 In September 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Irma slammed into the small island of Barbuda, damaging nearly 95% of the island’s infrastructure and forcing the total evacuation of civilians. In the aftermath of this crisis, as a member of a united government with the nearby island Antigua, Barbuda has been caught in an ideological conflict between its local Barbudans and the central government based in Antigua over the island’s future, exemplifying the ongoing struggle between indigenous culture, development, and sustainability in an ever-shifting world.
The History Between Antigua and Barbuda The islands of Antigua and Barbuda, although forming a single country, have extremely different histories. Antigua was settled in 1632 by the British (who conquered it from the native Caribs), who used it as a slave colony for tobacco and sugar. In 1834, the slaves were emancipated under the Slavery Abolition Act, after which the island would slowly move towards self-governance. In contrast, smaller, uninhabited Barbuda was settled in 1678 and, in 1685, given to the British plantation-cultivating Codrington family to become a slave-breeding colony. Most slaves imported to Barbuda started living in a self-reliant community that worked for the Codringtons, who left the island largely to itself unless “unruliness” drew their attention. Although this meant more freedom for the residents, it also meant a lack of infrastructure and investment. Eventually, the island would revert to British control, with continued neglect of administrative and infrastructural needs. Barbuda eventually became a dependency (under the governmental jurisdiction) of Antigua in 1860, but the two islands viewed each other as completely separate nations. Ethnic Barbudans formed their own enclaves in Antigua and were occasionally attacked over job competition. When Antigua pushed for independence, Barbuda sought to secede from Antigua due to land concerns. However, Britain decided to retain the two islands as a single entity when they were granted independence in 1981. Barbuda maintained an autonomous local government, the Barbudan Council, which largely handled the island's day-to-day administration under the new unified government centered in Antigua. The main point of contention post-independence between the two islands has been land use. Antigua has wanted Barbuda to privatize its land to boost its tourism industry. Barbudans, however, have always believed that Barbuda’s land is a communal good of all Barbudans, and was enshrined into law under the Barbudan Land Act of 2007, although the debate and tension over the land dispute persists today. Hurricane Irma & Rebuilding Barbuda In September 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Irma damaged 95% of Barbuda’s total infrastructure. Over 1,700 Barbudans evacuated the island, leaving it uninhabited for the first time in 300 years. The evacuation order was lifted after three weeks, and Barbudans voluntarily began to slowly trickle back to the island, despite a lack of running water and electricity. Reconstruction costs were placed at USD $220 million, but Barbuda was unable to secure any significant funding. This left Barbuda in a difficult position, and as the slow, long rebuilding process began, both Antigua and Barbuda began to question what the island's future should be. Despite facing dire prospects, 75% of the population returned to Barbuda by November 2018, and by the following year, half of all properties had been rebuilt despite the lack of significant funding and materials. However, the main issues with the recovery process have once again focused on Barbuda’s land rights. It started in 2018, when Prime Minister Gaston Browne, leading the central government in Antigua, decided to repeal the 2007 Barbudan Land Act, citing it as unconstitutional, as it prevented ethnic Antiguans from owning land. The repealing of the Barbudan Land Act was followed by a plan to make Barbudan land available to be bought and sold on the open market. Barbudans categorized this as disaster capitalism—the push to deregulate and privatize in places dealing with the fallout from wars or natural disasters. However, Browne defended this move, stating that by making land privately owned, Barbudans can take out loans and mortgages to pay for rebuilding their homes. Although public pushback caused the government to walk back this plan, the government has still moved to sell Barbudan land without public consultation. In January 2020, Browne unveiled his massive development plan for Barbuda, including USD $10 million for a new primary school and rebuilding the secondary school, and USD $20 million for new homes. However, the repealing of the Barbudan Land Act means that many of the homes built may not be bought by native Barbudans. Furthermore, the central government took so long to rebuild the school that