History of Caribbean Countries from Wikipedia

Wallblake House, a plantation house thought to be the oldest building in Anguilla

Anguilla was first settled by Indigenous Amerindian peoples who migrated from South America.^[1] The earliest Native American artefacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300 BC; remains of settlements date from AD 600.^[2][3] There are two known petroglyph sites in Anguilla: Big Spring and Fountain Cavern. The rock ledges of Big Spring contain over 100 petroglyphs (dating back to AD 600-1200), the majority consisting of three indentations that form faces.^[4]

Precisely when Anguilla was first seen by Europeans is uncertain: some sources claim that Columbus sighted the island during his second voyage in 1493, while others state that the first European explorer was the French Huguenot nobleman and merchant René Goulaine de Laudonnière in 1564.^[3] The Dutch West India Company established a fort on the island in 1631. However, the Company later withdrew after its fort was destroyed by the Spanish in 1633.^[5]

Traditional accounts state that Anguilla was first colonised by English settlers from Saint Kitts beginning in 1650.^[6][7][8] The settlers focused on planting tobacco, and to a lesser extent cotton.^[1] The French temporarily took over the island in 1666 but returned it to English control under the terms of the Treaty of Breda the next year.^[1] Major John Scott who visited in September 1667, wrote of leaving the island "in good condition" and noted that in July 1668, "200 or 300 people fled thither in time of war".^[9] The French attacked again in 1688, 1745 and 1798, causing much destruction but failing to capture the island.^[1][3]

It is likely that the early European settlers brought enslaved Africans with them. Historians confirm that African slaves lived in the region in the early 17th century, such as slaves from Senegal living on St Kitts in the mid 1600s.^[10] By 1672 a slave depot existed on the island of Nevis, serving the Leeward Islands.^{[citation needed]} While the time of African arrival in Anguilla is difficult to place precisely, archival evidence indicates a substantial African presence of at least 100 enslaved people by 1683; these seem to have come from Central Africa as well as West Africa.^[11] The slaves were forced to work on the sugar plantations which had begun to replace tobacco as Anguilla's main crop.^[1] Over time the African slaves and their descendants came to vastly outnumber the white settlers.^[1] The African slave trade was eventually terminated within the British Empire in 1807, and slavery outlawed completely in 1834.^[1] Many planters subsequently sold up or left the island.^[1]

During the early colonial period, Anguilla was administered by the British through Antigua; in 1825, it was placed under the administrative control of nearby Saint Kitts.^[3] Anguilla was federated with St Kitts and Nevis in 1882, against the wishes of many Anguillans.^[1] Economic stagnation, and the severe effects of several droughts in the 1890s and later the Great Depression of the 1930s led many Anguillans to emigrate for better prospects elsewhere.^[1]

Flag of the short-lived Republic of Anguilla

Full adult suffrage was introduced to Anguilla in 1952.^[1] After a brief period as part of the West Indies Federation (1958–62), the island of Anguilla became part of the associated state of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla with full internal autonomy in 1967.^[12] However many Anguillans had no wish to be a part of this union, and resented the dominance of St Kitts within it. On 30 May 1967 Anguillans forcibly ejected the St Kitts police force from the island and declared their separation from St Kitts following a referendum.^[13][1][14] The events, led by Atlin Harrigan^[15] and Ronald Webster among others, became known as the Anguillan Revolution; its goal was not independence per se, but rather independence from Saint Kitts and Nevis and a return to being a British colony.

With negotiations failing to break the deadlock, a second referendum confirming Anguillans' desire for separation from St Kitts was held and the Republic of Anguilla was declared unilaterally, with Ronald Webster as president. Efforts by British envoy William Whitlock failed to break the impasse and 300 British troops were subsequently sent in March 1969.^[1] British authority was restored, and confirmed by the Anguilla Act of July 1971.^[1] In 1980, Anguilla was finally allowed to formally secede from Saint Kitts and Nevis and become a separate British Crown colony (now a British overseas territory).^{[16][17][12][18][1]} Since then, Anguilla has been politically stable, and has seen a large growth in its tourism and offshore financing sectors.^[1]

Pre-colonial period

Antigua was first settled by archaic age hunter-gatherer Amerindians called the Ciboney.^[1][2][3] Carbon dating has established the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC.^[4] They were succeeded by the ceramic age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River.^{[citation needed]} They introduced agriculture, raising, among other crops, the famous Antigua black pineapple (Ananas comosus), corn, sweet potatoes, chiles, guava, tobacco, and cotton.^[5] Later on the more bellicose Caribs also settled the island, possibly by force.

Antigua in 1823

European arrival and settlement

Christopher Columbus was the first European to sight the islands in 1493.^[2][3] The Spanish did not colonise Antigua until after a combination of European and African diseases, malnutrition, and slavery eventually extirpated most of the native population; smallpox was probably the greatest killer.^[6]

The English settled on Antigua in 1632;^[3][2] Christopher Codrington settled on Barbuda in 1685.^[3][2] Tobacco and then sugar was grown, worked by a large population of slaves from West Africa who soon came to vastly outnumber the European settlers.^[2]

Colonial era

The English maintained control of the islands, repulsing an attempted French attack in 1666.^[2] The brutal conditions endured by the slaves led to revolts in 1701 and 1729 and a planned revolt in 1736, the last led by Prince Klaas, though it was discovered before it began and the ringleaders were executed.^[7] Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833, affecting the economy.^[3][2] This was exacerbated by natural disasters such as the 1843 earthquake and the 1847 hurricane.^[2] Mining occurred on the isle of Redonda, however this ceased in 1929 and the island has since remained uninhabited.^[8]

Part of the Leeward Islands colony, Antigua and Barbuda became part of the short-lived West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962.^[3][2] Antigua and Barbuda subsequently became an associated state of the United Kingdom with full internal autonomy on 27 February 1967.^[2] The 1970s were dominated by discussions as to the islands' future and the rivalry between Vere Bird of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) (Premier from 1967 to 1971 and 1976 to 1981) and the Progressive Labour Movement (PLM) of George Walter (Premier 1971–1976). Eventually Antigua and Barbuda gained full independence on 1 November 1981; Vere Bird became Prime Minister of the new country.^[2] The country opted to remain within the Commonwealth, retaining Queen Elizabeth as head of state, with the last Governor, Sir Wilfred Jacobs, as Governor-General.

The Queen on 1953 Antiguan stamps

Independence era

The first two decades of Antigua's independence were dominated politically by the Bird family and the ABLP, with Vere Bird ruling from 1981 to 1994, followed by his son Lester Bird from 1994 to 2004.^[2] Though providing a degree of political stability, and boosting tourism to the country, the Bird governments were frequently accused of corruption, cronyism and financial malfeasance.^[3][2] Vere Bird Jr., the elder son, was forced to leave the cabinet in 1990 following a scandal in which he was accused of smuggling Israeli weapons to Colombian drug-traffickers.^[9][10][3] Another son, Ivor Bird, was convicted of selling cocaine in 1995.^[11][12]

In 1995, Hurricane Luis caused severe damage on Barbuda.^[13]

The ABLP's dominance of Antiguan politics ended with the 2004 Antiguan general election, which was won by Winston Baldwin Spencer's United Progressive Party (UPP).^[2] Winston Baldwin Spencer was Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014.^[14] However the UPP lost the 2014 Antiguan general election, with the ABLP returning to power under Gaston Browne.^[15] ABLP won 15 of the 17 seats in the 2018 snap election under the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister Gaston Browne.^[16]

Most of Barbuda was devastated in early September 2017 by Hurricane Irma, which brought winds with speeds reaching 295 km/h (185 mph). The storm damaged or destroyed 95% of the island's buildings and infrastructure, leaving Barbuda "barely habitable" according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne. Nearly everyone on the island was evacuated to Antigua.^[17] Amidst the following rebuilding efforts on Barbuda that were estimated to cost at least $100 million,^[18] the government announced plans to revoke a century old law of communal land ownership by allowing residents to buy land; a move that has been criticised as promoting "disaster capitalism".^[19]

Pre-colonial era

Arawak petroglyphs in the Ayo Rocks

There has been a human presence on Aruba from as early as circa 2000 BC.^[1] The first identifiable group are the Arawak Caquetío Amerindians who migrated from South America about 1000 AD.^[1][2] Archaeological evidence suggests continuing links between these native Arubans and Amerindian peoples of mainland South America.^[3]

Spanish colonization

The first Europeans to visit Aruba were Amerigo Vespucci and Alonso de Ojeda in 1499, who claimed the island for Spain.^[1] Both men described Aruba as an "island of giants", remarking on the comparatively large stature of the native Caquetíos.^[3] Vespucci returned to Spain with stocks of cotton and brazilwood from the island and described houses built into the ocean.^[4] Vespucci and Ojeda's tales spurred interest in Aruba, and the Spanish began colonising the island.^[5][6] Alonso de Ojeda was appointed the island's first governor in 1508. From 1513 the Spanish began enslaving the Caquetíos, sending many to a life of forced labour in the mines of Hispaniola.^[3][1] The island's low rainfall and arid landscape meant that it was not considered profitable for a slave-based plantation system, so the type of large-scale slavery so common on other Caribbean islands never became established on Aruba.^[7]

Early Dutch period

Remains of a gold mill at Bushiribana

The Netherlands seized Aruba from Spain in 1636 in the course of the Thirty Years' War.^[8][1] Peter Stuyvesant, later appointed to New Amsterdam (New York), was the first Dutch governor. Those Arawak who had survived the depredations of the Spanish were allowed to farm and graze livestock, with the Dutch using the island as a source of meat for their other possessions in the Caribbean.^[3][1] Aruba's proximity to South America resulted in interactions with the cultures of the coastal areas; for example, architectural similarities can be seen between the 19th-century parts of Oranjestad and the nearby Venezuelan city of Coro in Falcón State.^{[citation needed]} Historically, Dutch was not widely spoken on the island outside of colonial administration; its use increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^[9] Students on Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire were taught predominantly in Spanish until the late 18th century.^[10]

During the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire took control of the island, occupying it between 1806 and 1816, before handing it back to the Dutch as per the terms of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814.^{[3][8][11][1]} Aruba subsequently became part of the Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies along with Bonaire. During the 19th century, an economy based on gold mining, phosphate production and aloe vera plantations developed, but the island remained a relatively poor backwater.^[3]

20th and 21st centuries

The first oil refinery in Aruba was built in 1928 by Royal Dutch Shell. The facility was built just to the west of the capital city, Oranjestad, and was commonly called the Eagle. Immediately following that, another refinery was built by Lago Oil and Transport Company, in an area now known as San Nicolas on the east end of Aruba. The refineries processed crude oil from the vast Venezuelan oil fields, bringing greater prosperity to the island.^[12] The refinery on Aruba grew to become one of the largest in the world.^[3]

During World War II, the Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany. In 1940, the oil facilities in Aruba came under the administration of the Dutch government-in-exile in London, causing them to be attacked by the German navy in 1942.^[3][13]

In August 1947, Aruba formulated its first Staatsreglement (constitution) for Aruba's status aparte as an autonomous state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, prompted by the efforts of Henny Eman, a noted Aruban politician. By 1954, the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, providing a framework for relations between Aruba and the rest of the Kingdom.^[14] That created the Netherlands Antilles, which united all of the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean into one administrative structure.^[15] Many Arubans were unhappy with the arrangement, however, as the new polity was perceived as being dominated by Curaçao.^[8]

Betico Croes, a pivotal figure in Aruba's drive for greater autonomy in the 1970s-80s

