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86-634: Uptown Rebels SC is a Saint Lucian professional football club based in Vieux Fort . The club plays in the SLFA First Division . This article about a Caribbean football club is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about sports in Saint Lucia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Saint Lucia in the Caribbean Saint Lucia

172-470: A Governor-General . Despite leading the country to independence, Compton's initial term as prime minister lasted only a few months, being defeated by the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) under Allan Louisy in the 1979 Saint Lucian general election . In 1980, Hurricane Allen struck the island, destroying much of its infrastructure and reducing economic growth. Compton returned to power after

258-486: A 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.17/10, ranking it 84th globally out of 172 countries. Saint Lucia has a tropical climate , specifically a tropical rainforest climate (Af), moderated by northeast trade winds , with a dry season from 1 December to 31 May, and a wet/rainy season from 1 June to 30 November. Average daytime and nighttime temperatures are around 30 °C (86.0 °F), and 24 °C (75.2 °F) respectively. Being fairly close to

344-452: A battalion of British troops at Vieux Fort and Rabot. In 1796, Castries was burned as part of the conflict. Leading the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment , General John Moore retook Fort Charlotte in 1796, after two days of bitter fighting. As an honour, the Fusiliers' regimental colour was displayed on the flagstaff of the captured fortress at Morne Fortune for an hour before being replaced by

430-795: A result. Such wars led to a geopolitical boundary separating the Lesser Antilles , inhabited by the Kalinago, from the Greater Antilles , inhabited by the Taíno . This boundary became known as the " poison arrow curtain". In 1660, France and England signed the Treaty of Saint Charles with Island Caribs. It stipulated that the Kalinago would evacuate all the Lesser Antilles except for Dominica and Saint Vincent , which were recognised as reserves. However,

516-754: A traditional canoe based on the fishing canoes still used in Dominica, Guadeloupe and Martinique . They launched a voyage by canoe to the Orinoco delta to meet up with the local Kalinago tribes, re-establishing cultural connections with the remaining Kalinago communities along the island chain, documented by the BBC in The Quest of the Carib Canoe . Historically, scholars assumed that Island Carib men and women spoke different languages. To explain this phenomenon, scholars proposed that

602-554: Is Castries . The first proven inhabitants of the island, the Arawaks , are believed to have first to settle on the island in 200–400 AD. In 800 AD, the island would be taken over by the Kalinago . The French were the first European colonists to settle on the island, and they signed a treaty with the native Caribs in 1660. The English took control of the island in 1663. In ensuing years, England and France fought 14 times for control of

688-530: Is oil through its sole power station, the Cul De Sac Power Station , although solar energy is also a major source. There have also been attempts to introduce geothermal and wind energy to the island. A census is normally held in Saint Lucia every 10 years. In the 2010 census, Saint Lucia reported a population of 165,595 in 58,920 households. This was a 5.1% increase from the 157,490 recorded at

774-438: Is also a member of Organisation internationale de la Francophonie . Saint Lucia is named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse (AD 283 – 304). Saint Lucia is one of two sovereign states in the world named after a female and is the only one named after a woman ( Ireland is named after a goddess ). Legend states that French sailors were shipwrecked on the island on 13 December, the feast day of St. Lucy, and therefore named

860-515: Is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean . Part of the Windward Islands 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 km (238 square miles) with an estimated population of over 180,000 people as of 2018. The nation's capital and largest city

946-439: Is dominated by poultry. The island is self-sufficient in egg production and production of poultry and pork has increased in recent years. Fishing has also been of considerable importance to the nation's economy. Saint Lucia has a wide-ranging public bus network which covers most of the island. Busses are owned by private individuals, whilst the government is responsible for setting up routes and hubs. The road network covers most of

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1032-473: Is still an important part of the country's economy, providing 7.9% of jobs and contributing to 2.2% of the GDP in 2021. About 18% of land is used for agricultural practices. Bananas remain the main agricultural product grown in Saint Lucia, as well as coconuts, cocoa beans, mangoes, avocados, vegetables, citrus fruits, and root crops such as yams and sweet potatoes. Saint Lucia also has a small livestock sector, which

