10: 0-9790114-0-X

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, transmitted in any form by any means without the prior written

permission of the publisher.

I would like to thank the following photographers for allowing me to use their

images on the pages listed.

Allan Aflak p. 74, 76

Sam Bowles, Bowles Associates p. 81

Eli Fuller p. 44

Roddy Grimes-Graeme p. 29, 50, 69, 83, 95, 100, 114, 143

Ken Maguire p. 88, 89

Alex Portman p. 45, 47, 191.5

Cory Silken p. 152

Rick Tomlinson p. 155

All other photographs copyright 2007 alexis andrews

I would also like to thank Dr. Reginald Murphy and the Museum of

Antigua & Barbuda for allowing me access to their collection of artifacts

and historical archives.

Printed in Hong Kong

[ 06 ] [ 07 ]

[ 08 ]

I n t r o d u c t i o n 14 ]

N a t u r e 28 ]

C u l t u r e 58 ]

B e a c h e s 88 ]

P l a c e s 116 ]

Ya c h t i n g 144 ]

[ 11 ][ 10 ] Starf i shRalph Camacho on board Sexy Sue, 1986

THIS BOOK is a collection of photographs taken over a 20 year

period. It is not meant to be complete in its description of Antigua

& Barbuda but will hopefully serve as an introduction to the

Islands’ diverse visual stimuli and also as a reminder that there is

beauty in the simplest of everyday things.

Some of the images were created for advertising purposes and

some specifically for this book but all were made trying to remain

true to a personal conviction; that if photography is to be

powerful it must somehow be a joy to produce.

My life on this rock has been an incredible journey made special by

the warmth and hospitality of all the people that I have met and

spent time with.

This book is dedicated to all of you.

Indian Creek, 2006

Images

Antiguan Horse Spider [ 13 ][ 12 ]

[ 13 ][ 12 ]

THE FIRST INHABITANTS of Antigua & Barbuda were an archaic Amerindian people called the Siboney. They

arrived by dugout canoe all the way from the Orinoco river basin, settling on various islands along the way.They

were religious, hard working hunters, farmers, manufacturers and artists. They also believed that spirits floated

around them during their daily activities so it was necessary to have powerful objects, zemis, to ward off any evil

that intervened. These zemis, which were created mostly from stone or shells, were often placed in the

middle of a settlement where anyone could touch them and they bore the same symbolic weight as modern

religious idols.

The Siboney or Stone people lived in various places on Antigua & Barbuda and although the names have been

mordernised many of these places remain the same to this day. In Barbuda there are several sites which have been

identified and excavated by archaeologists and remnants of their history are also preserved in an

unofficial open air museum on Barbuda known as Indian Cave. Located on the northeastern coast, it houses a

cavern where two small petroglyphs or rock carvings can be seen. Barbuda later became known for shipwrecks-

trading vessels laden with goods would often run aground on the many coral reefs that litter her circumference.

Barbuda&

by Sandra Gonsalves

In t roduct ion

Antigua

[ 15 ][ 14 ]

AMERINDIAN AGRICULTURAL activities centred around their villages. They were a very resourceful people

who developed tools to make farming less onerous. Conch shells were fashioned to scale fish. Even modern

man has yet to develop a painless method of scaling fish.TodayAntiguan fishermen still suffer the same scraped

knuckles as their Amerindian ancestors. The basic mortar and pestle as we know it was carved out of stone by

the Siboney. This was an extremely important utensil in the Amerindian ‘kitchen’ as it was used to ground

cassava or manioc. After the cassava was ground it was turned into bread.

At a later period, whenArawak indians lived in these islands, acres of fertile land were used to cultivate delicious

fruit and vegetables, many of which remain a staple in Antiguan diets. The most famous is the Antigua black

pineapple.The sweet, slightly tangy flavour of that bright orange-sunset coloured pineapple was nurtured by the

Amerindians. It is one of the few items that linkAntigua & Barbuda with its original inhabitants.The ancient fruit

can still be seen and sampled on Market Street or in the country at Fig Tree Drive. The fruit has also led Antigua

& Barbuda’s adventures abroad as the central element in our coat of arms on the face of our passport.

[ 17 ][ 16 ] Morter & Pest le c . 1500 B.C . Deta i l f rom Arawak pot c . 500 A.D.

ON 11 NOVEMBER 1493 an Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus, working on behalf of the Spanish Crown,

sighted the island whose Amerindian name for several thousand years had been Waladli and boldly renamed it

Santa Maria la Antigua. Strangely enough, Columbus never set foot on either Antigua or Barbuda but a few

centuries later many feet would trample the heavily forested lands that made up the islands’ topography.

Little is known about the naming of Barbuda (it was once called Dulcina) but the 62 square mile island was

settled by an English planter family called Codrington around 1674. Much has changed in Barbuda since then but

the capital still retains the name of Codrington.

After Antigua & Barbuda was initially discovered no Europeans actually landed but as economics changed in

Europe, the sight of large three and four-masted vessels billowing with canvas became the norm on the Caribbean

horizon. Before long these ships and their owners were laying claim to various islands. The French and Dutch

periodically tried to take control of Antigua but by 1666 she was formally retained by the Crown of

England under the Treaty of Breda.

[ 19 ][ 18 ]

AROUND THIS TIME the European sweet tooth became more demanding and the use of the Caribbean as a

sugar producing region evolved. Other derivatives of the sugar cane were molasses and rum and their

combined export produced enormous riches that eventually had to be protected by fortifications and artillery.

Several of these coastal defences are still here today and preserved within the National Park at English and

Falmouth harbours.