In 1972, at a conference in Suriname, Betico Croes, a politician from Aruba, proposed the creation of a Dutch Commonwealth of four states: Aruba, the Netherlands, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles, each to have its own nationality. Backed by his newly created party, the Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo, Croes sought greater autonomy for Aruba, with the long-term goal of independence, adopting the trappings of an independent state in 1976 with the creation of a flag and national anthem.^[3] In March 1977, a referendum was held with the support of the United Nations. 82% of the participants voted for complete independence from the Netherlands.^[3][16] Tensions mounted as Croes stepped up the pressure on the Dutch government by organising a general strike in 1977.^[3] Croes later met with Dutch Prime Minister Joop den Uyl, with the two sides agreeing to assign the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague to prepare a study for independence, entitled Aruba en Onafhankelijkheid, achtergronden, modaliteiten, en mogelijkheden; een rapport in eerste aanleg (Aruba and independence, backgrounds, modalities, and opportunities; a preliminary report) (1978).^[3]

Autonomy

In March 1983, Aruba reached an official agreement within the Kingdom for its independence, to be developed in a series of steps as the Crown granted increasing autonomy. In August 1985, Aruba drafted a constitution that was unanimously approved. On 1 January 1986, after elections were held for its first parliament, Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles, officially becoming a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with full independence planned for 1996.^[3] However, Croes was seriously injured in a traffic accident in 1985, slipping into a coma. He died in 1986, never seeing the enacting of status aparte for Aruba for which he had worked over many years.^[3]

After his death, Croes was proclaimed Libertador di Aruba.^[3] Croes' successor, Henny Eman, of the Aruban People's Party (AVP), became the first Prime Minister of Aruba. In 1985, Aruba's oil refinery had closed. It had provided Aruba with 30 percent of its real income and 50 percent of government revenue.^[17] The significant blow to the economy led to a push for a dramatic increase in tourism, and that sector has expanded to become the island's largest industry.^[3] At a convention in The Hague in 1990, at the request of Aruba's Prime Minister Nelson Oduber, the governments of Aruba, the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Antilles postponed indefinitely Aruba's transition to full independence.^[3] The article scheduling Aruba's complete independence was rescinded in 1995, although it was decided that the process could be revived after another referendum.

Geological history

It was generally believed, according to scientists, that the Bahamas were formed in approximately 200 million years ago, when Pangaea started to break apart. In current times, it endures as an archipelago containing over 700 islands and cays, fringed around different coral reefs.^{[citation needed]}

Pre-colonial era

The first inhabitants of the Bahamas were the Taino people, who moved into the uninhabited southern islands from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 800s–1000s AD, having migrated there from South America; they came to be known as the Lucayan people.^[1] An estimated 30,000 Lucayans inhabited the Bahamas at the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1492.^[2]

Arrival of the Spanish

A depiction of Columbus's first landing, claiming possession of the New World for the Crown of Castile in caravels; the Niña and the Pinta, on Watling Island, an island of the Bahamas that the natives called Guanahani and that he named San Salvador, on 12 October 1492.^[3]

Columbus's first landfall in what was to Europeans a "New World" was on an island he named San Salvador (known to the Lucayans as Guanahani). Whilst there is a general consensus that this island lay within the Bahamas, precisely which island Columbus landed on is a matter of scholarly debate. Some researchers believe the site to be present-day San Salvador Island (formerly known as Watling's Island), situated in the southeastern Bahamas, whilst an alternative theory holds that Columbus landed to the southeast on Samana Cay, according to calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic writer and editor Joseph Judge, based on Columbus's log. On the landfall island, Columbus made first contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with them, claiming the islands for the Crown of Castile, before proceeding to explore the larger isles of the Greater Antilles.^[1]

The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas theoretically divided the new territories between the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal, placing the Bahamas in the Spanish sphere; however they did little to press their claim on the ground. The Spanish did however exploit the native Lucayan peoples, many of whom were enslaved and sent to Hispaniola for use as forced labour.^[1] The slaves suffered harsh conditions and most died from contracting diseases to which they had no immunity; half of the Taino died from smallpox alone.^[4] As a result of these depredations the population of the Bahamas was severely diminished.^[5]

Arrival of the English

The English had expressed an interest in the Bahamas as early as 1629. However, it was not until 1648 that the first English settlers arrived on the islands. Known as the Eleutherian Adventurers and led by William Sayle, they migrated from Bermuda seeking greater religious freedom. These English Puritans established the first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleuthera, Greek for freedom. They later settled New Providence, naming it Sayle's Island. Life proved harder than envisaged however, and many – including Sayle – chose to return to Bermuda.^[1] To survive, the remaining settlers salvaged goods from wrecks.

In 1670, King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas in North America. They rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing governors, and administering the country from their base on New Providence.^[6][1] Piracy and attacks from hostile foreign powers were a constant threat. In 1684, Spanish corsair Juan de Alcon raided the capital Charles Town (later renamed Nassau),^[7] and in 1703, a joint Franco-Spanish expedition briefly occupied Nassau during the War of the Spanish Succession.^[8][9]

18th century

Continental Marines land at New Providence during the Battle of Nassau in 1776

Sign at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park commemorating hundreds of African-American slaves who escaped to freedom in the early 1820s in The Bahamas

During proprietary rule, the Bahamas became a haven for pirates, including Blackbeard (circa 1680–1718).^[10] To put an end to the "Pirates' republic" and restore orderly government, Britain made the Bahamas a crown colony in 1718, which they dubbed "the Bahama islands" under the royal governorship of Woodes Rogers.^[1] After a difficult struggle, he succeeded in suppressing piracy.^[11] In 1720, the Spanish attacked Nassau during the War of the Quadruple Alliance. In 1729, a local assembly was established giving a degree of self-governance for British settlers.^[1][12] The reforms had been planned by the previous Governor George Phenney and authorised in July 1728.^[13]

During the American War of Independence in the late 18th century, the islands became a target for US naval forces. Under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins, US Marines, the US Navy occupied Nassau in 1776, before being evacuated a few days later. In 1782 a Spanish fleet appeared off the coast of Nassau, and the city surrendered without a fight. Later, in April 1783, on a visit made by Prince William of the United Kingdom (later to become King William IV) to Luis de Unzaga at his residence in the Captaincy General of Havana, they made prisoner exchange agreements and also dealt with the preliminaries of the Treaty of Paris (1783), in which the recently conquered Bahamas would be exchanged for East Florida, which would still have to conquer the city of St. Augustine, Florida in 1784 by order of Luis de Unzaga; after that, also in 1784, the Bahamas would be declared a British colony.^[14]

After US independence, the British resettled some 7,300 Loyalists with their African slaves in the Bahamas, including 2,000 from New York^[15] and at least 1,033 European, 2,214 African ancestrals and a few Native American Creeks from East Florida. Most of the refugees resettled from New York had fled from other colonies, including West Florida, which the Spanish captured during the war.^[16] The government granted land to the planters to help compensate for losses on the continent. These Loyalists, who included Deveaux and also Lord Dunmore, established plantations on several islands and became a political force in the capital.^[1] European Americans were outnumbered by the African-American slaves they brought with them, and ethnic Europeans remained a minority in the territory.

19th century

The Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished slave trading to British possessions, including the Bahamas. The United Kingdom pressured other slave-trading countries to also abolish slave-trading, and gave the Royal Navy the right to intercept ships carrying slaves on the high seas.^[17][18] Thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy were resettled in the Bahamas.

In the 1820s during the period of the Seminole Wars in Florida, hundreds of North American slaves and African Seminoles escaped from Cape Florida to the Bahamas. They settled mostly on northwest Andros Island, where they developed the village of Red Bays. From eyewitness accounts, 300 escaped in a mass flight in 1823, aided by Bahamians in 27 sloops, with others using canoes for the journey. This was commemorated in 2004 by a large sign at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.^[19][20] Some of their descendants in Red Bays continue African Seminole traditions in basket making and grave marking.^[21]

In 1818,^[22] the Home Office in London had ruled that "any slave brought to the Bahamas from outside the British West Indies would be manumitted." This led to a total of nearly 300 enslaved people owned by US nationals being freed from 1830 to 1835.^[23] The American slave ships Comet and Encomium used in the United States domestic coastwise slave trade, were wrecked off Abaco Island in December 1830 and February 1834, respectively. When wreckers took the masters, passengers and slaves into Nassau, customs officers seized the slaves and British colonial officials freed them, over the protests of the Americans. There were 165 slaves on the Comet and 48 on the Encomium. The United Kingdom finally paid an indemnity to the United States in those two cases in 1855, under the Treaty of Claims of 1853, which settled several compensation cases between the two countries.^[24][25]

The lighthouse in Great Isaac Cay.

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire on 1 August 1834.^[1] After that British colonial officials freed 78 North American slaves from the Enterprise, which went into Bermuda in 1835; and 38 from the Hermosa, which wrecked off Abaco Island in 1840.^[26] The most notable case was that of the Creole in 1841: as a result of a slave revolt on board, the leaders ordered the US brig to Nassau. It was carrying 135 slaves from Virginia destined for sale in New Orleans. The Bahamian officials freed the 128 slaves who chose to stay in the islands. The Creole case has been described as the "most successful slave revolt in U.S. history".^[27]

These incidents, in which a total of 447 enslaved people belonging to US nationals were freed from 1830 to 1842, increased tension between the United States and the United Kingdom. They had been co-operating in patrols to suppress the international slave trade. However, worried about the stability of its large domestic slave trade and its value, the United States argued that the United Kingdom should not treat its domestic ships that came to its colonial ports under duress as part of the international trade. The United States worried that the success of the Creole slaves in gaining freedom would encourage more slave revolts on merchant ships.

During the American Civil War of the 1860s, the islands briefly prospered as a focus for blockade runners aiding the Confederate States.^[28][29]

Early 20th century

The early decades of the 20th century were ones of hardship for many Bahamians, characterised by a stagnant economy and widespread poverty. Many eked out a living via subsistence agriculture or fishing.^[1]

The Duke of Windsor (briefly King Edward VIII) and Governor of the Bahamas from 1940 to 1945

In August 1940, the Duke of Windsor was appointed Governor of the Bahamas. He arrived in the colony with his wife. Although disheartened at the condition of Government House, they "tried to make the best of a bad situation".^[30] He did not enjoy the position, and referred to the islands as "a third-class British colony".^[31] He opened the small local parliament on 29 October 1940. The couple visited the "Out Islands" that November, on Axel Wenner-Gren's yacht, which caused controversy;^[32] the British Foreign Office strenuously objected because they had been advised by United States intelligence that Wenner-Gren was a close friend of the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring of Nazi Germany.^[32][33]

The Duke was praised at the time for his efforts to combat poverty on the islands. A 1991 biography by Philip Ziegler, however, described him as contemptuous of the Bahamians and other non-European peoples of the Empire. He was praised for his resolution of civil unrest over low wages in Nassau in June 1942, when there was a "full-scale riot".^[34] Ziegler said that the Duke blamed the trouble on "mischief makers – communists" and "men of Central European Jewish descent, who had secured jobs as a pretext for obtaining a deferment of draft".^[35] The Duke resigned from the post on 16 March 1945.^[36][37]

Post-Second World War

The Bahamas used to be a Crown colony until it gained independence in 1973

Modern political development began after the Second World War. The first political parties were formed in the 1950s, split broadly along ethnic lines, with the United Bahamian Party (UBP) representing the English-descended Bahamians (known informally as the "Bay Street Boys")^[38] and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) representing the Afro-Bahamian majority.^[1]

A new constitution granting the Bahamas internal autonomy went into effect on 7 January 1964, with Chief Minister Sir Roland Symonette of the UBP becoming the first Premier.^{[39]: p.73 [40]} In 1967, Lynden Pindling of the PLP became the first black Premier of the Bahamian colony; in 1968, the title of the position was changed to Prime Minister. In 1968, Pindling announced that the Bahamas would seek full independence.^[41] A new constitution giving the Bahamas increased control over its own affairs was adopted in 1968.^[42] In 1971, the UBP merged with a disaffected faction of the PLP to form a new party, the Free National Movement (FNM), a de-racialised, centre-right party which aimed to counter the growing power of Pindling's PLP.^[43]

