Antigua & Barbuda

1995Hurricane Louis, with gusting winds of up to 190 kilometers per hour, hits St. Marteen. Nine people died and some 7,000 to 10,000 people are rendered homeless. In Anguila, it played havoc with agriculture. In Antigua and Barbuda, losses reached $300 million; the government was bound to implement an austerity program to offset damages to the economy. In St. Kitts & Nevis, hurricanes Louis and Marilyn caused damages for up to $70 million.

1991The death penalty is overridden in the British-ruled Caribbean territories.

1493-1632Christopher Columbus discovers these islands and two centuries later the British occupation begins to eventually make it a colony.

1860Barbuda is annexed to Antigua. The former’s major income sources are tobacco and sugar.

1950Under British tutorship, Antigua and Barbuda hold their first free elections. The Progressive Workers’ Movement and Antigua’s Workers Party, inspired by British workers and seeing only few differences between the two of them, decide to alternate leadership.

1975Antigua and Barbuda agree upon launching a separate quest for independence. Antigua’s Workers Party throws its support behind the independence cause. In 1981, Antigua and Barbuda merge into one Sovereign State associated to the British Commonwealth. It also wins its independence as unified State.