Antilla

Antilla ( IPA: /ænˈtɪlə/ ), officially the Commonwealth of Antilla, is an island nation in the Eastern Caribbean, forming part of the Lesser Antilles. Antilla consists of an archipelago of seven inhabited and over 100 uninhabited islands, the largest and most populous of which is Marquesa, representing about 80% of the nation's land area and population. Its capital and largest city is Christiansby, located along English Bay on Marquesa's southwest. Antilla's population was estimated at 208,400 in December 2020, just over half of whom reside in or around the capital city. The country's sole official language is English, with Antillan Patois, an English-based creole with significant West African influences, especially from amongst the Bantu languages of the Gold Coast.

Antilla was first populated by the indigenous peoples of the Americas, the first identified group being the Arawak, who arrived on the islands from Guadeloupe as early as 3000 BC. The Arawak were displaced from the islands by the Kalina Caribs circa the mid-15th century AD, who were the islands' primary inhabitants upon the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493. Columbus claimed the islands for Spain, which administered the archipelago as a crown colony under Columbus' name for the archipelago, Las Marquesas. The islands came under French rule at the start of the 18th century, though the French made little effort at colonisation, with Spaniards remaining the majority of colonial settlers through the 18th century. The islands were occupied by Britain in 1760 during the Seven Years' War, and were confirmed as a British colony under the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Through the late-18th and 19th centuries, English gradually supplanted Spanish as the colonial language; by the mid-19th century, the majority of the population were mixed-race descendants of Spanish, French and British settlers, African slaves and the indigenous Caribs.

In 1881, the British colonial administration decreed the archipelago's formal name as Antilla, after the wider Eastern Caribbean region of the Antilles; prior to the 1881 decree, the islands went by several informal historic names, with the new name being the first official designation for the colony under British rule. In 1913, about a year before the start of World War I, the Royal Navy established a permanent naval base on English Bay, north of the village of Christiansby. During and after the war, the presence of the naval base spurred the rapid development of Christiansby, which by the start of World War II had become the most populous town on the island and its de facto capital; in 1939, an estimated one-fifth of Antilla's total population of approx. 6300 lived in Christiansby. Following World War II, the British sought to grant more autonomy to their colonial possessions, including Antilla. In 1948, Christiansby was formally designated the capital and the Parliament of Antilla was established in the town. In 1950, Antilla formed a government led by its first prime minister, Charles Snow, and from 1950 to 1961 Antilla functioned as a Crown dependency and later a sovereign Commonwealth Realm under the British crown.

In March 1961, Antilla's second prime minister, Marcus Sullivan, spearheaded a referendum, which asked if the country should remain a constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth Realm or transition to a republican form of government. The referendum was tabulated on 31 May, with 77.6% of respondents favouring a republic. The following day, 1 June 1961, Antilla declared itself an independent republic. The British did not recognise the new republic until 1970, but no attempt of force was made to bring the revolutionary colony to heel. In September 1962, Antilla held its first presidential election, with former prime minister Sullivan receiving 58.8 % of the popular vote alongside four other presidential candidates. On 1 January 1963, Sullivan was inaugurated as the first President of Antilla. One of President Sullivan's first acts was to call a constituent assembly, drafting the Constitution of Antilla which was signed by Parliament on 1 August 1963; the constitution declared Antilla a parliamentary republic, with Parliament thus retaining its British-era authority to elect the prime minister, who would remain an executive head of government, with the President of Antilla serving as a mostly ceremonial head of state.

Today, Antilla is a relatively well-developed island country, with a high human development index, well-educated population and large middle class. Poverty as been all but eliminated in the nation, with even the poorest citizens having access to sufficient food, shelter, clean water, modern sanitation and a decent quality of life, due primarily to the nation's generally stable economy, low unemployment rate and reliable social safety net. Indeed, Antilla is counted among the top five countries of the Lesser Antilles with regard to median income and quality of life. The country's economy is primarily centred on tourism, fishing and agriculture, with most of its workforce employed in food and hospitality services, exports and public administration, with a small but rapidly growing academic and artistic sector. Antilla is also a regional hub of green technology development such as geothermal energy, due at least in part to its stunning natural beauty and environment. While the relatively flat southern third of Marquesa consists mostly of urban sprawl and agriculture, the mountainous northern two thirds of the island and much of the other six islands remain mostly covered in lush tropical rainforest, home to countless rare variants of flora and fauna, including multiple species unique to Antilla with some limited to only one or two islands. The archipelago also hosts four UNESCO World Heritage Sites.