St. John's (Antiguan and Barbudan Creole:Sen Jaan)[1] is the largest city ofAntigua and Barbuda. It is located in the western part ofAntigua, surrounding St. John's Harbour. The city is Antigua and Barbuda'sprimate city, having a population of 22,219.[2] St. John's also tends to dominate the parish ofSaint John, which composes much of the city's metropolitan area. From its establishment after the French invasion in 1666, the city has rapidly grown, eventually replacingFalmouth as the island's dominant city.
After its establishment, St. John's became an official trading point in 1675. By 1689, St. John's had overtaken Falmouth in population. St. John's continued to grow throughout the 1700s, occasionally being impacted by a fire or hurricane. St. John's has largely been spared from armed conflict, although a large-scale slave revolt was planned in the city in 1736.
St. John's is not necessarily a tourist destination, as it primarily functions as the country's economic centre. St. John's is home toAntigua State College, the country's largest higher education institution, and an open campus of theUniversity of the West Indies. St. John's is attempting to modernise its economy, being home to many convention centres and contemporary office buildings. St. John's is also home to the national library and most government agencies. St. John's is the origin of the All Saints Road corridor, in which most of the country's population lives. While St. John's completely dominates its metropolitan area, the city's economy has stimulated that of surrounding areas likePiggotts andCedar Valley. While St. John's houses all three branches of government, no law has declared St. John's the official capital city. Most diplomatic missions are located in the nearby village ofMarble Hill.[3]
Prior to its establishment, a small group of houses in what is now St. John's lined an area known as "the Cove", now St. John's Harbour.[4] St. John's was laid out following the French invasion of 1666, due to the site's strategic location on St. John's Harbour.[5] An act was passed to build a town on the harbour in April 1668.[6] On 16 September 1675, a sitting of the island’s legislature inOld Road established six places of trade, one of which being St. John’s. This was a significant increase from the traditional two.[7][8] By 1689, St. John’s was as large asFalmouth.[5] The remainder of the 1600s were largely peaceful, until 7 December 1710. On that date,Daniel Parke was killed after much of his assembly had nearly been expelled from St. John's toParham.[9] In 1736, a plan by St. John's residentPrince Klaas to turn Antigua into an independent African kingdom was discovered, resulting in his being killed. 132 other co-conspirators were also punished.[10] The plot caused a large scare, and in 1741, barracks were built on Rat Island, and in 1753, in the centre of the town.[11]
In 1768, the city was hit by a major fire. By this time, St. John's was also the seat of government of theBritish Leeward Islands, a title it maintained until the colony's permanent abolishment in 1959. In 1772 the island was hit by a hurricane, resulting in significant damage to the city's shipping industry. In 1782, the city was again damaged by a fire that occurred in one of the most densely populated parts of the city.[12] In 1784, the city's night watch was established, and citizens of the city were subjected to a tax to pay for it. To prevent another fire, building regulations were also improved, with most public buildings being required to have brick walls and tiled or slate roofs. In 1786, another tax was established due to the prevalence of vermin, reptiles, prickly pear bushes lining the streets. The roads were also not paved at the time, nor were they kept clean. Gaming tables were also outlawed.[13] In 1790, the parish vestry was granted the ability to tax traders, which impacted the city due to it being the parish's economic centre.[14] In the early 1800s, the present-dayGovernment House was built.[15]
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, St. John's once had an elected city council.[16][17] The council no longer exists, and there is no longer a city-wide local government. InDowntown St. John's, the St. John's Development Corporation continues to handle a degree local government.[18] St. John's is now the country's primate city, being home to around a quarter of its population, and about half of the population of the parish. St. John's was once home to an airstrip in the 1940s at the Old Runway area ofVilla, but is now served byV. C. Bird International Airport.[19]
While no law explicitly states St. John's is the island's capital,[20] the city is home to the Government Complex in the Botanical Gardens neighbourhood, which is home to the High Court, the Office of the Prime Minister, and theParliament Building. The Parliament building was opened in 2006.[21] The Labour Party largely dominates the city's politics, carrying the city in the2023 election.[22]
St. John's was laid out on a gentle slope east of St. John's Harbour. The city is bordered by primarily flat land, allowing a large network of roads to converge in the city. Due to this gentle elevation gradient, wastewater runoff is common due to poor planning along with a high concentration of high concentration of clayey loam soil above a high water table. The high water table allows for an easy source of water for the city's wells. The gentle slope also allowed for ease in constructing roads and pedestrian walkways. The coastline of the city is prone to flooding due to its low elevation.[4]
Nearby villages and settlements includeSt. Johnston.McKinnon's Pond is located just north of St. John's. Areas are the second-level administrative divisions ofAntigua and Barbuda. St. John's was considered a first-level administrative division for the purposes of dividing the areas, and the areas tend to coincide with the neighbourhoods of the city.
St. John's has aTropical savanna climate (Koppen: Aw) with summer-like weather year-round, with hot days and warm nights. Rainfall is at its highest during the months of September to November due to hurricane activity. On 12 August 1995, a temperature of 34.9 °C (94.8 °F) was recorded, which was the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Antigua and Barbuda.[23][24]
The majority of the population of St. John's reflects that of the rest of Antigua: people of African and mixed European-African ancestry, with a European minority, including British and Portuguese. There is a population ofLevantineChristian Arabs.[28] St. John's is among the most impoverished locations in the country. This is due to a large number of immigrants from abroad, and many people from rural areas looking for work. Despite this influx, the population of the city has been declining for a few decades.[4]
St. John's is one of the most developed and cosmopolitan municipalities in theLesser Antilles. The city is famous for its shopping malls as well as boutiques throughout the city, selling designer jewellery and haute-couture clothing. St. John's attracts tourists from the resorts on the island and from the cruise ships which dock in its harbour at Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay several times a week. These two quays are where the city's tourist activity is centred, with Redcliffe Quay having a good historic reputation, and Heritage Quay being significantly more modern and crowded. Botanical Gardens is the headquarters of the government of Antigua and Barbuda and the largest park area in the city. The investment banking industry has a strong presence in the city. Major world financial institutions have offices in St. John's. There is a market on the southwestern edge of the city where fresh produce, meats, and fresh fish are sold daily. The Antigua Rum Distillery is located at the Citadel and is the only rumdistillery on the island.[4]
There are several museums, including theMuseum of Antigua and Barbuda and the Museum of Marine Art, a small facility containing fossilised bedrock, volcanic stones, petrified wood, a collection of more than 10,000 shells, and artefacts from English shipwrecks.
The Botanical Garden is near the intersection of Factory Road and Independence Avenue. This small park's shaded benches and gazebo provide a quiet refuge from the bustle of activity of St. John's.
Sandy Island Light
Sandy Island is alighthouse located on a small island about 5 km off the coast leading the way to St. John's harbour.
Government House is the governor's residence, originally a 19th-century parsonage building. It is included on the World Monuments Fund's 2018 list of monuments at risk, following exposure to severe weather events.[31]
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