Antigua & Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda, small islands in the eastern Caribbean, were colonized by the English in 1632. Sugar plantations ruled the economy, and African slaves were brought in as laborers. Independent of Britain since 1981, this three-island nation remains within the Commonwealth. Antigua, one of the first Caribbean islands to promote tourism—in the early 1960s—is the wealthiest. Barbuda seeks to balance resort development with protection of its varied wildlife. Tiny Redonda is uninhabited.