When the English first landed in Antigua there were certainly no jewelry stores boasting their exotic wares in Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay or the Bank of Antigua flaunting it's shiny marble floors. In fact, there were no streets at all!
Colonization came about in 1632 by a party of Englishmen who set out from nearby St. Kitts under the leadership of Edward Warner. They established a tenuous settlement on the southern side of the island and were under attack by the Caribbean's (from neighboring islands) and the French. By 1667, the little town really began to swing.
As on most Caribbean islands, sugar cane once was a primary source of revenue and a booming industry; its heyday was from the mid 1600s to the mid 1700s when slavery was the norm. Sugar cane ceased production altogether on Antigua in 1972.
In September 1672 a decision was made by the governing Assembly that one slave for every eight owned by planters should be supplied for work on the erection of forts at Falmouth and St. John's. In case of attack from the Caribbean's or French, a fort was to be built on Rat Island in St. John's Harbour. In 1680, Colonel Vaughn gave St. John's Point to the King for a defense to be called Fort James. This fort was completed in 1704.
St. John's town had grown as large as Falmouth by 1689. Together, Falmouth and Parham were Antigua's foremost towns. But by the following year nearly the whole of St. John's was destroyed by a hurricane. Eighteen vessels ran aground; others just disappeared. The arduous task of rebuilding had to be started all over again. Destruction from disasters of one type or the other presented many setbacks for Antigua.
In 1702 cross streets were laid by the military, a market was built and the town of St. John's was born. A clerk for the market was appointed who was also to be the public crier. Town wardens whose duty was to assess houses and land were elected and a cage, pillory, stocks, whipping post and ducking stool were placed at the public's expense on the corner of what is now Market and Church Street. Night watches were also appointed to have the same power as watchmen in London and a watch house built in this convenient spot.
More History of Antigua...