The British House of Lords voted to give The Bahamas its independence on 22 June 1973.^[44] Prince Charles delivered the official documents to Prime Minister Lynden Pindling, officially declaring The Bahamas a fully independent nation on 10 July 1973,^[45] and this date is now celebrated as the country's Independence Day.^[46] It joined the Commonwealth of Nations on the same day.^[47] Sir Milo Butler was appointed the first governor-general of The Bahamas (the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II) shortly after independence.^[48]

Post-independence

Shortly after independence, The Bahamas joined the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on 22 August 1973,^[49] and later the United Nations on 18 September 1973.^[50]

Politically, the first two decades were dominated by Pindling's PLP, who went on to win a string of electoral victories. Allegations of corruption, links with drug cartels and financial malfeasance within the Bahamian government failed to dent Pindling's popularity. Meanwhile, the economy underwent a dramatic growth period fuelled by the twin pillars of tourism and offshore finance, significantly raising the standard of living on the islands. The Bahamas' booming economy led to it becoming a beacon for immigrants, most notably from Haiti.^[1]

Hurricane Dorian's destruction in the Bahamas

In 1992, Pindling was unseated by Hubert Ingraham of the FNM.^[39]: p.78 Ingraham went on to win the 1997 Bahamian general election, before being defeated in 2002, when the PLP returned to power under Perry Christie.^[39]: p.82 Ingraham returned to power from 2007 to 2012, followed by Christie again from 2012 to 2017. With economic growth faltering, Bahamians re-elected the FNM in 2017, with Hubert Minnis becoming the fourth prime minister.^[1]

In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian struck the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama at Category 5 intensity, devastating the northwestern Bahamas. The storm inflicted at least US$7 billion in damages and killed more than 50 people,^[51][52] with 1,300 people still missing.^[53]

In September 2021, the ruling Free National Movement lost to the opposition Progressive Liberal Party in a snap election, as the economy struggles to recover from its deepest crash since at least 1971.^[54][55] Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won 32 of the 39 seats in the House of Assembly. Free National Movement (FNM), led by Minnis, took the remaining seats.^[56] On 17 September 2021, the chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Phillip “Brave” Davis was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Bahamas to succeed Hubert Minnis.^[57]

Pre-colonial period

Archeological evidence suggests humans may have first settled or visited the island circa 1600 BC.^[1][2][3] More permanent Amerindian settlement of Barbados dates to about the 4th to 7th centuries AD, by a group known as the Saladoid-Barrancoid.^[4] The two main groups were the Arawaks from South America, who became dominant around 800–1200 AD, and the more war-like Kalinago (Island Caribs) who arrived from South America in the 12th–13th centuries.^[1]

European arrival

Spanish map of the island (1632)

It is uncertain which European nation arrived first in Barbados, which probably would have been at some point in the 15th century or 16th century. One lesser-known source points to earlier revealed works antedating contemporary sources, indicating it could have been the Spanish.^[5] Many, if not most, believe the Portuguese, en route to Brazil,^[6][7] were the first Europeans to come upon the island. The island was largely ignored by Europeans, though Spanish slave raiding is thought to have reduced the native population, with many fleeing to other islands.^[1][8]

English settlement in the 17th century

George Washington House was visited by George Washington in 1751, in what is believed to have been his only trip outside the present-day United States.^[9]

The first English ship, which had arrived on 14 May 1625, was captained by John Powell. The first settlement began on 17 February 1627, near what is now Holetown (formerly Jamestown, after King James I of England),^[10] by a group led by John Powell's younger brother, Henry, consisting of 80 settlers and 10 English indentured labourers.^[11] Some sources state that some Africans were amongst these first settlers.^[1]

The settlement was established as a proprietary colony and funded by Sir William Courten, a City of London merchant who acquired the title to Barbados and several other islands. The first colonists were actually tenants, and much of the profits of their labour returned to Courten and his company.^[12] Courten's title was later transferred to James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, in what was called the "Great Barbados Robbery".^{[citation needed]} Carlisle then chose as governor Henry Hawley, who established the House of Assembly in 1639, in an effort to appease the planters, who might otherwise have opposed his controversial appointment.^[1][13]

In the period 1640–1660, the West Indies attracted over two-thirds of the total number of English emigrants to the Americas. By 1650 there were 44,000 settlers in the West Indies, as compared to 12,000 on the Chesapeake and 23,000 in New England. Most English arrivals were indentured. After five years of labour, they were given "freedom dues" of about £10, usually in goods. Before the mid-1630s, they also received 5 to 10 acres (2 to 4 hectares) of land, but after that time the island filled and there was no more free land. During the Cromwellian era (1650s) this included a large number of prisoners-of-war, vagrants and people who were illicitly kidnapped, who were forcibly transported to the island and sold as servants. These last two groups were predominantly Irish, as several thousand were infamously rounded up by English merchants and sold into servitude in Barbados and other Caribbean islands during this period, a practice that came to be known as being Barbadosed.^[13][14] Cultivation of tobacco, cotton, ginger and indigo was thus handled primarily by European indentured labour until the start of the sugar cane industry in the 1640s and the growing reliance on and importation of enslaved Africans.

Parish registers from the 1650s show that for the white population, there were four times as many deaths as marriages. The mainstay of the infant colony's economy was the growth export of tobacco, but tobacco prices eventually fell in the 1630s as Chesapeake production expanded.^[13]

Effects of the English Civil War

Around the same time, fighting during the War of the Three Kingdoms and the Interregnum spilled over into Barbados and Barbadian territorial waters. The island was not involved in the war until after the execution of Charles I, when the island's government fell under the control of Royalists (ironically the Governor, Philip Bell, remaining loyal to Parliament while the Barbadian House of Assembly, under the influence of Humphrey Walrond, supported Charles II). To try to bring the recalcitrant colony to heel, the Commonwealth Parliament passed an act on 3 October 1650 prohibiting trade between England and Barbados, and because the island also traded with the Netherlands, further Navigation Acts were passed, prohibiting any but English vessels trading with Dutch colonies. These acts were a precursor to the First Anglo-Dutch War. The Commonwealth of England sent an invasion force under the command of Sir George Ayscue, which arrived in October 1651. Ayscue, with a smaller force that included Scottish prisoners, surprised a larger force of Royalists, but had to resort to spying and diplomacy ultimately. On 11 January 1652, the Royalists in the House of Assembly led by Lord Willoughby surrendered, which marked the end of royalist privateering as a major threat.^[15] The conditions of the surrender were incorporated into the Charter of Barbados (Treaty of Oistins), which was signed at the Mermaid's Inn, Oistins, on 17 January 1652.^[16]

Irish people in Barbados

Starting with Cromwell, a large percentage of the white labourer population were indentured servants and involuntarily transported people from Ireland. Irish servants in Barbados were often treated poorly, and Barbadian planters gained a reputation for cruelty.^[17]: 55 The decreased appeal of an indenture on Barbados, combined with enormous demand for labour caused by sugar cultivation, led to the use of involuntary transportation to Barbados as a punishment for crimes, or for political prisoners, and also to the kidnapping of labourers who were sent to Barbados involuntarily.^[17]: 55 Irish indentured servants were a significant portion of the population throughout the period when white servants were used for plantation labour in Barbados, and while a "steady stream" of Irish servants entered the Barbados throughout the seventeenth century, Cromwellian efforts to pacify Ireland created a "veritable tidal wave" of Irish labourers who were sent to Barbados during the 1650s.^[17]: 56 Due to inadequate historical records, the total number of Irish labourers sent to Barbados is unknown, and estimates have been "highly contentious".^[17]: 56 While one historical source estimated that as many as 50,000 Irish people were transported to either Barbados or Virginia unwillingly during the 1650s, this estimate is "quite likely exaggerated".^[17]: 56 Another estimate that 12,000 Irish prisoners had arrived in Barbados by 1655 has been described as "probably exaggerated" by historian Richard B. Sheridan.^[18]: 236 According to historian Thomas Bartlett, it is "generally accepted" that approximately 10,000 Irish were sent to the West Indies involuntarily, and approximately 40,000 came as voluntary indentured servants, while many also travelled as voluntary, un-indentured emigrants.^[19]: 256

The sugar revolution

The introduction of sugar cane from Dutch Brazil in 1640 completely transformed society, the economy and the physical landscape. Barbados eventually had one of the world's biggest sugar industries.^[20] One group instrumental in ensuring the early success of the industry was the Sephardic Jews, who had originally been expelled from the Iberian peninsula, to end up in Dutch Brazil.^[20] As the effects of the new crop increased, so did the shift in the ethnic composition of Barbados and surrounding islands.^[13] The workable sugar plantation required a large investment and a great deal of heavy labour. At first, Dutch traders supplied the equipment, financing, and enslaved Africans, in addition to transporting most of the sugar to Europe.^[13][1] In 1644 the population of Barbados was estimated at 30,000, of which about 800 were of African descent, with the remainder mainly of English descent. These English smallholders were eventually bought out and the island filled up with large sugar plantations worked by enslaved Africans.^[1] By 1660 there was near parity with 27,000 blacks and 26,000 whites. By 1666 at least 12,000 white smallholders had been bought out, died, or left the island, many choosing to emigrate to Jamaica or the American Colonies (notably the Carolinas).^[1] As a result, Barbados enacted a slave code as a way of legislatively controlling its black enslaved population.^[21] The law's text was influential in laws in other colonies.^[22]

By 1680 there were 20,000 free whites and 46,000 enslaved Africans;^[1] by 1724, there were 18,000 free whites and 55,000 enslaved Africans.^[13]

18th and 19th centuries

Statue of Bussa, Bridgetown. Bussa led the largest slave rebellion in Barbadian history.

The harsh conditions endured by the slaves resulted in several planned slave rebellions, the largest of which was Bussa's rebellion in 1816 which was suppressed by British troops.^[1] Growing opposition to slavery led to its abolition in the British Empire in 1833.^[1] The plantocracy class retained control of political and economic power on the island, with most workers living in relative poverty.^[1]

The 1780 hurricane killed over 4,000 people on Barbados.^[23][24] In 1854, a cholera epidemic killed over 20,000 inhabitants.^[25]

20th century before independence

Deep dissatisfaction with the situation on Barbados led many to emigrate.^[1][26] Things came to a head in the 1930s during the Great Depression, as Barbadians began demanding better conditions for workers, the legalisation of trade unions and a widening of the franchise, which at that point was limited to male property owners.^[1] As a result of the increasing unrest the British sent a commission, called the West Indies Royal Commission, or Moyne Commission, in 1938, which recommended enacting many of the requested reforms on the islands.^[1] As a result, Afro-Barbadians began to play a much more prominent role in the colony's politics, with universal suffrage being introduced in 1950.^[1]

Prominent among these early activists was Grantley Herbert Adams, who helped found the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) in 1938.^[27] He became the first Premier of Barbados in 1953, followed by fellow BLP-founder Hugh Gordon Cummins from 1958 to 1961. A group of left-leaning politicians who advocated swifter moves to independence broke off from the BLP and founded the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in 1955.^[28][29] The DLP subsequently won the 1961 Barbadian general election and their leader Errol Barrow became premier.

Full internal self-government was enacted in 1961.^[1] Barbados joined the short-lived West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962, later gaining full independence on 30 November 1966.^[1] Errol Barrow became the country's first prime minister. Barbados opted to remain within the Commonwealth of Nations.

The effect of independence meant that the Queen of the United Kingdom ceased to have sovereignty over Barbados, but the island chose to remain a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as Queen of Barbados. The Monarch was represented locally by a Governor-General.^[30]

Post-independence era

The Barrow government sought to diversify the economy away from agriculture, seeking to boost industry and the tourism sector. Barbados was also at the forefront of regional integration efforts, spearheading the creation of CARIFTA and CARICOM.^[1] The DLP lost the 1976 Barbadian general election to the BLP under Tom Adams. Adams adopted a more conservative and strongly pro-Western stance, allowing the Americans to use Barbados as the launchpad for their invasion of Grenada in 1983.^[31] Adams died in office in 1985 and was replaced by Harold Bernard St. John; however, St. John lost the 1986 Barbadian general election, which saw the return of the DLP under Errol Barrow, who had been highly critical of the US intervention in Grenada. Barrow, too, died in office, and was replaced by Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, who remained Prime Minister until 1994.