1118-576: Is the head of government , the head of the cabinet , and is normally the leader of the largest party in the House of Assembly . The house has 17 seats, with each member being elected via a plurality of votes in their constituency . The upper chamber of Parliament is the Senate which has 11 appointed members, the majority of which are appointed by the prime minister. Saint Lucia is made up of 10 districts. The districts were created and named by French colonials, and

1204-628: Is the island's largest trading partner, and Saint Lucia was key to the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, and voted against condemning the invasion. Saint Lucia became the 152nd member of the United Nations on 18 September 1979. Saint Lucia does not have a military although the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force has a Special Service Unit (SSU) and a Coast Guard. The island signed the UN Treaty on

1290-409: The 1982 Saint Lucian general election after much instability during the labour government's term. During Compton's second term as the island's leader, banana exports significantly increased and became the nation's main source of revenue. There were improvements to infrastructure, and education was expanded to rural areas. Saint Lucia was key to the US invasion of Grenada . During the 1990s and 2000s,

1376-462: The Arawaks , though there may have been other native peoples prior to them. The Arawaks are believed to have come from northern South America, sometime around AD 200–400, as there are numerous archaeological sites on the island where specimens of their pottery have been found. The Kalinago (Island Caribs) arrived around AD 800, and seized control from the Arawaks by killing their men and assimilating

1462-613: The Battle of the Caribbean , when a German U-boat attacked and sank two British ships in Castries harbour on 9 March 1942. The United States used the island as a military hub during the war, including setting up a secondary naval base in Gros Islet and using what is now the island's international airport as an air force base. Universal suffrage was introduced in 1951 and elections were held

1548-527: The British Windward Islands colonies. The institution of slavery was abolished on the island in 1834, as it was throughout the British Empire . After abolition, all former slaves had to serve a four-year "apprenticeship", to accustom them to the idea of freedom. During that period, they worked for their former masters for at least three-quarters of the work week. Full freedom was duly granted by

1634-732: The Carib Territory that was granted to the people by the British government in 1903. The Dominican Kalinago elect their own chief. In July 2003, the Kalinago observed 100 Years of Territory, and in July 2014, Charles Williams was elected Kalinago Chief, succeeding Chief Garnette Joseph. Several hundred Carib descendants live in the U. S. Virgin Islands , St. Kitts & Nevis , Antigua & Barbuda , Guadeloupe , Martinique , Dominica , Saint Lucia , Grenada , Trinidad and St. Vincent . " Black Caribs ,"

1720-519: The Sulphur Springs , the Botanical Gardens , Pigeon Island and The Pitons . The agricultural sector was once the main contributor to Saint Lucia's economy. This was especially thanks to the exporting of bananas. However, its importance to the economy has declined significantly, in part due to increased competition from South American countries in the banana industry. Nevertheless, agriculture

1806-594: The Union Jack . Upon the capture of the fort, Moore's superior, Ralph Abercromby , departed the island and placed Moore in charge of the British garrison. Moore remained at this post until falling ill with yellow fever , leading to his return to Britain before 1798. In 1803, the British regained control of the island. Many members of the L'Armee Française dans les Bois escaped into the thick rainforest where they evaded capture and established maroon communities . Slavery on

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1892-490: The 18th century, the island changed ownership, or was declared neutral territory, a dozen times, although the French settlements remained and the island was a de facto French colony well into the eighteenth century. In 1722, George I of Great Britain granted both Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent to the 2nd Duke of Montagu . Montague appointed Nathaniel Uring , a merchant sea captain and adventurer, as deputy-governor. Uring went to

1978-608: The Antilles, notably on the island of Dominica . The Garifuna , who share common ancestry with the Kalinago, also live principally in Central America. The exonym Caribe was first recorded by Christopher Columbus . One hypothesis for the origin of Carib is that it means "brave warrior". Its variants, including the English word Carib , were then adopted by other European languages. Early Spanish explorers and administrators used

