Introduction

    Britain shipped over 3.1 million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The Africans were forced and brought to British ruled colonies in the Caribbean to do hard labor in bad conditions. Before the slaves were imported tobacco was the prominent crop grown for money and was the source of the country’s income. The settlers later discovered that sugar cane was a more profitable crop in the 17^th century and could help build their economy. As the need for sugar began to grow, the settlers needed more people to grow the crop. Which is why millions of slaves were imported from Africa to help meet the needs of the increase of demand. As the years passed by numerous slave revolts occurred, but slavery continued to run Antigua’s economy. Within four years, half the islands population was made up of African slaves. Slavery was later abolished in 1834 and the Africans finally got the freedom that they deserved. After being emancipated many of the slaves stayed in Antigua and made it their permanent home. Antigua has a large Afro-Antiguan population because a significant number of Africans chose to stay and make Antigua their home. The Caribbean culture of Antigua reflects African influences because the Africans established creole religion, art/humanities, and diverse foods into their culture.