By this time theArawak Indians had either died from a mixture of intense labour from enslavement and disease

or wiped out by the fierce Caribs who regularly raided the islands. Even as recently as the early 1800s Caribs

from Dominica would raid Antigua and its plantations, once

carrying off the young wife of a plantation owner who was

kept by the Carib leader for some time in the densely

forested hills of Dominica.

Since the enslavement of Amerindians was

unsuccessful the idea of importing slaves fromAfrica

became a reality when the first ships docked at

Redcliffe Quay. They brought many traditions from

Africa which are still prevalent in Antiguan society

today. The making and use of various pots is of

Ghanaian origins and proves a direct link with the

African continent. Around the same time,

Antigua’s ethnic makeup was beginning to

evolve. In time it would include not only African

and English, but by the early 1800s Portuguese

and by the 1900s Lebanese and Syrian. In the

seventeenth century, however, it was the

economics of slavery that cultivated and

moulded Antigua and the emerging sugar

market.

[ 21 ][ 20 ] Sugarcane

BETTY’S HOPE in Antigua, which was the largest sugar producing estate

and also owned by the Codrington family, still houses two functioning

windmills. Despite being ravaged by natural disasters and the elements of

time the windmills have been restored to their original working state. In

fact, the heavy stone structures of over 100 other stately windmills can

still be seen along the country side.

As the sugar trade continued to boom the planters demanded

protection and by 1725 Antigua became the headquarters

for the Royal British Navy. Antigua's unique coastal

layout allowed the English an advantage of

over their enemies and Admiral Horatio

Nelson who commanded the British

navy from 1784-87 controlled the

West Indian based fleet from Eng-

lish Harbour.A few years after he

left the island for his famous

Battle of Waterloo the Naval

Dockyard was abandoned

and eventually fell into dis-

repair. Ships continued to

visit the Dockyard over the

years but it was not until

much later that things

began to change.

[ 23 ][ 22 ] Canonbal l c .1760

HIGH RES IAMGE TO COME

[ 25 ][ 24 ]

TODAY THE ENTIRE AREA is known as Nelson'sDockyard

National Park and the old naval dockyard has been re-

stored to its former Georgian glory. Canons still stand at

the ready at Barclay Point and Blockhouse near Fort

Shirley while the Admiral’s former residence is now a

museum created through the tireless efforts of the late

and wonderful Desmond Nicholson.

By 1968 there were enough yachts based here that a

regatta was held - the first Antigua Sailing week - and

everyone agreed that it should be held annually and now

along with the Charter Yacht Show in December,

Antigua Sailing Week is considered an important

international event on the Antiguan calendar.

Antiguans and Barbudans are a positive people and each

year inAugust we commemorate emancipation in with a

carnival . For one week during the summer calypsonians

with their melodic rhymes and masqueraders in their

bright colourful costumes perform on stage and in the

streets. A frenzy of loud live music and dance is rife in

several areas of St. John’s.

These days we have an additional celebration in our

calendar year as we were granted independence from

Great Britain in November 1981.

Ash c loud from Montserrat Volacano, Shi r ley Heights Lookout

[ 27 ]

THE TOURISM MARKET CONTINUES to flourish and much like the sugar industry before it, is driven by sales

mostly from both the European and American markets. Although both islands first received much of their

visitors through conventional advertising and word of mouth, one man and his cricket bat played a fair part in

influencing the tourism product. Sir Vivian Richards whose cricketing test match career spanned 17 years

shattered records and left the name Antigua & Barbuda on people’s lips.

Redonda, A large rock protruding from the deep blue depths of Caribbean sea is also considered a part of

Antigua. Redonda’s history includes a phosphate mining business from the 1800s until the early 1900s after

which the island was taken over by goats.An extraordinary set of circumstances also led Redonda to being listed

as a kingdom! Due to the sheer cliffs and lack of good anchorage visitors have been few and far between over

the years and to this day the island is a safe refuge for a nesting booby bird colony-one of the very few between

here and the Galapagos.

Antigua & Baruda’s history is rich, colourful and enchanting but it is perhaps the unchanged places that are still

the most mystical - the same rainforest, the same caves and rocks shaped by time, the swirling seas and the

same beaches where the Amerindians, the first Antiguans, sat quietly peering out to sea. The same spirits that

they welcomed and those that they shunned with their zemis could still be floating around today.

Mining equipment , Redonda[ 26 ]

[ 28 ] [ 29 ]

N a t u r e

[ 30 ] [ 31 ]Thorn tree , ra inforest

Leaf veins Hel iconia[ 32 ] [ 33 ]

&Cassi Claw

[ 34 ] [ 35 ]

Sunset on Darkwood lagoon[ 36 ] [ 37 ]

-

Frangipani (Caribbean Jasmin) the hostplant

Afr ican Egret

Frangipani Hawkmoth Caterp i l lar

[ 38 ] [ 39 ]

[ 58 ] [ 59 ]

C u l t u r e

Coalpot , E lv ie ’s Pottery, Seaview Farm

[ 60 ] [ 61 ]Bookies Bar, A l l Sa ints 1986

[ 62 ] [ 63 ]Barbuda Fisherman, 1986

[ 64 ] [ 65 ]Cornf ie ld Roast Corn on the roads ide

[ 66 ] [ 67 ]Market f ru i t

[ 59 ]

[ 69 ] [ 69 ]Andre , Internat ional Kiteboarding ChampionKai , Ant igua Carniva l Queen

[ 70 ] [ 71 ]Bummy, Sai l ing Week spectator, Standfast Point

[ 74 ] [ 75 ]Ant igua Carniva l

[ 80 ] [ 81 ]S i r Viv ian Richards

April 1986, Antigua Recreation Ground - West Indies vs England.With this bat Sir VivianRichards breaks the world record for the fastest century ever made in a test match

MUSEUM OF ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

[ 88 ] [ 89 ]]