2064-472: The Antilles. Irving Rouse proposed that a relatively small scale Carib force conquered but did not displace the Igneri, and the invaders eventually took on the Igneri language while still maintaining their identity as Caribs. Other scholars such as Sued Badillo doubt there was an invasion at all, proposing that the Igneri adopted the "Carib" identity over time due to their close economic and political relations with

2150-472: The Bahamas and the Lesser Antilles , Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano was killed and allegedly eaten by Carib natives on what is now Guadeloupe , near a place called Karukera (“island of beautiful waters”). Historian William Riviere has described most of the cannibalism as related to war rituals. Chief Kairouane and his men from Grenada jumped off the "Leapers Hill" rather than face slavery under

2236-420: The British chose to keep the names in an anglicised form. The largest district in both size and population is Castries , where the nation's capital of the same name is located. The following are the 10 districts placed in alphabetical order: Saint Lucia is a mixed jurisdiction, meaning that it has a legal system based in part on both the civil law and English common law . The Civil Code of St. Lucia of 1867

2322-470: The British in 1838. By that time, people of African ethnicity greatly outnumbered those of ethnic European background. People of Carib descent also comprised a minority on the island. Saint Lucia's first representative government was introduced in 1924, with the first election taking place in 1925. Many Saint Lucians served during the Second World War , and the conflict visited the island directly during

2408-514: The Carib chief Anthonie. By 26 September 1605, only 19 survived following continued attacks by the Carib chief Augraumart, so the settlers fled the island. The English tried to settle the island again in 1638, but the Caribs continued to be hostile. Eventually, the French successfully claimed the island in 1650 and they signed a treaty with the Caribs in 1660. In 1664, Thomas Warner (son of Sir Thomas Warner ,

2494-510: The Carib territory, killing a majority of the Yellow Caribs. After the eruption, 130 Yellow Caribs and 59 Black Caribs survived on St. Vincent . Unable to recover from the damage caused by the eruption, 120 of the Yellow Caribs, under Captain Baptiste, emigrated to Trinidad. In 1830, the Carib population numbered less than 100. The population made a remarkable recovery after that, although almost

2580-459: The Caribbean, the Maipurean -speaking Taínos reportedly relayed stories of the Caribs' war-like nature and cannibalism to him. When he arrived in the Lesser Antilles in 1635, the French missionary Raymond Breton made ethnographic and linguistic notes on the "Caribs", which also informed many of the early stereotypes about the Kalinago. Other missionaries, such as Cesar de Rochefort, would refute

2666-455: The Caribs had a common origin with contemporary groups in the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The transition from Igneri to Island Carib culture may have occurred around 1450. Archaeological evidence in support of either model is sparse, with "no confirmed Carib sites [known] prior to the 1990s." However, Cayo-style pottery found in the Lesser Antilles, and dated between 1000 and 1500, is similar to

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2752-609: The Caribs, karibna was apparently associated with ritual eating of war enemies. The Caribs reportedly had a tradition of keeping bones of their ancestors in their houses. Missionaries , such as Père Jean Baptiste Labat and Cesar de Rochefort, described the practice as part of a belief that the ancestral spirits would always look after the bones and protect their descendants. The Caribs have been described by their various enemies as vicious and violent raiders. Rochefort stated they did not practice cannibalism. During his third voyage to North America in 1528, after exploring Florida ,

2838-447: The English later ignored the treaty, and pursue a campaign against the Kalinago in succeeding decades. Between the 1660s and 1700, the English waged an intermittent campaign against the Kalinago. By 1763, the British had annexed St Lucia, Tobago, Dominica and St Vincent. On Saint Vincent the Kalinago intermarried with runaway slaves, forming the ‘Black Caribs’ or Garifuna who were expelled to Honduras in 1797. The British colonial use of

