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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Antigua & Barbuda
| Redonda, a small island inhabited only by birds and goats, is a dependency of Antigua. In 2007, a pub landlord in Southampton, Hampshire applied for his establishment to become the Redondan Embassy in the UK. Why did he do this? | Around Antigua and Barbuda
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To be exempted from anti-smoking legislation. Unconfirmed stories say that author M P Shiel was crowned King of Redonda at the age of 15, after his father claimed the island. There have been several claimants to the somewhat meaningless title over the years.
Bob Beech, Landlord of the Wellington Arms, Southampton, was 'knighted' by the 'King', Bob the Bald. His enterprising bid to get around the anti-smoking legislation failed, as Redonda is not a country in its own right.
| Sir Isaac Vivian Richards is a famous son of Antigua. He received his knighthood in 1999 for services to which sport? | Around Antigua and Barbuda
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Cricket. Viv Richards, as he is popularly known, was born in St. John's in 1952. He was chosen as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1977. His international cricket career lasted from 1974 to 1991. Although his chief claim to fame lies in his cricketing expertise, his sporting talents were not confined to the cricket field as he also represented Antigua in the qualifying matches of the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
1981. Although Antigua and Barbuda gained independence in 1981, they have remained a constitutional monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly the British Commonwealth). Whilst the British monarch is head of state, the Antiguan and Barbudan Prime Minister is head of government.
Neither has any permanent rivers. The religion of Antigua and Barbuda is predominantly Christian. The average annual rainfall on Antigua and Barbuda is 45", that of Saudi Arabia is around 4". While Antigua consists of six parishes, Saudia Arabia is divided into 13 emirates. Both countries rely heavily on desalination for their fresh water supplies.
| Christopher Columbus landed on Antigua in 1493, but which European power colonised Antigua and Barbuda from the seventeenth century? | Around Antigua and Barbuda
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England. Settlement of Antigua and Barbuda was slow to develop, partly due to the lack of a fresh water supply. Sir Christopher Codrington started a sugar plantation on Antigua in the late seventeenth century, and used Barbuda as a supply base. After this, sugar cane became the main crop of Antigua. In the eighteenth century, Antigua was used as an English naval base.
| Great Bird Island is a small island which lies just off the coast of Antigua. It is home to the Antiguan Racer, which is what type of animal?
| Around Antigua and Barbuda
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Snake. The Antiguan Racer, or Alsophis Antiguae, is a non-venomous snake. When the Spanish first settled in the Islands of Antigua and Barbuda, they inadvertently introduced rats from their ships. The rats were partial to the snakes' eggs, which led to a decline in the Antiguan Racer's population. A somewhat flawed plan led to the introduction of mongooses to control the rat population. As mongooses are active during the day and rats are mainly active at night, the mongooses decimated the local reptile population instead and the Antiguan Racer was wiped out from the larger two islands, with just a small population remaining on Great Bird Island.
A conservation programme has led to an increase in the population of Antiguan Racers, although it is still possibly the world's most endangered snake.
| The highest point on Antigua was known as Boggy Peak until 4 August 2009, when it was renamed after which famous person? The famous person in question has a birthday on this day.
| Around Antigua and Barbuda
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Barack Obama. Mount Obama, as it is now known, is situated in the Shekerley Mountains in the southwest of Antigua. It reaches a height of 1319 feet.
Tourism. Over half of the GDP of Antigua and Barbuda comes from tourism, with around 75% of the workforce being employed in the tourist industry. In colonial times, the main wealth of the islands revolved around the growing of sugar cane.
The Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands in turn are part of the Lesser Antilles Chain. They are flanked by the Caribbean Sea to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Barbuda lies about 30 miles to the north of Antigua.
East Caribbean Dollar. While the country of Antigua and Barbuda is indeed a Commonwealth nation, the currency is not the British pound, but the East Caribbean dollar. The East Caribbean dollar was introduced in 1965, replacing the British West Indies dollar, which had been in use since 1935. As most dollars, the East Caribbean dollar is divided into 100 cents.
| The capital of the island of Barbuda is named after a family, to whom the island was leased for their plantations. They founded this town, which is the only town on Barbuda. What is it named? | The Nation of Antigua and Barbuda
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Codrington. Christopher and John Codrington founded the town of Codrington in 1685. Nine years before, in 1674, Christopher had established a large sugar estate in Antigua. The Codringtons bought African slaves to work for their plantations, and the town of Codrington was founded as the main residential center of Barbuda. By 1834, the slaves had fortunately been freed, along with all others in the British empire.
Christianity. While all of the above religions are practised in the islands, Christianity is by far the most prevalent (around three quarters of the population follow it). Some Christian holy days are national holidays including Christmas, Good Friday and Easter Monday.
There have been conflicts between Rastafarians and the government regarding the illegality of marijuana - part of the religion involves the spiritual use of the drug.
| As most other flags, Antigua and Barbuda's flag uses colors very important and symbolic to the country. Which color of the flag symbolizes the African ancestry of the people? | The Nation of Antigua and Barbuda
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Black. All of these colors are present on the flag, as well as blue. The background of the flag is red, which symbolizes the energy of the people. On this background, there is an upside-down triangle, with the base at the top of the flag, and the point at the bottom of the flag - within the triangle is a smaller white triangle, and a blue stripe above it, symbolizing hope. Above this stripe is a yellow sun on a black background; the sun symbolizes the dawn of a new era for the country, and as stated in the question, the black symbolizes African heritage. The sun, blue and yellow stripes are said to symbolize the sun, sea, and sand of the country. The flag was adopted in 1967.
| Located on Antigua, the highest point of Antigua and Barbuda is a mountain called Mount Obama. Renamed in 2009 after US President Barack Obama, what was its previous name? | The Nation of Antigua and Barbuda
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Boggy Peak. Mount Obama is 395 m (approximately 1319 ft) tall, and is located in the southwest of the island of Antigua. It is part of the Shekerley mountain range. Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer gave the mountain its new name of Mount Obama on 4 August 2009, which was the 48th birthday of US President Barack Obama.
Antigua . Antigua is the largest island of the country, which consists of many islands other than the two main islands, including Redonda (uninhabited), Great Bird Island, and Prickly Pear Island (also uninhabited). These islands, however, are very small in comparison with Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua has an area of 281 sq. km (approx. 108 sq. miles), while Barbuda's area is approx. 161 sq. km (approximately 62 sq. miles).
| The sub-group of islands which contains Antigua and Barbuda is situated in the West Indies; it is the name given to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles. Which sub-group is this? | The Nation of Antigua and Barbuda
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Leeward Islands. The Leeward Islands are so-called because they are "downwind" of the trade winds that occur in the region in comparison to the Windward Islands, which are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles. As well as Antigua and Barbuda, the Leeward Islands contain the US and British Virgin Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe and more.
The Netherlands Antilles was actually dissolved in 2010.
United Kingdom. Antigua and Barbuda's native language is English, and the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981, becoming a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. This means that Elizabeth II is the first queen of the country. The British first settled on the island of Antigua in 1632.
Antiguan Creole is a local language, which developed within the African slave community at the time of British settlement. The slaves imitated the English of their masters, but the inflexion of their native tongues remained.
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