Owen Arthur of the BLP won the 1994 Barbadian general election, remaining Prime Minister until 2008. Arthur was a strong advocate of republicanism, though a planned referendum to replace Queen Elizabeth as Head of State in 2008 never took place.^[32] The DLP won the 2008 Barbadian general election, but the new Prime Minister David Thompson died in 2010 and was replaced by Freundel Stuart. The BLP returned to power in 2018 under Mia Mottley, who became Barbados's first female Prime Minister.^[33]

Transition to republic

The Government of Barbados announced on 15 September 2020 that it intended to become a republic by 30 November 2021, the 55th anniversary of its independence resulting in the replacement of the hereditary monarch of Barbados with an elected president.^[34][35] Barbados would then cease to be a Commonwealth realm, but could maintain membership in the Commonwealth of Nations, like Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.^{[36][37][38][39]}

On 20 September 2021, just over a full year after the announcement for the transition was made, the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2021 was introduced to the Parliament of Barbados. Passed on 6 October, the Bill made amendments to the Constitution of Barbados, introducing the office of the President of Barbados to replace the role of Elizabeth II, Queen of Barbados.^[40] The following week, on 12 October 2021, incumbent Governor-General of Barbados Sandra Mason was jointly nominated by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition as candidate to be the first President of Barbados,^[41] and was subsequently elected on 20 October.^[42] Mason took office on 30 November 2021.^[43] Prince Charles, who was heir apparent to the Barbadian Crown, attended the swearing-in ceremony in Bridgetown at the invitation of the Government of Barbados.^[44]

Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of congratulations to President Mason and the people of Barbados, saying: "As you celebrate this momentous day, I send you and all Barbadians my warmest good wishes for your happiness, peace and prosperity in the future."^[45]

A survey was taken between October 23, 2021 and November 10, 2021 by the University of the West Indies that showed 34% of respondents being in favour of transitioning to a republic, while 30% were indifferent. Notably, no overall majority was found in the survey; with 24% not indicating a preference, and the remaining 12% being opposed to the removal of Queen Elizabeth.^[46][47]

Early history

Extent of the Maya civilization

The Maya Civilization emerged at least three millennia ago in the lowland area of the Yucatán Peninsula and the highlands to the south, in the area of present-day southeastern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and western Honduras. Many aspects of this culture persist in the area, despite nearly 500 years of European domination. Prior to about 2500 BC, some hunting and foraging bands settled in small farming villages; they domesticated crops such as corn, beans, squash, and chili peppers.

A profusion of languages and subcultures developed within the Maya core culture. Between about 2500 BC and 250 AD, the basic institutions of Maya civilization emerged.^[1]

"Caana" at Caracol

"El Castillo" at Xunantunich

Maya civilization

The Maya civilization spread across the territory of present-day Belize around 1500 BC and flourished there until about AD 900. The recorded history of the middle and southern regions focuses on Caracol, an urban political centre that may have supported over 140,000 people.^[2][3] North of the Maya Mountains, the most important political centre was Lamanai.^[4] In the late Classic Era of Maya civilization (600–1000 AD), an estimated 400,000 to 1,000,000 people inhabited the area of present-day Belize.^[1][5]

When Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century, the area of present-day Belize included three distinct Maya territories:^[6]

• Chetumal province, which encompassed the area around Corozal Bay
• Dzuluinicob province, which encompassed the area between the New River and the Sibun River, west to Tipu
• a southern territory controlled by the Manche Ch'ol Maya, encompassing the area between the Monkey River and the Sarstoon River.

Early colonial period (1506–1862)

Spanish conquistadors explored the land and declared it part of the Spanish Empire, but they failed to settle the territory because of its lack of resources and the hostile tribes of the Yucatán.

English pirates sporadically visited the coast of what is now Belize, seeking a sheltered region from which they could attack Spanish ships (see English settlement in Belize) and cut logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum) trees. The first British permanent settlement was founded around 1716 in what became the Belize District,^[7] and during the 18th century, established a system using enslaved Africans to cut logwood trees. This yielded a valuable fixing agent for clothing dyes,^[8] and was one of the first ways to achieve a fast black before the advent of artificial dyes. The Spanish granted the British settlers the right to occupy the area and cut logwood in exchange for their help suppressing piracy.^[1]

An excerpt from the 1898 Gazette that declared 10 September an official holiday, part of the efforts of the Centennial Committee

The British first appointed a superintendent over the Belize area in 1786. Before then the British government had not recognized the settlement as a colony for fear of provoking a Spanish attack. The delay in government oversight allowed the settlers to establish their own laws and forms of government. During this period, a few successful settlers gained control of the local legislature, known as the Public Meeting, as well as of most of the settlement's land and timber.

Throughout the 18th century, the Spanish attacked Belize every time war broke out with Britain. The Battle of St. George's Caye was the last of such military engagements, in 1798, between a Spanish fleet and a small force of Baymen and their slaves. From 3 to 5 September, the Spaniards tried to force their way through Montego Caye shoal, but were blocked by defenders. Spain's last attempt occurred on 10 September, when the Baymen repelled the Spanish fleet in a short engagement with no known casualties on either side. The anniversary of the battle has been declared a national holiday in Belize and is celebrated to commemorate the "first Belizeans" and the defence of their territory.^[9]

As part of the British Empire (1862–1981)

Colonial flag of British Honduras, 1870–1919

Colonial flag of British Honduras, 1919–1981

In the early 19th century, the British sought to reform the settlers, threatening to suspend the Public Meeting unless it observed the government's instructions to eliminate slavery outright. After a generation of wrangling, slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833.^[10] As a result of their enslaved Africans' abilities in the work of mahogany extraction, owners in British Honduras were compensated at £53.69 per enslaved African on average, the highest amount paid in any British territory. (This was a form of reparation that was not given to the enslaved Africans at the time, nor since.) ^[7]

However, the end of slavery did little to change the formerly enslaved Africans' working conditions if they stayed at their trade. A series of institutions restricted the ability of emancipated African individuals to buy land, in a debt-peonage system. Former "extra special" mahogany or logwood cutters undergirded the early ascription of the capacities (and consequently the limitations) of people of African descent in the colony. Because a small elite controlled the settlement's land and commerce, formerly enslaved Africans had little choice but to continue to work in timber cutting.^[7]

In 1836, after the emancipation of Central America from Spanish rule, the British claimed the right to administer the region. In 1862, the United Kingdom formally declared it a British Crown Colony, subordinate to Jamaica, and named it British Honduras.^[11] Since 1854, the richest inhabitants elected an assembly of notables by censal vote, which was replaced by a legislative council appointed by the British monarchy.^[12]

As a colony, Belize began to attract British investors. Among the British firms that dominated the colony in the late 19th century was the Belize Estate and Produce Company, which eventually acquired half of all privately held land and eventually eliminated peonage. Belize Estate's influence accounts in part for the colony's reliance on the mahogany trade throughout the rest of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

Panoramic view of Belize City, c. 1914

The Great Depression of the 1930s caused a near-collapse of the colony's economy as British demand for timber plummeted. The effects of widespread unemployment were worsened by a devastating hurricane that struck the colony in 1931. Perceptions of the government's relief effort as inadequate were aggravated by its refusal to legalize labour unions or introduce a minimum wage. Economic conditions improved during World War II, as many Belizean men entered the armed forces or otherwise contributed to the war effort.

A British Honduras postage stamp overprinted in 1962 to mark Hurricane Hattie

Following the war, the colony's economy stagnated. Britain's decision to devalue the British Honduras dollar in 1949 worsened economic conditions and led to the creation of the People's Committee, which demanded independence. The People's Committee's successor, the People's United Party (PUP), sought constitutional reforms that expanded voting rights to all adults. The first election under universal suffrage was held in 1954 and was decisively won by the PUP, beginning a three-decade period in which the PUP dominated the country's politics. Pro-independence activist George Cadle Price became PUP's leader in 1956 and the effective head of government in 1961, a post he would hold under various titles until 1984.

Under a new constitution, Britain granted British Honduras self-government in 1964. On 1 June 1973, British Honduras was officially renamed Belize.^[13] Progress toward independence, however, was hampered by a Guatemalan claim to sovereignty over Belizean territory.

Independent Belize (since 1981)

Belize was granted independence on 21 September 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation because of its longstanding territorial dispute with the British colony, claiming that Belize belonged to Guatemala. About 1,500 British troops remained in Belize to deter any possible incursions.^[14]

With Price at the helm, the PUP won all national elections until 1984. In that election, the first national election after independence, the PUP was defeated by the United Democratic Party (UDP). UDP leader Manuel Esquivel replaced Price as prime minister, with Price himself unexpectedly losing his own House seat to a UDP challenger. The PUP under Price returned to power after elections in 1989. The following year the United Kingdom announced that it would end its military involvement in Belize, and the RAF Harrier detachment was withdrawn the same year, having remained stationed in the country continuously since its deployment had become permanent there in 1980. British soldiers were withdrawn in 1994, but the United Kingdom left behind a military training unit to assist with the newly created Belize Defence Force.

The UDP regained power in the 1993 national election, and Esquivel became prime minister for a second time. Soon afterwards, Esquivel announced the suspension of a pact reached with Guatemala during Price's tenure, claiming Price had made too many concessions to gain Guatemalan recognition. The pact may have curtailed the 130-year-old border dispute between the two countries. Border tensions continued into the early 2000s, although the two countries cooperated in other areas.

In 1996, the Belize Barrier Reef, one of the Western Hemipsphere's most pristine ecosystems, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The PUP won a landslide victory in the 1998 national elections, and PUP leader Said Musa was sworn in as prime minister. In the 2003 elections the PUP maintained its majority, and Musa continued as prime minister. He pledged to improve conditions in the underdeveloped and largely inaccessible southern part of Belize.

In 2005, Belize was the site of unrest caused by discontent with the PUP government, including tax increases in the national budget. On 8 February 2008, Dean Barrow was sworn in as prime minister after his UDP won a landslide victory in general elections. Barrow and the UDP were re-elected in 2012 with a considerably smaller majority. Barrow led the UDP to a third consecutive general election victory in November 2015, increasing the party's number of seats from 17 to 19. However, he stated the election would be his last as party leader and preparations are under way for the party to elect his successor.

On 11 November 2020, the People's United Party (PUP), led by Johnny Briceño, defeated the United Democratic Party (UDP) for the first time since 2003, having won 26 seats out of 31 to form the new government of Belize. Briceño took office as Prime Minister on 12 November.^[15]

Discovery

First map of the islands of Bermuda in 1511, made by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera in his book Legatio Babylonica

Bermuda was discovered in the early 1500s by Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez.^[1][2] Bermuda had no indigenous population when it was discovered, nor during initial British settlement a century later.^[3] It was mentioned in Legatio Babylonica, published in 1511 by historian Pedro Mártir de Anglería, and was included on Spanish charts of that year.^[4] Both Spanish and Portuguese ships used the islands as a replenishment spot to take on fresh meat and water. Shipwrecked Portuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543 inscription on Portuguese Rock, previously called Spanish Rock.^[5] Legends arose of spirits and devils, now thought to have stemmed from the calls of raucous birds (most likely the Bermuda petrel, or cahow)^[6] and loud nocturnal noises from wild hogs.^[7] With its frequent storm-wracked conditions and dangerous reefs, the archipelago became known as the "Isle of Devils".^[8] Neither Spain nor Portugal attempted to settle it.

Settlement by the English

John Smith wrote one of the first histories of Bermuda in 1624 (combined with Virginia and New England).

