Saint Paul, Antigua and Barbuda

Parish of Saint Paul[1]
Parish
(from top: left to right) Shirley Heights, St. Paul's Church, Tyrells Roman Catholic Church, Nelson's Dockyard,
Location of Parish of Saint Paul[1]
CountryAntigua and Barbuda
EstablishedJanuary 11, 1692; 332 years ago (1692-01-11)
CapitalFalmouth
Largest cityLiberta
Government
 • MPsPaul Chet Greene, Sherfield Bowen, Jamale Pringle
Population
 (2018[2])
 • Total9,004
Ethnicities
 • African/Black91.24%
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)

Saint Paul, officially the Parish of Saint Paul, is a parish of Antigua and Barbuda on the island of Antigua. Saint Paul borders Saint Peter and Saint John to the north, Saint Mary to the west, and Saint Philip to the east. Saint Paul is dominated by farmland in the north, with various creeks and Potworks Dam marking its northern border, and low-lying hills to the south, defining its western border with Saint Mary. The largest city fully within the parish is Liberta, the fourth largest city in the country. The parish capital, and the location of the parish church, is Falmouth. The main economic and tourism hub of the parish is English Harbour. Saint Paul was created with the other five original parishes on 11 January 1692. It had a population of 9,004 in 2018.

Saint Paul is mostly dominated by tourism and agriculture, with most settlement in the parish being based around Tyrells Main Road and Matthews Road. The northeastern portion of the parish is very sparsely populated with the only settlement in this region being Bethesda. The eastern coast of the parish along Willoughby Bay also has a very low population, with little exception. Saint Paul has very few islands, but many peninsulas.

Saint Paul is a major tourism hub on the island. Saint Paul is different from the rest of Antigua as it is not a major hub for beach tourism, due to its very few "clear water" beaches. Most tourism activity centres around yachting, restaurants, and hotels. Saint Paul is home to many amenities and facilities that would only be seen in St. John's City, due to its tourism and yachting importance. Saint Paul is home to English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour, some of the most important harbours in the country. Saint Paul is home to many marinas, one of the only ports of entry in the country, and a station of the Antigua and Barbuda Coast Guard.

Along with four other parishes, Saint Paul was established on January 11, 1692, with the primary objective of providing for the parish church. A large portion of the parish's lands were used for agricultural purposes. Numerous historical relics from the parish can still be seen today, including the Savannah[3] and Guinea Bush plantations.[4]

History

There are numerous historic communities in Saint Paul, the majority of which are concentrated around English Harbour and Falmouth, which are located in the parish's southern region.

Naval history of English Harbour

Map of English Harbour dated 1745

English Harbour is best known for Nelson's Dockyard, a former British Navy base; it displays restored 18th and 19th-century buildings and other historical artefacts from the colonial period of the dockyard, especially the time it was commanded by Horatio Nelson.

Fort Berkeley at the harbour entrance

The Royal Navy had begun using English Harbour as a safe haven in the 17th century. In 1704 Fort Berkeley was built on a spit across the harbour entrance to defend it.

The Antigua Legislature assigned English Harbour to the King for naval use in 1725, and included adjoining land in 1729. By 1745, the harbour was fortified. Captain Horatio Nelson arrived in July 1784 as the senior officer of the Northern Division of the West Indies Station, commanding HMS Boreas, until his departure in 1787. Nelson referred to the harbour as an "infernal hole," while the "residents of these Islands are Americans by connexion and by interest, and are inimical to Great Britain. They are as great rebels as ever were in America, had they the power to show it." Nelson was joined in Dec. 1786 by Captain His Royal Highness Prince Wiliam Henry, commanding HMS Pegasus.[5][6]

HM Naval Yard, Antigua, began on the eastern side of the harbour (on the site presently occupied by the Antigua Slipways boatyard) in the 1730s. The Yard was expanded across the bay on the western side (on the site known today as Nelson's Dockyard) in the 1740s. Both sites remained in use over the following decades. Each at first consisted of careening wharves and storehouses; to these, other buildings were added over time. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars a substantial complex of facilities had been developed at English Harbour: in addition to the twin Dockyards, the Harbour accommodated a Victualling Yard, an Ordnance Yard (where the Gunpowder House Hotel now stands) and a Royal Naval Hospital. The Commissioner (the senior Navy Board official at the Dockyard) resided at Clarence House on a hillside overlooking the bay.[7]

Governor Shirley drew up plans in 1782 to fortify the high ground to the east. Construction of Shirley Heights began in 1788 and proceeded until 1793. Fort Shirley was garrisoned by the 86th Regiment in the 1830s, replaced by 180 soldiers of the 36th Foot in 1833. The garrison was abandoned in 1854, making the harbour defenceless.[6]: 127, 134, 201 

History of Liberta

The first village established following emancipation was Liberta. The community was founded in 1834 and was given the name "Liberty". The community was founded due to many liberated Black Antiguans having an interest in land ownership. Owners charged $30 for 30 by 50-foot property lots. Many built two-room houses. The Hamlet, a cluster of houses close to Liberta that was formerly part of the Tyrells property, was eventually absorbed into Liberta after 1842.[8]

History of Falmouth

Falmouth was the first part of Antigua to be settled by the British, in 1632. Governor Warner resided close to Falmouth Bay by 1640. The village was settled by English people. Falmouth was the same size of the rising St. John's City in 1689.[8]

