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Saint Lucia

St. Lucia History and Culture


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Saint Lucia Listeni/snt ˈlʃə/ (FrenchSainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean.  Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries.

One of the Windward Islands, Saint Lucia was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the island’s first European settlers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib Indians in 1660. Britain took control of the island from 1663 to 1667; in ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times and rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the “Helen of the West Indies”.

Representative government came about in 1840 (with universal suffrage from 1953). From 1958 to 1962, the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. On 22 February 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations associated with the United Kingdom.  Saint Lucia has a legal system based on English common law.

The island nation celebrates its independence every year with a public holiday. It is also a member of la Francophonie.  The financial sector has weathered the global financial crisis, but the recession has hurt tourism.

History of Saint Lucia

3885187_origThe French pirate François le Clerc (also known as Jambe de Bois, due to his wooden leg) frequented Saint Lucia in the 1550’s. It was not until years later, around 1600, that the first European camp was started by the Dutch, at what is now Vieux Fort. In 1605, an English vessel called the Olive Branch was blown off-course on its way to Guyana, and the 67 colonists started a settlement on Saint Lucia. After five weeks, only 19 survived, due to disease and conflict with the Caribs, so they fled the island. The French officially claimed the island in 1635 but it was the English who started the next European settlement in 1639.

French Colony

In 1643 a French expedition under the direction of Jacques du Parquet the Governor of Martinique established a permanent settlement on the island under the Governor De Rousselan who took a Carib wife and remained in post until his death in 1654. The Governor De Rousselan signed a treaty with the local Carib people in 1660. Like the English and Dutch on other islands, the French began to develop the land for the cultivation of sugar cane as a commodity crop on large plantations. After the Seven Years’ War between Great Britain and the France-Spanish coalition ended in French defeat, the Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1763 confirmed an exchange of colonial territories by the signatories.

British Colony

3885187_origIn 1664, Thomas Warner (son of Sir Thomas Warner, the governor of St Kitts) claimed Saint Lucia for England. He brought 1,000 men to defend it from the French, but after two years, only 89 survived, mostly due to disease. In 1666 the French administration returned and resumed control of the island.

In another British foray, in 1722 King George I granted the island and St. Vincent to the Duke of Montagu. He appointed Nathaniel Uring, a merchant sea captain and adventurer, as deputy-governor. Uring went to the islands with a group of seven ships, and established settlement at Petit Carenage. Unable to get enough support from British warships, he and the new colonists were quickly run off by the French.  This was part of the period when the island was officially traded back and forth between the English and the French in various treaties as a bargaining chip in negotiations. The French settlements remained, and the island was a de facto French colony well into the eighteenth century.

When the British acquired the island, planters were unsuccessful in training the Caribs as labourers. The British solution was to buy slaves from African chiefs who were already used to labour for their African masters. An unplanned result was that many Carib then died because of lack of immunity to newly introduced diseases, such as smallpox and measles, which swept through the colony.

Caribbean conditions were harsh, and many African slaves died as well, requiring the continued importation of new captives. There was a ready supply of these due to the prisoners taken by the African chiefs in their constant wars with each other. The British continued to import slaves until they abolished the trade in 1808. By that time, people of ethnic African greatly outnumbered those of ethnic European background. Some people of Carib descent also comprised a minority on the island.

On 21 February 1795 a group of rebels inspired by the French Revolution, led by Victor Hugues, defeated a battalion of British troops. For the next four months, a group of recently freed slaves known as the Brigands forced out not only the British army, but every white slave-owner from the island (coloured slave owners were left alone, as in Haiti). Just under a year later, the British Army returned, defeated the Brigands, and restored British rule. By the time the British regained control of the island, many of the rebels had escaped into the thick rain forests, where they evaded capture and established maroon communities.

Saint Lucia continued to be contested by France and Great Britain until the British secured it in 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris ending the Napoleonic Wars. Saint Lucia was considered part of the British Windward Islands colony.

20th Century

In the mid-twentieth century, it joined the West Indies Federation (1958–1962) when the colony was dissolved. In 1967, Saint Lucia became one of the six members of the West Indies Associated States, with internal self-government. In 1979 it gained full independence under Sir John Compton. Compton, of the conservative United Workers party (UWP), served as prime minister from 1982 to 1996, after which he was succeeded by Vaughn Lewis.

Dr. Kenny D. Anthony of the Labour Party was prime minister from 1997 to 2006. In 2006, the UWP, again led by Compton, won control of parliament. In May 2007, after Compton suffered a series of small strokes, Finance and External Affairs Minister Stephenson King became acting prime minister. He succeeded as prime minister after Compton died in September 2007. In November 2011, the Honorable Dr. Kenny D. Anthony was re-elected as prime minister for a second time.

Politics of Saint Lucia – Foreign relations of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is a Commonwealth realmQueen Elizabeth II is the Head of State, represented on the island by a Governor-GeneralExecutive power, however, is in the hands of the Prime Minister and his cabinet.  The prime minister is normally the head of the party commanding the support of the majority of the members of the House of Assembly, which has 17 seats.  The other chamber of Parliament, the Senate, has 11 appointed members.

Saint Lucia is a two-party parliamentary democracy. Five political parties participated in 28 November 2011 General Election. Dr Kenny Anthony of the St Lucia Labour Party won eleven of the seventeen seats.

Saint Lucia is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States(OECS) and La Francophonie.

Quarters of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia has 11 quarters, or parishes of the island, under the French colonial government which was continued by the British: No. 1 Anse-la-Raye Quarter 31.0 km², No. 2 Castries Quarter 79.5 km², No. 3 Choiseul Quarter 31.3 km², No. 4 and 6 Gros Islet Quarter101.5 km², No. 5 Dennery Quarter 69.7 km², No. 7 Laborie Quarter 37.8 km², No. 9 Micoud Quarter 77.7 km², No. 10 Soufrière Quarter 50.5 km², No. 11 Vieux Fort Quarter 43.8 km², No. ??? between 1 and 10 Canaries Quarter 15.9 km², No. ??? between 1 and 5 Forest Reserve Area Quarter 78.3 km²

Saint Lucia has 17 electoral segments for the 17 seats in the House of Assembly (each with title “Parliamentary Representative”):

  • Canaries & Anse-la-Raye
  • Babonneau
  • Castries Central
  • Castries North
  • Castries North East
  • Castries South
  • Castries South East
  • Choiseul
  • Dennery North
  • Dennery South
  • Gros Islet
  • Laborie
  • Micoud North
  • Micoud South
  • Soufriere
  • Vieux Fort North
  • Vieux Fort South

The quarters of Saint Lucia are:

  1. Anse la Raye
  2. Castries
  3. Choiseul
  4. Canaries
  5. Dennery
  6. Gros Islet
  7. Laborie
  8. Micoud
  9. Praslin
  10. Soufrière
  11. Vieux Fort

 

Geography of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia

The volcanic island of Saint Lucia is more mountainous than many other Caribbean islands, with the highest point being Mount Gimie, at 950 metres (3,120 feet) above sea level. Two other mountains, the Pitons, form the island’s most famous landmark. They are located between Soufrière and Choiseul on the western side of the island. Saint Lucia is also one of the few islands in the world that boasts a drive-in volcano.

The capital city of Saint Lucia is Castries (population 60,263), where 32.4% of the population lives. Major towns include Gros Islet, Soufrière and Vieux Fort. The local climate is tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds, with a dry season from 1 December to 31 May, and a wet season from 1 June to 30 November.

500px-Day248bdriveqView of Soufrière

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucia

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