Saint Lucia
St. Lucia's population is predominantly of African and mixed
African-European descent, with small East Indian and European
minorities. English is the official language, although many St.
Lucians speak a French patois. Ninety percent of the population is
Roman Catholic, a further reflection of early French influence on
the island. The population of just over 166,000 is evenly divided
between urban and rural areas, although the capital, Castries,
contains more than one-third of the population. |
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St. Lucia's first known inhabitants were the Arawaks, believed to
have come from northern South America in 200-400 A.D. Numerous
archaeological sites on the island have produced specimens of the
Arawaks' well-developed pottery. Caribs gradually replaced Arawaks
during the period from 800-1000 A.D.
Europeans first landed on the island in either 1492 or 1502 during
Spain's early exploration of the Caribbean. The Dutch, English, and
French all tried to establish trading outposts on St. Lucia in the
17th century but faced opposition from the Caribs.
The English, with their headquarters in Barbados, and the French,
based in Martinique, found St. Lucia attractive after the sugar
industry developed in the 18th century. Britain eventually
triumphed, with France permanently ceding St. Lucia in 1815. In
1838, St. Lucia was incorporated into the British Windward Islands
administration, headquartered in Barbados. This lasted until 1885,
when the capital was moved to Grenada.
Increasing self-governance has marked St. Lucia's 20th-century
history. A 1924 constitution gave the island its first form of
representative government, with a minority of elected members in the
previously all-nominated legislative council. Universal adult
suffrage was introduced in 1951, and elected members became a
majority of the council. Ministerial government was introduced in
1956, and in 1958 St. Lucia joined the short-lived West Indies
Federation, a semi-autonomous dependency of the United Kingdom. When
the federation collapsed in 1962, following Jamaica's withdrawal, a
smaller federation was briefly attempted. After the second failure,
the United Kingdom and the six windward and leeward
islands--Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, St.
Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, and St. Lucia--developed a novel form of
cooperation called associated statehood.
As an associated state of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1979, St.
Lucia had full responsibility for internal self-government but left
its external affairs and defense responsibilities to the United
Kingdom. This interim arrangement ended on February 22, 1979, when
St. Lucia achieved full independence. St. Lucia continues to
recognize Queen Elizabeth II as titular head of state and is an
active member of the Commonwealth. The island continues to cooperate
with its neighbors through the Caribbean Community and Common Market
(CARICOM), the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), the East
Caribbean Common Market (ECCM), the Organization of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS), and the Regional Security System (RSS). |
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