Geography

Most of the population of the parish is in the western half along the Tyrells Main Road and Matthews Road, and in the English Harbour/Falmouth area. The only village in the eastern half of the parish is Bethesda. Most of the inhabited areas of the parish are very hilly, and most of the uninhabited areas are dense forest or are flat agricultural lands. The parish is separated from the rest of the island by various small creeks that mark the parishes northern border.[9] The parish is also home to many ponds, including one of the largest water bodies in the country, Potworks Dam.[10] The northeastern half of the parish was home to much of Antigua's historic rail infrastructure in 1891.[11] The southern coast of the parish is dominated by many coral reefs.[12]

Demographics

Saint Paul had a 2011 population of 8,116. Saint Paul is not a particularly diverse parish. However, there are many ethnic groups, like African descendants, who as of 2011 make up 91.24% of the population, white people (3.52%), East Indians (0.33%), mixed black/white people (0.61%), other mixed (2.01%), Hispanic people (0.90%), others (0.76%), and those who didn't know or didn't state (0.63%).[13] There are also many religious groups, Adventists (14.07%), Anglicans (13.93%), Moravians (12.97%), Pentecostalists (10.00%), irreligious people (5.05%), and Rastafarians (1.31%).[14]

Saint Paul has people from many countries, country of birth groups in 2011 included people born in Africa (0.29%), other Latin American or North American countries (0.25%), Antigua and Barbuda (75.92%), other Caribbean countries (0.68%), Canada (0.29%), other Asian countries (0.21%), other European countries (0.67%), Dominica (2.14%), Dominican Republic (0.72%), Guyana (5.02%), Jamaica (4.98%), one of the most significant Jamaican minorities in the country, Montserrat (0.34%), St. Kitts and Nevis (0.37%), St. Lucia (0.42%), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (0.59%), Trinidad and Tobago (0.29%), United Kingdom (2.04%), United States (3.19%), United States Virgin Islands (0.68%), and not stated (0.93%).[15]

Economy

Out of the 3,738 workers in the parish in 2011, 19.70% were paid government employees, 5.62% were paid statutory body employees, 52.43% were paid private employees, 2.75% were paid private home employees, 4.74% were self-employed without paid employees, 12.23% were self-employed without paid employees, 1.39% were other categories of employees, and 1.14% didn't know or didn't state.[16] Out of the 416 business owners in the parish, 29.08% made under EC$1,000 per month from their business, 19.39% made $1,000 to $1,999 per month, 14.54% made $2,000 to $2,999 per month, 19.64% made $3,000 to $4,999, and 17.35% made $5,000+.[17] In 2011, 81.32% of workers had a fixed place of work outside the home, 3.18% worked from home, 12.97% had no fixed place of work, and 2.53% didn't know or didn't state.[18]

References

  1. ^ http://laws.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cap-304.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ https://statistics.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2018-Antigua-and-Barbuda-LFS-Report.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ "Savannah – Antigua Sugar Mills". Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  4. ^ "Guinea Bush/Monk's Hill – Antigua Sugar Mills". Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  5. ^ Burns, alan (1965). History of the British West Indies. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc. p. 460,545.
  6. ^ a b Dyde, Brian (2000). A History of Antigua, The Unsuspected Isle. London: Macmillan Education Ltd. pp. 82–83, 97–98, 100–101. ISBN 9780333751695.
  7. ^ Coad, Jonathan (2013). Support for the Fleet: architecture and engineering of the Royal Navy's bases, 1700–1914. Swindon: English Heritage.
  8. ^ a b "ANTIGUA & BARBUDA'S CULTURAL HERITAGE". antiguahistory.net. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  9. ^ "Streams in Antigua". nri.environment.gov.ag. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  10. ^ "Natural and Artificial Ponds, Dams, and Waterbodies". nri.environment.gov.ag. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  11. ^ "Antigua's Rail Infrastructure - 1891". nri.environment.gov.ag. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  12. ^ "Coral Reef Communities". nri.environment.gov.ag. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  13. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20231015133612/https://redatam.org/binatg/RpWebUtilities.exe/reporte.pdf?LFN=RpBases%5CTempo%5C39810%5C~tmp_3981001.pdf
  14. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20231015134003/https://redatam.org/binatg/RpWebUtilities.exe/reporte.pdf?LFN=RpBases%5CTempo%5C39810%5C~tmp_3981031.pdf
  15. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20231015134729/https://redatam.org/binatg/RpWebUtilities.exe/reporte.pdf?LFN=RpBases%5CTempo%5C39810%5C~tmp_3981061.pdf
  16. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20231015135559/https://redatam.org/binatg/RpWebUtilities.exe/reporte.pdf?LFN=RpBases%5CTempo%5C39810%5C~tmp_39810181.pdf
  17. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20231015135954/https://redatam.org/binatg/RpWebUtilities.exe/reporte.pdf?LFN=RpBases%5CTempo%5C39810%5C~tmp_39810211.pdf
  18. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20231015140144/https://redatam.org/binatg/RpWebUtilities.exe/reporte.pdf?LFN=RpBases%5CTempo%5C39810%5C~tmp_39810241.pdf

17°01′N 61°47′W / 17.017°N 61.783°W / 17.017; -61.783

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