For the next century, the island was frequently visited but not settled. The English began to focus on the New World, initially settling in Virginia, starting British colonization in North America. After the failure of its first two colonies there, a more determined effort was initiated by King James I of England, who let the Virginia Company establish a colony at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Two years later, a flotilla of seven ships left England with several hundred settlers, food, and supplies to relieve the colony of Jamestown.^[9] However the flotilla was broken up by a storm. One ship, Sea Venture, landed on Bermuda's reef and reached the shores safely, with all 151 of its passengers surviving.^[1] (William Shakespeare's play The Tempest is thought to have been inspired by William Strachey's account of this shipwreck.)^[1][10][11] While there, they started a new settlement and built two small ships, Deliverance and Patience, to sail on to Jamestown. Bermuda was now claimed for the English Crown.

On 10 May 1610, the remaining survivors of Sea Venture sailed on to Jamestown. The Virginia Company's admiral, George Somers returned to Bermuda with the Patience to obtain food for the starving Jamestown settlers but died in Bermuda; the Patience instead sailed for England. In 1612, the English began settlement of the archipelago, officially named Virgineola,^[12] with arrival of the ship the Plough. New London (renamed St. George's Town) was settled that year and designated as the colony's first capital.^[13][4] It is the oldest continually inhabited English town in the New World.^[13]

In 1615, the colony, which had been renamed the Somers Isles in commemoration of Sir George Somers, was passed on to a new company, the Somers Isles Company.^[14][15] As Bermudians settled the Carolina Colony and contributed to establishing other English colonies in the Americas, several other locations were named after the archipelago. During this period the first enslaved people were held and trafficked to the islands. These were a mixture of enslaved native Africans who were trafficked to the Americas via the African slave trade and Native Americans who were enslaved from the Thirteen Colonies.^[1]

The archipelago's limited land area and resources led to the creation of what may be the earliest conservation laws of the New World. In 1616 and 1620 acts were passed banning the hunting of certain birds and young tortoises.^[16]

Civil War

Map of Bermuda by Vincenzo Coronelli, 1 January 1692

In 1649, the English Civil War was taking place and King Charles I was beheaded in Whitehall, London. The conflict spilled over into Bermuda, where most of the colonists developed a strong sense of devotion to the Crown. The royalists ousted the Somers Isles Company's Governor, and elected John Trimingham as their leader. Bermuda's civil war was ended by militias, and dissenters were pushed to settle The Bahamas under William Sayle.^[17]

The rebellious royalist colonies of Bermuda, Virginia, Barbados and Antigua, were the subjects of an Act of the Rump Parliament of England that was essentially a declaration of war:

[W]hereas divers acts of Rebellion have been committed by many persons inhabiting in Barbada's, Antego, Bermuda's and Virginia, whereby they have most Trayterously, by Force and Subtilty, usurped a Power of Government, and seized the Estates of many well-affected persons into their hands, and banished others, and have set up themselves in opposition to, and distinct from this State and Commonwealth, . . . the Parliament of England taking the premises into consideration, and finding themselves obliged to use all speedy, lawful and just means for the Suppression of the said Rebellion in the said Plantations, and reducing the same to fidelity and due obedience, so as all peaceable and well-affected people, who have been Robbed, Spoiled, Imprisoned or Banished through the said Treasonable practices, may be restored to the freedom of their persons, and possession of their own Lands and Goods, and due punishment inflicted upon the said Delinquents, do Declare all and every the said persons in Barbada's, Antego, Bermuda's and Virginia, that have contrived, abetted, aided or assisted those horrid Rebellions, or have since willingly joyned with them, to be notorious Robbers and Traitors, and such as by the Law of Nations are not to be permitted any maner of Commerce or Traffique with any people whatsoever; and do forbid to all maner of persons, Foreiners, and others, all maner of Commerce, Traffique and Correspondency whatsoever, to be used or held with the said Rebels in the Barbada's, Bermuda's, Virginia and Antego, or either of them.^[18]

The royalist colonies were also threatened with invasion. The Government of Bermuda eventually reached an agreement with the Parliament of England which left the status quo in Bermuda.

Later 17th century

Bermuda Gazette of 12 November 1796, calling for privateering against Spain and its allies; it has advertisements for crew for two privateer vessels.

In the 17th century, the Somers Isles Company suppressed shipbuilding, as it needed Bermudians to farm in order to generate income from the land. The Virginia colony, however, far surpassed Bermuda in both quality and quantity of tobacco produced. Bermudians began to turn to maritime trades relatively early in the 17th century, but the Somers Isles Company used all its authority to suppress turning away from agriculture. This interference led to islanders demanding, and receiving, revocation of the company's charter in 1684, and the company was dissolved.^[1]

Bermudians rapidly abandoned agriculture for shipbuilding, replanting farmland with the native juniper (Juniperus bermudiana, called Bermuda cedar) trees that grew thickly over the entire island. Establishing effective control over the Turks Islands, Bermudians deforested their landscape to begin the salt trade. It became the world's largest and remained the cornerstone of Bermuda's economy for the next century. Bermudians also vigorously pursued whaling, privateering, and the merchant trade.

The American War of Independence

Bermuda's ambivalence towards the American rebellion changed in September 1774, when the Continental Congress resolved to ban trade with Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies after 10 September 1775. Such an embargo would mean the collapse of their intercolonial commerce, famine and civil unrest. Lacking political channels with Great Britain, the Tucker Family met in May 1775 with eight other parishioners, and resolved to send delegates to the Continental Congress in July, aiming for an exemption from the ban. Henry Tucker noted a clause in the ban which allowed the exchange of American goods for military supplies. The clause was confirmed by Benjamin Franklin when Tucker met with the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety. Independently, others confirmed this business arrangement with Peyton Randolph, the Charlestown Committee of Safety, and George Washington.^[19]

Three American boats, operating from Charlestown, Philadelphia and Newport, sailed to Bermuda, and on 14 August 1775, 100 barrels of gunpowder were taken from the Bermudian magazine while Governor George James Bruere slept, and loaded onto these boats. As a consequence, on 2 October the Continental Congress exempted Bermuda from their trade ban, and Bermuda acquired a reputation for disloyalty. Later that year, the British Parliament passed the Prohibitory Act to prohibit trade with the American rebelling colonies, and sent HMS Scorpion to keep watch over the island. The island's forts were stripped of cannons. Yet, wartime trade of contraband continued along well-established family connections. With 120 boats by 1775, Bermuda continued to trade with St. Eustatius until 1781, and provided salt to North American ports.^{[19]: 389–415}

In June 1776, HMS Nautilus secured the island, followed by HMS Galatea in September. Yet, the two British captains seemed more intent on capturing prize money, causing a severe food shortage on the island until the departure of Nautilus in October. After France's entry into the war in 1778, Henry Clinton refortified the island under the command of Major William Sutherland. As a result, 91 French and American ships were captured in the winter of 1778–1779, bringing the population once again to the brink of starvation. Bermudian trade was severely hampered by the combined efforts of the Royal Navy, the British garrison and loyalist privateers, such that famine struck the island in 1779.^{[19]: 416–427}

The death of George Bruere in 1780 turned the governorship over to his son, George Jr., an active loyalist. Under his leadership, smuggling was stopped, and the Bermudian colonial government was populated with like-minded loyalists. Even Henry Tucker abandoned trading with the United States, because of the presence of many privateers.^{[19]: 428–433}

The Bermuda Gazette, Bermuda's first newspaper, began publishing in 1784.^[20][21][22] The editor, Joseph Stockdale, had been given financial incentive to move to Bermuda with his family and establish the newspaper. He also provided other printing services and operated Bermuda's first local postal service, advertising on page 2 of his own first edition on 17 January 1784:

WANTED to hire immediately a brisk young Negro Man, well acquainted with the Islands of Bermuda, to travel twice through the Country every Week at least. One that can read will be preferred.

The Bermuda Gazette was sold by subscription and delivered to subscribers, with Stockdale's employee also delivering mail for a fee.^[23]

19th century

An illustration of the Devonshire Redoubt, Bermuda, 1614

After the American Revolution, the Royal Navy began improving the harbours on the Bermudas. In 1811, work began on the large Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland Island, which was to serve as the islands' principal naval base guarding the western Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes. To guard the dockyard, the British Army built a large Bermuda Garrison, and heavily fortified the archipelago.

During the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States, the British attacks on Washington, D.C. and the Chesapeake were planned and launched from Bermuda, where the headquarters of the Royal Navy's North American Station had recently been moved from Halifax, Nova Scotia.^{[citation needed]}

Mullet Bay and the harbour at St. George's, the original capital

In 1816, James Arnold, the son of Benedict Arnold, fortified Bermuda's Royal Naval Dockyard against possible US attacks.^[24] Today, the National Museum of Bermuda, which incorporates Bermuda's Maritime Museum, occupies the Keep of the Royal Naval Dockyard.

The British Government abolished the trade of slaves in 1807, but not the institution of slavery itself.^[25] As a result of frequent slave rebellions in their other colonies, as well as the efforts of British abolitionists, the British Parliament abolished slavery in 1833.^[4][1]

Due to its proximity to the southeastern US coast, Bermuda was frequently used during the American Civil War as a stopping point base for the Confederate States' blockade runners on their runs to and from the Southern states, and England, to evade Union naval vessels on blockade patrol;^[4][1] the blockade runners were then able to transport essential war goods from England and deliver valuable cotton back to England. The old Globe Hotel in St. George's, which was a centre of intrigue for Confederate agents, is preserved as a public museum.

Anglo-Boer War

During the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), 5,000 Boer prisoners of war were housed on five islands of Bermuda. They were located according to their views of the war. "Bitterenders" (Afrikaans: Bittereinders), who refused to pledge allegiance to the British Crown, were interned on Darrell's Island and closely guarded. Other islands such as Morgan's Island held 884 men, including 27 officers; Tucker's Island held 809 Boer prisoners, Burt's Island 607, and Port's Island held 35.^[26]

The New York Times reported an attempted mutiny by Boer prisoners of war en route to Bermuda and that martial law was enacted on Darrell's Island,^[27] in addition to the escape of three Boer prisoners to mainland Bermuda,^[28] a young Boer soldier stowed away and sailed from Bermuda to New York on the steamship Trinidad.^[29]

The most famous escapee was the Boer prisoner of war Captain Fritz Joubert Duquesne, who was serving a life sentence for "conspiracy against the British government and on (the charge of) espionage".^[30] On the night of 25 June 1902, Duquesne slipped out of his tent, worked his way over a barbed-wire fence, swam 1.5 miles (2.4 km) past patrol boats and bright spotlights, through storm-wracked waters, using the distant Gibbs Hill Lighthouse for navigation until he arrived ashore on the main island.^[31] From there he escaped to the port of St. George's and a week later, he stowed away on a boat heading to Baltimore, Maryland.^[32] He settled in the US and later became a spy for Germany in both World Wars. He claimed to be responsible for the 1916 death of Lord Kitchener in the sinking of HMS Hampshire, the head of the British Army who had also commanded British forces in South Africa during the second Boer War, but this had resulted from a mine. In 1942, Col. Duquesne was arrested by the FBI for leading the Duquesne Spy Ring, which to this day remains the largest espionage case in the history of the United States.^[33]

Lord Kitchener's brother, Lt. Gen. Sir Walter Kitchener, had been the governor of Bermuda from 1908 until his death in 1912. His son, Major Hal Kitchener, bought Hinson's Island (with his partner, Major Hemming, another First World War aviator). The island had formerly been part of the Boer POW camp, housing teenaged prisoners from 1901 to 1902.

20th and 21st centuries

Hamilton Harbour in the mid-1920s

Winston Churchill hosted the Three-Powers Summit in 1953

The SS Queen of Bermuda in Hamilton Harbour, c. Dec 1952 / Jan 1953

The S.S. Queen of Bermuda departing the island in December 1952 / January 1953. The Devonshire Dock is in the foreground.