2924-703: The French began to develop the land for the cultivation of sugar cane as a commodity crop on large plantations. The British occupied the island again in 1778. From 1782 to 1803, control of the island switched multiple times. In January 1791, during the French Revolution , the National Assembly sent four commissaires to St Lucia to spread the revolutionary philosophy. By August 1791, slaves began to abandon their estates and Governor Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat fled. In December 1792, Lt. Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse arrived with revolutionary pamphlets, and

3010-551: The Igneri. As this tradition was widespread in oral testimonies, and internally consistent, it was accepted as historical by Europeans. The second model proposes that the Kalinago developed out of the indigenous peoples of the Antilles. While the Caribs were commonly believed to have migrated from the Orinoco River area in South America to settle in the Caribbean islands about 1200 CE, an analysis of ancient DNA suggests that

3096-525: The Island Caribs may have killed the men and kept the women, allowing the Igneri language to survive among women. This assumption arose from the fact that by at least the early 17th century, Carib men spoke a Cariban-based pidgin language in addition to the usual Arawakan language used by both sexes. This was similar to pidgins used by mainland Caribs when communicating with their Arawak neighbors. Berend J. Hoff and Douglas Taylor hypothesized that it dated to

3182-523: The Kalinago Territory. As of 2008 , a small population of around 3,400 Kalinago survived in the Kalinago Territory in northeast Dominica, of whom some 70 "defined themselves as 'pure'". The Kalinago of Dominica maintained their independence for many years by taking advantage of the island's rugged terrain. The island's east coast includes a 3,700-acre (15 km ) territory formerly known as

3268-456: The Kalinago had a reputation as warriors who raided neighboring islands. According to the tales of Spanish conquistadors , the Kalinago were cannibals who regularly ate roasted human flesh, although this is considered by the community to be an offensive myth. There is no hard evidence of Caribs eating human flesh, though one historian points out it might be useful to frighten enemy Arawak . The Kalinago and their descendants continue to live in

3354-559: The Kalinago occasionally allied with the Taínos to repel European invaders. When the Spanish attempted to colonize Puerto Rico, Kalinago from St. Croix arrived to aid the local Taíno. Daguao village, initially slated to be the Europeans' new capital, was destroyed by Taínos from the eastern area of Puerto Rico, with the support of Kalinago from neighboring Vieques . By the middle of the 16th century,

3440-450: The Kalinago were once called). They lived throughout north-eastern South America, Trinidad and Tobago , Barbados , the Windward Islands , Dominica , and possibly the southern Leeward Islands . Historically, it was thought their ancestors were mainland peoples who had conquered the islands from their previous inhabitants, the Igneri . However, linguistic and archaeological evidence contradicts

3526-576: The Koriabo complex from which the mainland Carib or Kari'na pottery tradition is descended. Cayo pottery was once thought to have preceded Suazoid pottery (associated with the Igneri) in the Lesser Antilles, but more recent scholarship suggests that Cayo pottery gradually replaced Suazoid pottery in the islands. Cayo-style pottery has been found in the Lesser Antilles from Grenada to Basse-Terre , and, possibly, Saint Kitts . Cayo pottery also shows similarities to

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3612-586: The Meillacoid and Chicoid styles of the Greater Antilles, as well as to the South American Koriabo style. Upon his arrival in the Caribbean archipelago in 1492, the Maipurean -speaking Taínos reportedly told Christopher Columbus that Caribs were fierce warriors and cannibals, who made frequent raids on the Taínos, often capturing women. According to Columbus, the Taínos said the Caribs had spent

3698-764: The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2018. Saint Lucia is a Small Island Developing State , a designation similar to a developing country with a few substantial differences due to Saint Lucia's island nature. The service sector is the largest sector of the economy, accounting for 86.9% of GDP in 2020, followed by industrial and agricultural sectors at 10.9% and 2.2%, respectively. Saint Lucia has been able to attract foreign business and investment due to its educated workforce and improvements in roads, communications, water supply, sewerage, and port facilities. Like most small islands, Tourism and offshore banking are Saint Lucia's main sources of revenue. Agriculture, specifically