the local Barbudan administration was forced to finish the project. The last part of this plan, announced before Irma, was the Peace, Love, and Happiness Project (PLH), which has drawn the most controversy. The Peace, Love, and Happiness Project (PLH) In 2016, Browne’s government allowed American billionaire John DeJoria to build the Barbuda Ocean Club, a supposedly sustainable luxury resort and golf course, in Barbuda. The agreement also stipulated the building of a new airport in Barbuda. Barbudans vehemently opposed the plan. Although they acknowledged the potential economic benefit, the outcry was over the land being sold without direct consultation with the Barbudan people. However, post-Irma, the privatization of Barbudan land allowed for the PLH to proceed. The outcry from Barbudans over the PLH is still significant. Many locals have cited that the resort provides few benefits to Barbudans, especially as many workers are from Antigua or abroad, and the community is fenced off. The supposed “green” Barbuda has all but been ignored. A private airstrip in untouched forest, a proposed desalination plant that could devastate marine life, golf courses replacing wetlands, and the decimation of endangered sea turtle populations have all been criticisms facing the PLH. For many Barbudans, their untouched natural environment is one of their greatest assets, and it amounts to tragedy to see so much of it destroyed. The airport in particular has been a source of contention. A legal injunction temporarily halted construction in 2019, but the airport was completed in October 2024. Furthermore, the airport’s name, Burton-Nibbs, is controversial. Eric Burton, a Burmudan Parliament member, and his family don’t want his name on the airport, and Arthur Nibbs was someone who strongly opposed the Barbudan Land Act. The airport wasn’t funded by government investment but rather by a USD $18 million tax break, which means less funds went into the local community. Any funds allocated towards Barbuda’s development seem to have been pushed more towards the PLH and the airport rather than recovery, given the remaining amount of damaged homes and roads. Local officials have compared tracing funds to pulling teeth, and British donor Steve Morgan has criticized Prime Minister Browne's government over a missing USD $1 million donation specifically for Barbuda. Overall, it feels to many Barbudans that they can only watch as their communal land slowly erodes to disaster capitalism. What is the Path Forward? Barbuda’s future is still tenuous as Barbudans grapple with political discontent and try to create a better future. Since 2019, after controversy surrounding the PLH’s impact on the environment, Barbudans have overwhelmingly elected the Barbuda People’s Movement party to the Barbudan Council, which is allied with the Antiguian opposition party. Governor Browne has made threats to dissolve the council in 2019 and in 2025, proposed a referendum to “let Antiguans decide to dismantle the Council.” This climate of political tension brings concerns over what may happen if, or more likely when, another hurricane hits Barbuda. Barbuda still lacks an emergency mobile network, and the degradation of coastal ecosystems through climate change and construction projects will likely increase the risk of flooding and water damage. Browne has justified his activities as beneficial to the economy, but Barbudans are still trying to figure out how to balance their cultural identity with the need for modernization. Barbudans don’t oppose development, but they also want to be part of the decision-making process and ensure that the development that does occur will benefit local communities, especially through new jobs and skills. Ideally, the two sides would collaborate on development, but Browne’s government keeps overriding the local Council, and Barbudans are becoming less trusting of any policies coming out of Antigua. A good example of how to properly recover from a disaster is the island of Dominica. After Hurricane Maria destroyed 90% of its infrastructure, Dominica has recovered remarkably well with a people-first policy. It has built 5,000 disaster-resistant homes, new hospitals with improved health care access, and new primary schools to meet an enrollment growth of about 9,000 students. It should be noted that Dominica gained most of its funds from wealthy foreign immigration, which, as previously established, is contentious in Barbuda. When a country is torn down to a blank slate, it is a chance to fix underlying problems, and Dominica has done so admirably. Unfortunately, due to its long, contentious history with Antigua and plans that are controversial, it seems like Barbuda may not be so lucky. Henry Dirckx is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Washington studying Environmental Science.
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