In the early 20th century, as modern transport and communication systems developed, Bermuda became a popular destination for American, Canadian and British tourists arriving by sea. The US Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which enacted protectionist trade tariffs on goods imported into the US, led to the demise of Bermuda's once-thriving agricultural export trade to America and encouraged development of tourism as an alternative source of income. The island was one of the centres for illegal alcohol smuggling during the era of Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933).^[4][1]

A rail line was constructed in Bermuda in the 1920s, opening in 1931 as the Bermuda Railway. Although popular, its high operating costs and the introduction of automobiles to the islands doomed the line, which was abandoned in 1948.^[34] The right of way is now the Bermuda Railway Trail.^[35]

In 1930, after several failed attempts, a Stinson Detroiter seaplane flew to Bermuda from New York City, the first aeroplane ever to reach the islands. The flight was not without incident, as the aircraft had to land twice in the ocean, once because of darkness and again when it needed to refuel. Navigation and weather forecasting improved in 1933 when the Royal Air Force (then responsible for providing equipment and personnel for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm) established a station at the Royal Naval Dockyard to repair float planes (and supply replacements) for the fleet. In 1936, Luft Hansa began to experiment with seaplane flights from Berlin via the Azores with continuation flights to New York City.^[36]

In 1937, Imperial Airways and Pan American Airways began operating scheduled flying boat airline services from New York and Baltimore to Darrell's Island, Bermuda. In World War II the Hamilton Princess Hotel became a censorship centre. All mail, radio and telegraphic traffic bound for Europe, the US and the Far East was intercepted and analysed by 1,200 censors, of British Imperial Censorship, part of British Security Coordination (BSC), before being routed to their destination.^[37][38] With BSC working closely with the FBI, the censors were responsible for the discovery and arrest of a number of Axis spies operating in the US, including the Joe K ring.^[39] In 1948, a regularly scheduled commercial airline service began to operate, using land-based aeroplanes landing at Kindley Field (now L.F. Wade International Airport), helping tourism to reach a peak in the 1960s and 1970s. By the end of the 1970s, however, international business had supplanted tourism as the dominant sector of Bermuda's economy.

The Royal Naval Dockyard and its attendant military garrison remained important to Bermuda's economy until the mid-20th century. In addition to considerable building work, the armed forces needed to source food and other materials from local vendors. Beginning in World War II, US military installations were also located in Bermuda, including a naval air station and submarine base along with US Army air, anti-aircraft, and coast artillery forces. The Army forces were under the Bermuda Base Command during the war, with some shifting and renaming of bases between the US Army, Navy, and Air Force after the war. The American military presence lasted until 1995.^[40]

Universal adult suffrage and development of a two-party political system took place in the 1960s.^[1] Universal suffrage was adopted as part of Bermuda's Constitution in 1967; voting had previously been dependent on a certain level of property ownership.

On 10 March 1973, the governor of Bermuda, Richard Sharples, was assassinated by local Black Power militants during a period of civil unrest.^[1] Some moves were made towards possible independence for the islands, however this was decisively rejected in a referendum in 1995.^[1]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Bermuda became the smallest overseas territory to earn a medal, as Flora Duffy won gold in the women's triathlon.

History

It is generally thought that the Virgin Islands were first settled by the Arawak from South America around 100 BC to AD 200, though there is some evidence of Amerindian presence on the islands as far back as 1500 BC.^[1][2][3] The Arawaks inhabited the islands until the 15th century when they were displaced by the more aggressive Caribs, a tribe from the Lesser Antilles islands.

The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas, who gave the islands their modern name.^[2]

The Spanish Empire claimed the islands by discovery in the early 16th century, but never settled them, and subsequent years saw the English, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Danish all jostling for control of the region, which became a notorious haunt for pirates.^[2] There is no record of any native Amerindian population in the British Virgin Islands during this period; it is thought that they either fled to safer islands or were killed.^[2]

The Dutch established a permanent settlement on the island of Tortola by 1648,^[2] frequently clashing with the Spanish who were based on nearby Puerto Rico. In 1672, the English captured Tortola from the Dutch, and the English annexation of Anegada and Virgin Gorda followed in 1680.^[4] Meanwhile, over the period 1672–1733, the Danish gained control of the nearby islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix (i.e. the modern US Virgin Islands).

The ruins of St. Phillip's Church, Tortola, one of the most important historical ruins in the territory

The British islands were considered principally a strategic possession. The British introduced sugar cane which was to become the main crop and source of foreign trade, and large numbers of slaves were forcibly brought from Africa to work on the sugar cane plantations.^[2] The islands prospered economically until the middle of the nineteenth century, when a combination of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834, a series of disastrous hurricanes, and the growth in the sugar beet crop in Europe and the United States^[5] significantly reduced sugar cane production and led to a period of economic decline.^[2]

In 1917, the United States purchased the Danish Virgin Islands for US$25 million, renaming them the United States Virgin Islands. Economic linkages with the US islands prompted the British Virgin Islands to adopt the US dollar as its currency in 1959.^[6]

The British Virgin Islands were administered variously as part of the British Leeward Islands or with St. Kitts and Nevis, with an administrator representing the British Government on the islands.^[2] The islands gained separate colony status in 1960 and became autonomous in 1967 under the new post of Chief Minister.^[2] Since the 1960s, the islands have diversified away from their traditionally agriculture-based economy towards tourism and financial services, becoming one of the wealthiest areas in the Caribbean.^[2] The constitution of the islands was amended in 1977, 2004 and 2007, giving them greater local autonomy.^[2]

In 2017 Hurricane Irma struck the islands, causing four deaths and immense damage.^[7]

History

2 dollar Cayman 1975

No archaeological evidence for an indigenous presence has been found on the Cayman Islands.^[1] Therefore, it is believed that they were discovered by Christopher Columbus on 10 May 1503 during his final voyage to the Americas.^[2][3] He named them 'Las Tortugas' due to the large number of turtles found on the islands (which were soon hunted to near-extinction);^[2][4] however, in the succeeding decades the islands began to be referred to as the Caymans, after the caimans present there.^[3][2] No immediate colonisation occurred following Columbus's discovery; however, a variety of settlers from various backgrounds made their home on the islands, including pirates, shipwrecked sailors, and deserters from Oliver Cromwell's army in Jamaica.^[5] Sir Francis Drake briefly visited the islands in 1586.^[6]

Cayman Islands National Museum, George Town, Grand Cayman

The first recorded permanent inhabitant of the Cayman Islands, Isaac Bodden, was born on Grand Cayman around 1661. He was the grandson of the original settler named Bodden who was probably one of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers at the taking of Jamaica in 1655.^[7]

England took formal control of the Cayman Islands, along with Jamaica, as a result of the Treaty of Madrid of 1670.^[3] That same year saw an attack on a turtle fishing settlement on Little Cayman by the Spanish under Manuel Ribeiro Pardal.^[6] Following several unsuccessful attempts at settlement in what had by now become a haven for pirates,^[4] a permanent English-speaking population in the islands dates from the 1730s.^[4] With settlement, after the first royal land grant by the Governor of Jamaica in 1734, came the perceived need for slaves.^[8] Many were brought to the islands from Africa; this is evident today with the majority of native Caymanians being of African and/or English descent.^[3] The results of the first census taken in the islands in 1802 showed the population on Grand Cayman to be 933, with 545 of those inhabitants being enslaved.^[4] Slavery was abolished in the Cayman Islands in 1833. At the time of abolition, there were over 950 people of African ancestry enslaved by 116 white families of English ancestry.^[9][2]

On 22 June 1863, the Cayman Islands became officially declared and administered as a dependency of the Crown Colony of Jamaica.^[10] The islands continued to be governed as part of the Colony of Jamaica until 1962, when they became a separate Crown colony while Jamaica became an independent Commonwealth realm.^[11][3]

The Heroes Square in the centre of George Town, which commemorates Cayman Islands' war dead. The Legislative Assembly building is at the left.

On 8 February 1794, the Caymanians rescued the crews of a group of ten merchant ships, including HMS Convert, an incident that has since become known as the Wreck of the Ten Sail.^[2][4] The ships had struck a reef and run aground during rough seas.^[12] Legend has it that King George III rewarded the island with a promise never to introduce taxes as compensation for their generosity, as one of the ships carried a member of the King's own family. While this remains a popular legend, the story is not true.^[13][4]

In the 1950s, tourism began to take off with the opening of Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) in 1952,^[14] a bank and several hotels, plus a number of scheduled flights and cruise stop-overs.^[6][4] Politically the Cayman Islands were an internally self-governing territory of Jamaica from 1958 to 1962; however, they reverted to direct British rule following the independence of Jamaica in 1962.^[3] In 1972, a large degree of internal autonomy was granted by a new constitution, with further revisions being made in 1994.^[3] The Cayman Islands government focused on boosting the territory's economy via tourism and off-shore finance, both of which mushroomed from the 1970s onwards.^[4][3] The Caymans have historically been a tax-exempt destination, and the government has always relied on indirect and not direct taxes. The territory has never levied income tax, capital gains tax, or any wealth tax, making them a popular tax haven.^[15]

The constitution was further modified in 2001 and 2009, codifying various aspects of human rights legislation.^[3]

On 11 September 2004 the island of Grand Cayman, which lies largely unprotected at sea level, was hit by Hurricane Ivan, creating an 8-ft (2.4 m) storm surge which flooded many areas of Grand Cayman.^[3] An estimated 83% of the dwellings on the island were damaged including 4% requiring complete reconstruction. A reported 70% of all dwellings suffered severe damage from flooding or wind. Another 26% sustained minor damage from partial roof removal, low levels of flooding, or impact with floating or wind driven hurricane debris.^[16] Power, water and communications were disrupted for months in some areas as Ivan was the worst hurricane to hit the islands in 86 years.^[17] Grand Cayman began a major rebuilding process and within two years its infrastructure was nearly returned to pre-hurricane status. Due to the tropical location of the islands, more hurricanes or tropical systems have affected the Cayman Islands than any other region in the Atlantic basin; it has been brushed or directly hit, on average, every 2.23 years.^[18]

Pre-Columbian era

Monument of Hatuey, an early Taíno chief of Cuba

Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cuba was inhabited by two distinct tribes of indigenous peoples of the Americas: the Taíno (including the Ciboney people), and the Guanahatabey.

The ancestors of the Taíno migrated from the mainland of South America, with the earliest sites dated to 5,000 BP.^[1]

The Taíno arrived from Hispaniola sometime in the 3rd century A.D. When Columbus arrived, they were the dominant culture in Cuba, having an estimated population of 150,000.^[1] It is unknown when or how the Guanahatabey arrived in Cuba, having both a different language and culture than the Taíno; it is inferred that they were a relict population of pre-Taíno settlers of the Greater Antilles.

The Taíno were farmers, as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers.