3784-488: The US, UK, EU and other CARICOM countries. Tourism is the largest contributor to Saint Lucia's economy. Tourist numbers tend to be more substantial during the dry season (January to April), often referred to as the tourist season. Saint Lucia's tropical weather, scenery, beaches and resorts have made it a popular tourist destination, with 1.29 million visitors arriving in 2019. Some of Saint Lucia's tourist attractions include

3870-551: The Vatican made in 1520, shows the island as Sancta Lucia. In the late 1550s, the French pirate François le Clerc (known as Jambe de Bois , due to his wooden leg) set up a camp on Pigeon Island , from where he attacked passing Spanish ships. In 1605, an English vessel called the Oliphe Blossome was blown off-course on its way to Guyana , and the 67 colonists started a settlement on Saint Lucia, after initially being welcomed by

3956-669: The banana industry, was previously the largest sector of the economy, although its importance has declined significantly. The island's manufacturing sector has been called the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean, with goods such as plastic being produced on a large scale. Saint Lucia's currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$ ), a regional currency shared among members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECU). The country's main trade partners are

4042-453: The bark. The Ceiba pentandra tree is not only functional but spiritual and believed to house spirits that would become angered if disturbed. Canoes have been used throughout the history of the Kalinago and have become a renewed interest within the manufacturing of traditional dugout canoes used for inter-island transportation and fishing. In 1997 Dominica Carib artist Jacob Frederick and Tortola artist Aragorn Dick Read set out to build

4128-420: The common conception of the Caribs as cannibals. Early European accounts describe the taking of human trophies and the ritual cannibalism of war captives among both Arawak and other Amerindian groups such as the Carib and Tupinambá , though the exact accuracy of cannibalistic reports still remains debated without skeletal evidence to support it. Scholars such as Hilary McD. Beckles have instead suggested that

4214-443: The dacitic domes of Terre Blanche (15.3 kya) and Belfond (13.6 kya) formed within the depression. Like most Caribbean countries, Saint Lucia is a unitary state with a parliamentary system. It is a Commonwealth realm and a constitutional monarchy , with the current monarch being Charles III , who is represented on the island by a governor-general , currently Errol Charles . The prime minister (currently Philip J. Pierre )

4300-548: The descendants of the mixture of Africans live in St. Vincent whose total population is unknown. Some ethnic Carib communities remain on the American mainland, in countries such as Guyana and Suriname in South America, and Belize in Central America. The size of these communities varies widely. During the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Island Carib population in St. Vincent

4386-604: The economy picked up during the later part of the decade and avoided contraction until 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic caused major economic issues globally. In June 2016, the United Workers Party (UWP), led by Allen Michael Chastanet , won 11 of the 17 seats in the general election , ousting the St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) of the incumbent Prime Minister Kenny Anthony . However, Saint Lucia Labour Party won

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4472-587: The entire tribe died out during the 1902 eruption of La Soufrière . Canoes are a significant aspect of the Kalinago's material culture and economy. They are used for transport from the southern continent and islands of the Caribbean, as well as providing them with the ability to fish more efficiently and to grow their fishing industry. Canoes, constructed from the Burseraceae , Cedrela odorata , Ceiba pentandra , and Hymenaea courbaril trees, serve different purposes depending on their height and thickness of

4558-411: The equator, the island's temperature does not fluctuate much between winter and summer. The geology of St. Lucia can be described as composing three main areas. The oldest, 16–18 Ma , volcanic rocks are exposed from Castries northward and consist of eroded basalt and andesite centres. The middle, central highlands, portion of the island consists of dissected andesite centres, 10.4 to 1 Mya, while

4644-513: The formation of the Qualibou depression are found offshore, and in the massive blocks of Rabot, Pleisance, and Coubaril. The dacitic domes of Petit Piton (109 kya) and Gros Piton (71 kya) were then extruded onto the depression floor accompanied by the Anse John (104 kya) and La Pointe (59.8 kya) pyroclastic flows. Later, pyroclastic flows include pumice -rich Belfond and Anse Noir (20 kya). Finally,

4730-404: The governor of St Kitts ) claimed Saint Lucia for England but the English fled again in 1666, with the French gaining full control of the island after the signing of the Treaty of Breda . Saint Lucia was made an official French crown colony in 1674, as a dependency of Martinique . After the slave-based sugar industry developed, both the British and the French found the island attractive. During

4816-405: The impoverished whites and free people of colour began to arm themselves as patriots . On 1 February 1793, France declared war on England and Holland, and General Nicolas Xavier de Ricard took over as Governor. The National Convention abolished enslavement on 4 February 1794. On 1 April 1794, St. Lucia was captured by a British expeditionary force led by Vice Admiral John Jervis . Morne Fortune

4902-719: The injury. Formerly the Caribs used an extensive range of medicinal plant and animal products. The Caribs are believed to have practiced polytheism . As the Spanish began to colonise the Caribbean area, they wanted to convert the natives to Catholicism . The Caribs destroyed a church of Franciscans in Aguada, Puerto Rico and killed five of its members, in 1579. Currently, the remaining Kalinago in Dominica practice parts of Catholicism through baptism of children. However, not all practice Christianity . Some Caribs worship their ancestors and believe them to have magical power over their crops. In 1492, when Christopher Columbus arrived in

4988-523: The island continued for a short time, but anti-slavery sentiment was rising in Britain. The British stopped the import of slaves by anyone, white or coloured, when they abolished the slave trade in 1807. France and Great Britain continued to contest Saint Lucia until the British secured it in 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris , ending the Napoleonic Wars . Thereafter, Saint Lucia was considered one of

5074-708: The island in her honour. A globe in the Vatican from 1520 shows the island as Sancta Lucia, indicating that the island was instead named by early Spanish explorers . Saint Lucia was first known as Louanalao by the Arawak Indians in 200 AD, meaning “Island of the Iguanas ,” and then as Hewanorra , in 800 AD, meaning "there where iguanas are found,” when the Carib Indians arrived and assimilated their culture into Saint Lucia. The first proven inhabitants of Saint Lucia were

5160-586: The island record the most homicides in its history, and also its highest murder rate in its history, at 40 murders per 100,000 people. Saint Lucia is a member of the Caribbean Community , OECS , the Organization of American States and La Francophonie . As a Commonwealth Realm , Saint Lucia has relatively friendly relations with United Kingdom and Canada. France is also a major ally, in part due to Saint Lucia's border with Martinique . The United States

5246-486: The island's most famous landmark. Saint Lucia is also home to the world's only drive-in volcano, the Sulphur Springs . There are a number of small islands off the coast, the largest of which are the Maria Islands, located in the south-east of the island. Saint Lucia lies at latitude 14° N and longitude 61° W . The population tends to be concentrated around the coast, with the interior more sparsely populated, due to

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5332-423: The island, although some rural areas still lack access to proper roads. The island has two airports, including one International airport . Cruising and yachting are very important to the country's economy, with the main sea port being located in Castries , while the main marina is located in Rodney Bay . Meanwhile, the nation's main oil refinery is located in Bexon. The main source of electricity in Saint Lucia

5418-435: The island; consequently control over this immensely valuable geopolitical position changed frequently. Eventually, the British took complete control in 1814, shortly after the victory over French Emperor Napoleon I . Because the island switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West" after the Greek mythological character, Helen of Troy . Representative government

5504-408: 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. During the Seven Years' War , Britain occupied Saint Lucia for a year, but handed the island back to the French in 1763, under the Treaty of Paris . Like the English and Dutch on other islands, in 1765,

5590-440: The last two centuries displacing the Taínos by warfare, extermination, and assimilation. The French missionary Raymond Breton arrived in the Lesser Antilles in 1635, and lived in Guadeloupe and Dominica until 1653. He took ethnographic and linguistic notes on the native peoples of these islands, including St. Vincent , which he visited briefly. Breton was responsible for many of the early stereotypes about Kalinago. Later,

