By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Antigua, located on the major sailing route from Europe to the West Indies, was considered Britain’s “Gateway to the Caribbean.”

And it was for that reason in the late 18^th century the Admiralty decided to beef up its resources on the island.

Young Horatio Nelson, later to become Britain’s most celebrated naval hero, was sent in 1784 to oversee the dockyards at English Harbour and enforce The Navigation Acts which dealt with commercial shipping.

Nelson did not much like Antigua, calling it a “vile place” and a “dreadful hole.” He spent most of his time in the cramped quarters of his ship, H.M.S. Boreas, during his stay from 1784 to 1787.

Serving under Nelson at the time was Prince William Henry, later to be King William IV of England; he had much nicer accommodations on shore, Clarence House.

We were here most recently on February 10, and I invite you read that blog for more details of the sugar mill history of Antigua.

The dockyard was originally called “His Majesty’s Antigua Naval Yard.” Boats coming in for repairs sailed into the boat house, and their sails were hoisted up to the loft through a trapdoor.

The old Boat House and Sail Loft was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1843 and then by a hurricane in 1871. All that remains are the massive boat house pillars.

The Naval Officers House was put up in 1855. It has a small set of exhibits including some artifacts of the shipyard and some of the vessels and men who visited.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

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By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Antigua is a mix of all things Caribbean, with a splash of celebrity and a tinge of scandal.

Slavery, sugar, young Lord Nelson, superstars in remote palaces, and an American import who played a version of Bernie Madoff’s game on some very undeserving islanders.

Antigua means old or ancient in Spanish, and that was the name bestowed upon the island by Christopher Columbus in 1493. He had in mind an icon in Seville Cathedral: Santa Maria de la Antigua (Saint Mary the Ancient.)

We will return to Antigua on February 17, and I invite you read that blog for more details.

English Harbor from the viewpoint at Shirley Heights, above. And part of Nelson’s Dockyard.

Antigua is the largest of the Leeward Islands, about 108 square miles or 281 square kilometers, and it has some of the most interesting terrain amongst Caribbean islands: hills and valleys and deep bays.

It is the more substantial of a two-island nation, and Saint Johns is the capital of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda.

The first permanent European settlement was in 1632. The colonists were led by Sir Christopher Codrington, an Englishman from Bristol in South Gloucestershire.

Codrington began development of a major sugar plantation, an operation continued by his son and grandson. The sugar crop was so successful that other planters switched from tobacco to sugar cane.

Growing, harvesting, and processing the cane was very labor intensive. At first, colonists tried to use natives as forced labor. Unfortunately, most succumbed to imported European diseases or malnutrition.

And so began the wholesale importation of African slaves, tens of thousands of them. The Africans had the misfortune of adapting well to the new environment.

By the mid-18th century the island had more than 150 windmills to run the machinery to process the cane. Today almost 100 of the stone towers are still standing, many converted to use as houses, restaurants, and shops.

Their picturesque remains only hint at the sad story of tens of thousands of slaves who once worked the fields and the processing mills.

And sadly, many hundreds or thousands of their descendants were among those who lost much of their life savings in an elaborate financial scheme orchestrated by American Robert Allen Stanford, who was arrested in 2009 and is currently a guest of the U.S. federal government at a resort in Florida from which he is unable to check out.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS