The first inhabitants on Antigua were Siboney Indians who came in about 2400 BC and left behind relics such as crafted shell and stone tools. They were followed by Arawaks who came from Venezuela around 35 AD and introduced agriculture to the land. Among the crops they cultivated were Antiguan "Black" pineapple, corn, chili, guava, cotton, tobacco, sweet potato and mango. Some of these plants still play an important role in Antiguan cuisine. For example, a popular Antiguan dish, dukuna (DOO-koo-NAH) is a sweet, steamed dumpling made from grated sweet potatoes, flour and spices. Around 1100 AD, the Arawaks were displaced by the aggressive Caribs, who were settled in many parts of the Caribbeans.
The island was sighted by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage in 1493, who gave it the name Antigua, after Santa Maria la Antigua, the miracle-working saint of Seville. Nothing much happened until 1684 when Christopher Codrington arrived from Barbados to see if the island was also suitable for sugar plantations. Since then over 150 sugar cane plantations were established and many cane-processing windmills were built. During this time, many indigenous inhabitants who were rounded up to work as slaves in the plantations died either because of stress while under servitude, disease or malnutrition, although it is said that no research has identified the real cause. As the local population was wiped out, African slaves were brought in to work on the plantations and they constitute the majority of the present population.
In 1784, Horatio Nelson arrived charged with developing a naval facility at English Harbour, which led to construction of the Nelson’s Dockyard. Serving under him was the future King William IV. In 1834, during William's reign, Britain abolished slavery on Antigua and elsewhere in the British Empire. By then the sugar industry in the West Indies was beginning to decline, and Antigua had to struggle economically until tourism was developed in the last few decades.
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