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Welcome to Saint Lucia
A brief History of Saint Lucia
Arc haeological finds on the island indicate that St Lucia was settled by Arawaks
between 1000 and 500 BC. Around 800 AD migrating Caribs conquered the Arawaks
and established permanent settlements on the island.St Lucia was outside the routes taken
by Columbus on his four visits to the New World and was probably first sighted by
Spanish explorers during the early 1500s. The first attempt at European colonization
wasn't made until 1605, when a party of English settlers was quickly routed by unreceptive
Caribs. A second attempt by British colonists from St Kitts was made in 1638, but the
settlement was abandoned within two years after most of the settlers were killed in attacks.
After the British left, the French laid claim to the island and attempted to reach an
agreement with the Caribs. In 1746, the French established the island's first town, Soufrière,
and began developing plantations. The British successfully invaded in 1778 and established
naval bases at Gros Islet and Pigeon Island, which they used as staging grounds for
attacks on the French islands to the north. St Lucia seesawed between the British
and the French until 1814, when the Treaty of Paris finally ceded the island to the British,
ending 150 years of conflict during which St Lucia had changed flags 14 times.
Culturally the British were slow in replacing French customs and it wasn't until 1842 that
English nudged out French as St Lucia's official language. Other customs linger to this
day: the majority of locals speak a French-based Creole, attend Catholic churches
and live in villages with French names. St Lucia gained internal autonomy in 1967
and full independence, as a member of the British Commonwealth, in 1979.
Email - sarkis11@hotmail.com
For any comments, please send me an email at saltibus@candw.lc or museum@stlucisgovernmenthouse.com
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