5676-442: The lower southwest portion of the island contains recent activity from the Soufriere Volcanic Centre (SVC). This SVC, centred about the Qualibou depression , contains pyroclastic flow deposits, lava flows , domes , block and ash flow deposits, and explosion craters . This depression's perimeter includes the town of Soufriere, Mount Tabac, Mt. Gimie, Morne Bonin, and Gros Piton. At 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in diameter, though

5762-405: The nation's economy began shifting from agriculture to tourism under the leadership of Kenny Anthony . The 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001 killed two Saint Lucians, and caused an economic slowdown, although moderate growth continued until the Great Recession . The recession, as well as the landfall of Hurricane Tomas in 2010, led to slow economic growth during the early 2010s, although

5848-407: The next election in July 2021, meaning its leader Philip J Pierre became the ninth Prime Minister of Saint Lucia since independence. Saint Lucia has a total area of 617 square kilometers (238 sq mi). As a volcanic island , Saint Lucia is very mountainous, with its highest point being Mount Gimie , at 950 metres (3,120 feet) above sea level. The Pitons , two mountainous volcanic plugs , form

5934-418: The notion of a mass emigration and conquest; the Kalinago language appears not to have been Cariban , but like that of their neighbors, the Taíno . Irving Rouse and others suggest that a smaller group of mainland peoples migrated to the islands without displacing their inhabitants, eventually adopting the local language but retaining their traditions of a South American origin. In the early colonial period,

6020-438: The origin of the Kalinago. The traditional account, which is almost as old as Columbus, says that the Caribs were a warlike people who were moving up the Lesser Antilles and displacing the original inhabitants. Early missionary texts suggested the original inhabitants of the islands were the Igneri , while the Kalinago were invaders originating in South America (home to the mainland Caribs or Kalina) who conquered and displaced

6106-405: The presence of dense forests. Many species are endemic to the island, including the Anolis luciae , a species of lizard, and the Boa orophias , a species of boid snake. Saint Lucia has five terrestrial ecoregions: Windward Islands moist forests , Leeward Islands dry forests , Windward Islands dry forests, Windward Islands xeric scrub , and Lesser Antilles mangroves . The country had

6192-456: The previous census in 2001. Ages 0–14 made up 24.1% of the population whilst those 65 and over made up 8.6%. Nearly 40% of the island's population lived in the District of Castries , where the nation's capital of the same name is located. Kalinago At the time of Spanish contact , the Kalinago were one of the dominant groups in the Caribbean (the name of which is derived from "Carib", as

6278-488: The resistance of Taínos and Kalinago alike was largely quashed across the Greater Antilles. The survivors were enslaved to work in agriculture or mining. The Kalinagos were more successful in repelling the Spanish—and later the French and English—in the Lesser Antilles, retaining their independence. The lack of gold in the area and the large numbers of casualties inflicted upon the Spanish contributed to their survival. In

6364-459: The rising mainland Carib polity. Both theories accept that the historical Island Carib language developed from the existing tongue of the islands, and thus it is also known as Igneri. By the early twenty-first century, a combination of bush medicine and modern medicine was used by the Kalinago of Dominica. For example, various fruits and leaves are used to heal common ailments. For a sprain, oils from coconuts, snakes, and bay leaves are used to heal

6450-685: The same year. In 1958, Saint Lucia joined the West Indies Federation , although the federation was dissolved just years later in 1962. In 1967, Saint Lucia became one of the six members of the West Indies Associated States , with internal self-government. Independence was peacefully gained in 1979 under Sir John Compton of United Workers Party , with the island remaining within the British Commonwealth , keeping then-Queen Elizabeth II as Monarch , represented locally by

6536-565: The seventeenth century, the Kalinago regularly attacked the plantations of the English and the French in the Leeward Islands. In the 1630s, planters from the Leewards conducted campaigns against the Kalinago, but with limited success. The Kalinago took advantage of divisions between the Europeans, to provide support to the French and the Dutch during wars in the 1650s, consolidating their independence as