Spanish colonization and rule (1492–1898)

After first landing on an island then called Guanahani, Bahamas, on 12 October 1492,^[2] Christopher Columbus commanded his three ships: La Pinta, La Niña and the Santa María, discovering Cuba on 27 October 1492, and landing in the northeastern coast on 28 October.^[3] (This was near what is now Bariay, Holguín Province.) Columbus claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain^[4] and named it Isla Juana after John, Prince of Asturias.^[5]

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, conquistador of Cuba

In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa. Other settlements soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital. The indigenous Taíno were forced to work under the encomienda system,^[6] which resembled the feudal system in medieval Europe.^[7] Within a century, the indigenous people were virtually wiped out due to multiple factors, primarily Eurasian infectious diseases, to which they had no natural resistance (immunity), aggravated by harsh conditions of the repressive colonial subjugation.^[8] In 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of those few natives who had previously survived smallpox.^[9][10]

On 18 May 1539, conquistador Hernando de Soto departed from Havana with some 600 followers into a vast expedition through the American Southeast, starting at what is now Florida, in search of gold, treasure, fame and power.^[11] On 1 September 1548, Dr. Gonzalo Perez de Angulo was appointed governor of Cuba. He arrived in Santiago, Cuba, on 4 November 1549, and immediately declared the liberty of all natives.^[12] He became Cuba's first permanent governor to reside in Havana instead of Santiago, and he built Havana's first church made of masonry.^[13][a]

A map of Cuba, circa 1680

By 1570, most residents of Cuba comprised a mixture of Spanish, African, and Taíno heritages.^[15] Cuba developed slowly and, unlike the plantation islands of the Caribbean, had a diversified agriculture. Most importantly, the colony developed as an urbanized society that primarily supported the Spanish colonial empire. By the mid-18th century, there were 50,000 slaves on the island, compared to 60,000 in Barbados and 300,000 in Virginia; as well as 450,000 in Saint-Domingue, all of which had large-scale sugarcane plantations.^[16]

Map of Cuba by Cornelius Wytfliet in 1597 (National Library of Sweden)

The Seven Years' War, which erupted in 1754 across three continents, eventually arrived in the Spanish Caribbean. Spain's alliance with the French pitched them into direct conflict with the British, and in 1762, a British expedition consisting of dozens of ships and thousands of troops set out from Portsmouth to capture Cuba. The British arrived on 6 June, and by August, had placed Havana under siege.^[17] When Havana surrendered, the admiral of the British fleet, George Pocock and the commander of the land forces George Keppel, the 3rd Earl of Albemarle, entered the city, and took control of the western part of the island. The British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society.^[17]

A painting of the British capture of Havana in 1762

Though Havana, which had become the third-largest city in the Americas, was to enter an era of sustained development and increasing ties with North America during this period, the British occupation of the city proved short-lived. Pressure from London to sugar merchants, fearing a decline in sugar prices, forced negotiations with the Spanish over the captured territories.^{[clarification needed]} Less than a year after Britain captured Havana, it signed the 1763 Treaty of Paris together with France and Spain, ending the Seven Years' War. The treaty gave Britain Florida in exchange for Cuba.^[b] Cubans constituted one of the many diverse units which fought alongside Spanish forces during the conquest of British West Florida (1779–81).

The largest factor for the growth of Cuba's commerce in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century was the Haitian Revolution. When the enslaved peoples of what had been the Caribbean's richest colony freed themselves through violent revolt, Cuban planters perceived the region's changing circumstances with both a sense of fear and opportunity. They were afraid because of the prospect that slaves might revolt in Cuba as well, and numerous prohibitions during the 1790s of the sale of slaves in Cuba who had previously been enslaved in French colonies underscored this anxiety. The planters saw opportunity, however, because they thought that they could exploit the situation by transforming Cuba into the slave society and sugar-producing "pearl of the Antilles" that Haiti had been before the revolution.^[18] As the historian Ada Ferrer has written, "At a basic level, liberation in Saint-Domingue helped entrench its denial in Cuba. As slavery and colonialism collapsed in the French colony, the Spanish island underwent transformations that were almost the mirror image of Haiti's."^[19] Estimates suggest that between 1790 and 1820 some 325,000 Africans were imported to Cuba as slaves, which was four times the amount that had arrived between 1760 and 1790.^[20]

Slaves in Cuba unloading ice from Maine, c. 1832

Although a smaller proportion of the population of Cuba was enslaved, at times, slaves arose in revolt. In 1812, the Aponte Slave Rebellion took place, but it was ultimately suppressed.^[21] The population of Cuba in 1817 was 630,980 (of which 291,021 were white, 115,691 were free people of color (mixed-race), and 224,268 black slaves).^[22][c]

In part due to Cuban slaves working primarily in urbanized settings, by the 19th century, the practice of coartacion had developed (or "buying oneself out of slavery", a "uniquely Cuban development"), according to historian Herbert S. Klein.^[24] Due to a shortage of white labor, blacks dominated urban industries "to such an extent that when whites in large numbers came to Cuba in the middle of the nineteenth century, they were unable to displace Negro workers."^[16] A system of diversified agriculture, with small farms and fewer slaves, served to supply the cities with produce and other goods.^[16]

In the 1820s, when the rest of Spain's empire in Latin America rebelled and formed independent states, Cuba remained loyal to Spain. Its economy was based on serving the empire. By 1860, Cuba had 213,167 free people of color (39% of its non-white population of 550,000).^[16][d]

Independence movements

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes is known as Father of the Homeland in Cuba, having declared the nation's independence from Spain in 1868.^[e]

Full independence from Spain was the goal of a rebellion in 1868 led by planter Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. De Céspedes, a sugar planter, freed his slaves to fight with him for an independent Cuba. On 27 December 1868, he issued a decree condemning slavery in theory but accepting it in practice and declaring free any slaves whose masters present them for military service.^[26] The 1868 rebellion resulted in a prolonged conflict known as the Ten Years' War. A great number of the rebels were volunteers from the Dominican Republic,^[f] and other countries, as well as numerous Chinese indentured servants.^[28][g][h]

The United States declined to recognize the new Cuban government, although many European and Latin American nations did so.^[31] In 1878, the Pact of Zanjón ended the conflict, with Spain promising greater autonomy to Cuba.^[i] In 1879–80, Cuban patriot Calixto García attempted to start another war known as the Little War but failed to receive enough support.^[33] Slavery in Cuba was abolished in 1875 but the process was completed only in 1886.^[34][35] An exiled dissident named José Martí founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892. The aim of the party was to achieve Cuban independence from Spain.^[36] In January 1895, Martí traveled to Monte Cristi and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to join the efforts of Máximo Gómez.^[36] Martí recorded his political views in the Manifesto of Montecristi.^[37] Fighting against the Spanish army began in Cuba on 24 February 1895, but Martí was unable to reach Cuba until 11 April 1895.^[36] Martí was killed in the Battle of Dos Rios on 19 May 1895.^[36] His death immortalized him as Cuba's national hero.^[37]

Calixto García, a general of Cuban separatist rebels (right) with U.S. Brigadier General William Ludlow (Cuba, 1898)

Cuban victims of Spanish reconcentration policies

Around 200,000 Spanish troops outnumbered the much smaller rebel army, which relied mostly on guerrilla and sabotage tactics. The Spaniards began a campaign of suppression. General Valeriano Weyler, the military governor of Cuba, herded the rural population into what he called reconcentrados, described by international observers as "fortified towns". These are often considered the prototype for 20th-century concentration camps.^[38] Between 200,000^[39] and 400,000 Cuban civilians died from starvation and disease in the Spanish concentration camps, numbers verified by the Red Cross and United States Senator Redfield Proctor, a former Secretary of War. American and European protests against Spanish conduct on the island followed.^{[40][unreliable source?]}

The U.S. battleship USS Maine was sent to protect American interests, but soon after arrival, it exploded in Havana harbor and sank quickly, killing nearly three-quarters of the crew. The cause and responsibility for the sinking of the ship remained unclear after a board of inquiry. Popular opinion in the U.S., fueled by an active press, concluded that the Spanish were to blame and demanded action.^[41] Spain and the United States declared war on each other in late April 1898.^[j][k]

Republic (1902–1959)

First years (1902–1925)

Raising the Cuban flag on the Governor General's Palace at noon on 20 May 1902

After the Spanish–American War, Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (1898), by which Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States for the sum of US$20 million^[46] and Cuba became a protectorate of the United States. Cuba gained formal independence from the U.S. on 20 May 1902, as the Republic of Cuba.^[47] Under Cuba's new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, the U.S. leased the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base from Cuba.

Following disputed elections in 1906, the first president, Tomás Estrada Palma, faced an armed revolt by independence war veterans who defeated the meager government forces.^[48] The U.S. intervened by occupying Cuba and named Charles Edward Magoon as Governor for three years. Cuban historians have characterized Magoon's governorship as having introduced political and social corruption.^[49] In 1908, self-government was restored when José Miguel Gómez was elected president, but the U.S. continued intervening in Cuban affairs. In 1912, the Partido Independiente de Color attempted to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province,^[50] but was suppressed by General Monteagudo with considerable bloodshed.

In 1924, Gerardo Machado was elected president.^[51] During his administration, tourism increased markedly, and American-owned hotels and restaurants were built to accommodate the influx of tourists.^[51] The tourist boom led to increases in gambling and prostitution in Cuba.^[51] The Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to a collapse in the price of sugar, political unrest, and repression.^[52] Protesting students, known as the Generation of 1930, turned to violence in opposition to the increasingly unpopular Machado.^[52] A general strike (in which the Communist Party sided with Machado),^[53] uprisings among sugar workers, and an army revolt forced Machado into exile in August 1933. He was replaced by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada.^[52]

The Pentarchy of 1933. Fulgencio Batista, who controlled the armed forces, appears at far right

Revolution of 1933–1940

In September 1933, the Sergeants' Revolt, led by Sergeant Fulgencio Batista, overthrew Céspedes.^[54] A five-member executive committee (the Pentarchy of 1933) was chosen to head a provisional government.^[55] Ramón Grau San Martín was then appointed as provisional president.^[55] Grau resigned in 1934, leaving the way clear for Batista, who dominated Cuban politics for the next 25 years, at first through a series of puppet-presidents.^[54] The period from 1933 to 1937 was a time of "virtually unremitting social and political warfare".^[56] On balance, during the period 1933–1940 Cuba suffered from fragile politic structures, reflected in the fact that it saw three different presidents in two years (1935–1936), and in the militaristic and repressive policies of Batista as Head of the Army.

Constitution of 1940

A new constitution was adopted in 1940, which engineered radical progressive ideas, including the right to labor and health care.^[57] Batista was elected president in the same year, holding the post until 1944.^[58] He is so far the only non-white Cuban to win the nation's highest political office.^[59][60][61] His government carried out major social reforms. Several members of the Communist Party held office under his administration.^[62] Cuban armed forces were not greatly involved in combat during World War II—though president Batista did suggest a joint U.S.-Latin American assault on Francoist Spain to overthrow its authoritarian regime.^[63] Cuba lost six merchant ships during the war, and the Cuban Navy was credited with sinking the German submarine U-176.^[64]

Batista adhered to the 1940 constitution's strictures preventing his re-election.^[65] Ramon Grau San Martin was the winner of the next election, in 1944.^[58] Grau further corroded the base of the already teetering legitimacy of the Cuban political system, in particular by undermining the deeply flawed, though not entirely ineffectual, Congress and Supreme Court.^[66] Carlos Prío Socarrás, a protégé of Grau, became president in 1948.^[58] The two terms of the Auténtico Party brought an influx of investment, which fueled an economic boom, raised living standards for all segments of society, and created a middle class in most urban areas.^[67]

Coup d'état of 1952

Slum (bohio) dwellings in Havana, Cuba in 1954, just outside Havana baseball stadium. In the background is advertising for a nearby casino.

After finishing his term in 1944 Batista lived in Florida, returning to Cuba to run for president in 1952. Facing certain electoral defeat, he led a military coup that preempted the election.^[68] Back in power, and receiving financial, military, and logistical support from the United States government,^[69] Batista suspended the 1940 Constitution and revoked most political liberties, including the right to strike. He then aligned with the wealthiest landowners who owned the largest sugar plantations, and presided over a stagnating economy that widened the gap between rich and poor Cubans.^[70] Batista outlawed the Cuban Communist Party in 1952.^[71] After the coup, Cuba had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios, though about one-third of the population was considered poor and enjoyed relatively little of this consumption.^[72] However, in his "history will absolve me" speech, Fidel Castro mentioned that national issues relating to land, industrialization, housing, unemployment, education, and health were contemporary problems.^[73]

In 1958, Cuba was a relatively well-advanced country by Latin American standards, and in some cases by world standards.^[74] Cuba was also affected by perhaps the largest labor union privileges in Latin America, including bans on dismissals and mechanization. They were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to disparities.^[75] Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems.^[59][76] Unemployment became a problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs.^[59] The middle class, which was comparable to that of the United States, became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution. The labor unions, manipulated by the previous government since 1948 through union "yellowness", supported Batista until the very end.^[59][60] Batista stayed in power until he resigned in December 1958 under the pressure of the US Embassy and as the revolutionary forces headed by Fidel Castro were winning militarily (Santa Clara city, a strategic point in the middle of the country, fell into the rebels hands on December 31).^[77][78][79]

Revolution and Communist party rule (1959–present)

Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, photographed by Alberto Korda in 1961

In the 1950s, various organizations, including some advocating armed uprising, competed for public support in bringing about political change.^[80] In 1956, Fidel Castro and about 80 supporters landed from the yacht Granma in an attempt to start a rebellion against the Batista government.^[80] In 1958, Castro's July 26th Movement emerged as the leading revolutionary group.^[80] The U.S. supported Castro by imposing a 1958 arms embargo against Batista's government. Batista evaded the American embargo and acquired weapons from the Dominican Republic,^[l] including Dominican-made Cristóbal Carbines, hand grenades, and mortars.^{[citation needed]}

By late 1958, the rebels had broken out of the Sierra Maestra and launched a general popular insurrection. After Castro's fighters captured Santa Clara, Batista fled with his family to the Dominican Republic on 1 January 1959. Later he went into exile on the Portuguese island of Madeira and finally settled in Estoril, near Lisbon. Fidel Castro's forces entered the capital on 8 January 1959. The liberal Manuel Urrutia Lleó became the provisional president.^[86]

According to Amnesty International, official death sentences from 1959 to 1987 numbered 237 of which all but 21 were actually carried out.^[87] Other estimates for the total number of political executions go up to as many as 4,000.^{[88][page needed]} The vast majority of those executed directly following the 1959 revolution were policemen, politicians, and informers of the Batista regime accused of crimes such as torture and murder, and their public trials and executions had widespread popular support among the Cuban population.^[89]

Since 1959, Cuba has regarded the U.S. presence in Guantánamo Bay as illegal.^[90]

The United States government initially reacted favorably to the Cuban revolution, seeing it as part of a movement to bring democracy to Latin America.^[91] Castro's legalization of the Communist party and the hundreds of executions of Batista agents, policemen and soldiers that followed caused a deterioration in the relationship between the two countries.^[91] The promulgation of the Agrarian Reform Law, expropriating thousands of acres of farmland (including from large U.S. landholders), further worsened relations.^[91][92] In response, between 1960 and 1964 the U.S. imposed a range of sanctions, eventually including a total ban on trade between the countries and a freeze on all Cuban-owned assets in the U.S.^[93] In February 1960, Castro signed a commercial agreement with Soviet Vice-Premier Anastas Mikoyan.^[91]

In March 1960, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his approval to a CIA plan to arm and train a group of Cuban refugees to overthrow the Castro government.^[94] The invasion (known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion) took place on 14 April 1961, during the term of President John F. Kennedy.^[92] About 1,400 Cuban exiles disembarked at the Bay of Pigs. Cuban troops and local militias defeated the invasion, killing over 100 invaders and taking the remainder prisoner.^[92] In January 1962, Cuba was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS), and later the same year the OAS started to impose sanctions against Cuba of similar nature to the U.S. sanctions.^[95] The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) almost sparked World War III.^[96][97] By 1963, Cuba was moving towards a full-fledged Communist system modeled on the USSR.^[98]

Fidel Castro and members of the East German Politburo in 1972

In 1963, Cuba sent 686 troops together with 22 tanks and other military equipment to support Algeria in the Sand War against Morocco.^[99] In 1964, Cuba organized a meeting of Latin American communists in Havana and stoked a civil war in the capital of the Dominican Republic in 1965 that prompted the U.S. military to intervene there.^[15] Che Guevara engaged in guerrilla activities in Africa and was killed in 1967 while attempting to start a revolution in Bolivia.^[15] During the 1970s, Fidel Castro dispatched tens of thousands of troops in support of Soviet-supported wars in Africa. He supported the MPLA in Angola (Angolan Civil War) and Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia (Ogaden War).^[100]

In November 1975, Cuba poured more than 65,000 troops and 400 Soviet-made tanks into Angola in one of the fastest military mobilizations in history.^[101] South Africa developed nuclear weapons due to the threat to its security posed by the presence of large numbers of Cuban troops in Angola.^[102] In 1976 and again in 1988 at the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, the Cubans alongside its MPLA allies defeated UNITA rebels and apartheid South African forces.^[103][m] In March 1978, Cuba sent 12,000 regular troops to Ethiopia, assisted by mechanized Soviet battalions, to help defeat a Somali invasion. Ethiopians backed by Cubans and Soviets pushed the Somalis back to their original borders.^[105][n]

Despite Cuba's small size and the long distance separating it from the Middle East, Castro's Cuba played an active role in the region during the Cold War. In 1972, a major Cuban military mission consisting of tank, air, and artillery specialists was dispatched to South Yemen. The Cubans were also involved in the Syrian-Israeli War of Attrition (November 1973–May 1974) that followed the Yom Kippur War (October 1973).^[107] Israeli sources reported the presence of a Cuban tank brigade in the Golan Heights, which was supported by two brigades.^[108] The Israelis and the Cuban-Syrian tank forces engaged in battle on the Golan front.^{[109]: 37–38 [unreliable source?]}

The standard of living in the 1970s was "extremely spartan" and discontent was rife.^[110] Fidel Castro admitted the failures of economic policies in a 1970 speech.^[110] In 1975, the OAS lifted its sanctions against Cuba, with the approval of 16 member states, including the U.S. The U.S., however, maintained its own sanctions.^[95] In 1979, the U.S. objected to the presence of Soviet combat troops on the island.^[15] U.S. forces invaded the Caribbean island of Grenada in 1983, killing nearly two dozen Cuban construction workers and expelling the remainder of the Cuban aid force from the island.^[15] During the 1980s, Castro supported Marxist insurgencies in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Cuba gradually withdrew its troops from Angola in 1989–91.

Soviet troops began to withdraw from Cuba in September 1991,^[15] and Castro's rule was severely tested in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse in December 1991 (known in Cuba as the Special Period). The country faced a severe economic downturn following the withdrawal of Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually, resulting in effects such as food and fuel shortages.^[111][112] The government did not accept American donations of food, medicines, and cash until 1993.^[111] On 5 August 1994, state security dispersed protesters in a spontaneous protest in Havana. From the start of the crisis to 1995, Cuba saw its gross domestic product (GDP) shrink 35%. It took another five years for its GDP to reach pre-crisis levels.^[113]

Cuba has since found a new source of aid and support in the People's Republic of China. In addition, Hugo Chávez, then-President of Venezuela, and Evo Morales, former President of Bolivia, became allies and both countries are major oil and gas exporters. In 2003, the government arrested and imprisoned a large number of civil activists, a period known as the "Black Spring".^[114][115]

In February 2008, Fidel Castro announced his resignation as President of the State Council following the onset of his reported serious gastrointestinal illness in July 2006.^[116] On 24 February his brother, Raúl Castro, was declared the new president.^[117] In his inauguration speech, Raúl promised that some of the restrictions on freedom in Cuba would be removed.^[118] In March 2009, Raúl Castro removed some of his brother's appointees.^[119]

On 3 June 2009, the Organization of American States adopted a resolution to end the 47-year ban on Cuban membership of the group.^[120] The resolution stated, however, that full membership would be delayed until Cuba was "in conformity with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS".^[95] Fidel Castro restated his position that he was not interested in joining after the OAS resolution had been announced.^[121]

Raúl Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama at their joint press conference in Havana, Cuba, 21 March 2016

Effective 14 January 2013, Cuba ended the requirement established in 1961, that any citizens who wish to travel abroad were required to obtain an expensive government permit and a letter of invitation.^{[122][123][124]} In 1961 the Cuban government had imposed broad restrictions on travel to prevent the mass emigration of people after the 1959 revolution;^[125] it approved exit visas only on rare occasions.^[126] Requirements were simplified: Cubans need only a passport and a national ID card to leave; and they are allowed to take their young children with them for the first time.^[127] However, a passport costs on average five months' salary. Observers expect that Cubans with paying relatives abroad are most likely to be able to take advantage of the new policy.^[128] In the first year of the program, over 180,000 left Cuba and returned.^[129]

As of December 2014^[update], talks with Cuban officials and American officials, including President Barack Obama, resulted in the release of Alan Gross, fifty-two political prisoners, and an unnamed non-citizen agent of the United States in return for the release of three Cuban agents currently imprisoned in the United States. Additionally, while the embargo between the United States and Cuba was not immediately lifted, it was relaxed to allow import, export, and certain limited commerce.^[130]

Cuba approved a new constitution in 2019. The optional vote attracted 84.4% of eligible voters. Eighty six percent of those who voted approved of the new constitution and 9% opposed it. The new constitution states that the Communist Party is the only legitimate political party, describes access to health and education as fundamental rights, imposes presidential term limits, enshrines the right to legal representation upon arrest, recognises private property, and strengthens the rights of multinationals investing with the state.^[131]

Geologic history

Dominica first emerged from the sea during the Oligocene era approximately 26 million years ago, making it one of the last Caribbean islands to be formed by volcanic activity.

Pre-colonial period and early European contact

Dominica's precolonial indigenous inhabitants were the Island Carib people, who are thought to have driven out the previous Arawak population.^[1] The Caribs called the island Wai‘tu kubuli, which means "Tall is her body."^[2]

Christopher Columbus, sailing for Spain, named the island as Dominica, after the Latin term dies Dominica for Sunday, the day on which the Spanish first saw it in November 1493.^[1] Some Spanish colonisers settled here. But, as European explorers and settlers entered the region, indigenous refugees from surrounding islands settled Dominica and pushed out the Spanish settlers. The Spanish instead settled other areas that were easier to control and had more natural resources.

French colony

Spain had little success in colonising Dominica. In 1632, the French Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique claimed it and other "Petites Antilles" for France, but no physical occupation took place.^[1] Between 1642 and 1650, French missionary Raymond Breton became the first regular European visitor to the island.

In 1660, the French and English agreed that Dominica and St. Vincent should not be settled, but instead left to the Carib as neutral territory.^[1] But its natural resources attracted expeditions of English and French foresters, who began harvesting timber.^[3] In 1690, the French established their first permanent settlements. French woodcutters from Martinique and Guadeloupe began to set up timber camps to supply the French islands with wood, and they gradually became permanent settlers. They brought the first enslaved Africans from West Africa to Dominique, as they called it in French.

In 1715, a revolt of "poor white" smallholders in the north of Martinique, known as La Gaoulé,^[4] caused settlers to migrate to southern Dominique, where they set up smallholdings. Meanwhile, French families and others from Guadeloupe settled in the north. In 1727, the first French commander, M. Le Grand, took charge of the island with a basic French government. Dominique formally became a colony of France, and the island was divided into districts or "quarters".^[5] The French had already developed plantation agriculture on Martinique and Guadeloupe, where they cultivated sugarcane with enslaved African workers. In Dominique they gradually developed coffee plantations. They forcefully trafficked so many African slaves to fill the labour demands that the population became predominantly African in ethnicity.

In 1761, during the Seven Years' War in Europe, a British expedition against Dominica led by Andrew Rollo conquered the island, along with several other Caribbean islands. In 1763, France had lost the war and ceded the island to Great Britain under the Treaty of Paris.^[1] The same year, the British established a legislative assembly, with only European colonists represented. French remained the official language, but Antillean Creole, which had developed from it, was spoken by most of the population.

In 1778 the French, with the active co-operation of the population, began the re-capture of Dominica.^[1] This was ended by the Treaty of Paris (1783), which returned the island to British control. But the island population, especially the class of free people of color, resisted British restrictions. The British retained control through French invasions in 1795 and 1805,^[1][3] the first taking place during the period of the Haitian Revolution, which gained the independence of Haiti (formerly Saint-Domingue, France's richest Caribbean colony).

British colony