6622-400: The stories of "vicious cannibals" may have comprised an "ideological campaign" against the Kalinago to justify "genocidal military expeditions" by European colonizers. The Island Carib word karibna meant "person", although it became the origin of the English word "cannibal" after Columbus shared stories of flesh-eating Kalinago, apparently heard from their historic Taíno enemies. Among

6708-588: The term Black Carib , particularly in William Young 's Account of the Black Charaibs (1795), has been described in modern historiography as framing the majority of the indigenous St. Vincent population as "mere interlopers from Africa" who lacked claims to land possession in St. Vincent. On Dominica the runaways formed distinct Maroon communities while the Caribs remained distinct. A remnant of these Caribs lives on in

6794-459: The terms Arawak and Caribs to distinguish the peoples of the Caribbean, with Carib reserved for Indigenous groups that they considered hostile and Arawak for groups that they considered friendly. The Kalinago language endonyms are Karifuna (singular) and Kalinago (plural). The name was officially changed from 'Carib' to 'Kalinago' in Dominica in 2015. William F. Keegan and Corinne L. Hofman have outlined two major models for

6880-461: The time of the Carib expansion through the islands, and that males maintained it to emphasize their origins on the mainland. Linguistic analysis in the 20th century determined that the main Island Carib language was spoken by both sexes, and was Arawakan , not Cariban . Scholars adopted more nuanced theories to explain the transition from the earlier Igneri to the later Island Carib societies in

6966-685: The western portion is open towards the Grenada basin , the depression formed as recently as 100 kya. The depression is noted for its geothermal activity , especially at Sulphur Springs and Soufrière Estates , a phreatic eruption in 1776, and recent seismic activity (2000–2001). Eroded andesitic stratovolcanoes to the north east of the depression include Mt. Gimie , Piton St Esprit, and Mt. Grand Magazin, all greater than 1 Ma in age. Andesitic and dacite pyroclastic flows from these volcanoes are found at Morne Tabac dome (532 ka ), Morne Bonin dome (273 kya), and Bellevue (264 kya). Avalanche deposits from

7052-405: The women into their own society. It is possible that Christopher Columbus may have sighted the island during his fourth voyage in 1502, but he does not mention the island in his log. Juan de la Cosa noted the island on his map of 1500, calling it El Falcon , and another island to the south Las Agujas . A Spanish cédula from 1511 mentions the island within the Spanish domain, and a globe in

7138-622: Was based on the Quebec Civil Code of 1866 , as supplemented by English common law-style legislation. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was Saint Lucia's final court of appeal until 2023, when a constitutional amendment transferred this to the Caribbean Court of Justice . Saint Lucia's homicide rate has hit record highs in recent years. There were 75 homicides in 2021, a 34.5% increase compared with 55 homicides in 2020. 2021 saw

7224-586: Was greater than that in Dominica. Both the Island Caribs (Yellow Caribs) and the Black Caribs ( Garifuna ) fought against the British during the Second Carib War . After the end of the war, the British deported the Garifuna (a population of 4,338) to Roatan Island , while the Island Caribs (whose population consisted of 80 people) were allowed to stay on St. Vincent. The 1812 eruption of La Soufrière destroyed

7310-572: Was introduced in 1924 with universal suffrage being established in 1951. From 1958 to 1962, the island was a member of the West Indies Federation . On 22 February 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state, while remaining as a Commonwealth realm . Saint Lucia is a member of the United Nations , the Organization of American States , the World Trade Organization , CARICOM and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). It

7396-462: Was renamed Fort Charlotte . Soon, a combined force of French Revolutionary Army soldiers and maroons , L'Armee Française dans les Bois , began to fight back, starting the First Brigand War. A short time later, the British invaded the island as a part of the war with France that had recently broken out. On 21 February 1795, French forces under the nominal control of Victor Hugues , defeated

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