Saint Lucia
Encyclopedia
Saint Lucia is an 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 620 km2 (238 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 173,765 (2009 census). Its capital is Castries
. The island nation has been the home of two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott
. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after the Faroe Islands
.
One of the Windward Islands
, it was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse
by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib peoples in 1660. England
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 (Seven times French and British each). 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."
Saint Lucia has a legal system based on British common law. The judiciary is independent and conducts generally fair public trials. The financial sector has weathered the global financial crisis, but the recession has hurt tourism.
Representative government came about in 1924 (with universal suffrage
from 1953). From 1958 to 1962 the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies
. Finally, on February 22, 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations
. The island nation celebrates this every year with a public holiday. It is also a member of La Francophonie
.
ans first landed on the island in either 1492 or 1502 during Spain's
early exploration of the Caribbean
.
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 Govenor De Rousselan, who signed a treaty with the local Caribs in 1660. Like the English and Dutch, the French began to develop the island for the cultivation of sugar cane on extensive plantations. After the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and the France-Spanish coalition was brought to an end by the treaty of Paris (10 February 1763) in which the signatories agreed to an exchange of colonial territories. When the British acquired the island trying to use the Caribs as labourers, they imported enslaved
Africans as workers. Many of the Caribs died because of lack of immunity to Eurasian diseases, such as smallpox
and measles
, and as a result of being overworked and maltreated by the Europeans.
Caribbean conditions were hard, and many slaves died as well. The British continued to import slaves until they abolished the trade due to the slave and Carib revolutionary wars against them. By that time, people of ethnic African and Carib descent greatly outnumbered those of ethnic European background.
Thereafter Saint Lucia was much contested by the two European powers until the British secured it in 1814. It was part of the British Windward Islands colony.
It joined the West Indies Federation (1958–62) 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), was again prime minister from 1982 to 1996, when he was succeeded by Vaughn Lewis.
Kenny Anthony of the Labour Party was prime minister from 1997 to 2006, when the UWP, again led by Compton, won control of parliament. In May 2007, after Compton suffered a series of ministrokes, Finance and External Affairs Minister Stephenson King became acting prime minister. He became prime minister after Compton died in September 2007.
; Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State
of Saint Lucia, represented on the island by a Governor-General
. Executive 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. Prime Minister Stephenson King
of the business-friendly United Workers Party
took office in 2007. Saint Lucia is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
(OECS) and La Francophonie
.
of the island, under the French colonial government which was continued by the British:examples
of...
Saint Lucia has 17 electoral segments for the 17 seats in the House of Assembly (each with title "Parliamentary Representative"):
The volcanic
island of Saint Lucia is more mountainous than many other Caribbean
islands, with the highest point being Mount Gimie
, at 950 metres (3,116.8 ft) 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
, where about one third of the population lives. Major towns include Gros Islet
, Soufrière
and Vieux Fort. The local climate
is tropical
, moderated by northeast trade wind
s, with a dry season from December 1 to May 31, and a wet season from June 1 to November 30.The amazing thing is that a lot pf people have never been to st. Lucia on the Cruz or by airplanes.Some people have to walk or drive because they can not pay for the trip i cost too much money for them.
import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin America
n banana
s have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism
industries, which is the island's main source of revenue. The manufacturing
sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry. Despite negative growth in 2001, economic fundamentals remain solid, and GDP
growth should recover in the future.
Inflation has been relatively low, averaging 5.5 percent between 2006 and 2008. Saint Lucia’s currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$), a regional currency shared among members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECU). The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCL) issues the EC$, manages monetary policy, and regulates and supervises commercial banking activities in member countries. In 2003, the government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy, including elimination of price controls and privatization of the state banana company.
The population of about 170,000 is evenly divided between urban and rural areas, although the capital, Castries, contains more than one-third of the population. Saint Lucia's population is predominantly of African and mixed African-European descent, with a small Indo-Caribbean
minority (3%). Members of other or unspecified ethnicity groups, account for about 2% of the population.
The official language is English
; however Saint Lucian Creole French
(Kwéyòl), which is a French
-based Creole colloquially referred to as Patois, is spoken by 95% of the population. This Antillean Creole
is used in literature and music, and is gaining official acknowledgement. It evolved from French
, African languages, and Carib
. Saint Lucia is a member of La Francophonie
.
Saint Lucia boasts the highest ratio of Nobel
laureates produced with respect to the total population of any sovereign country in the world. Two winners have come from Saint Lucia: Sir Arthur Lewis won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979, and Derek Walcott
received the Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1992. Both were born on the same day in 1915 and 1930, respectively: January 23.
About 70% of the population is Roman Catholic, influenced from the days of French Catholic rule and evangelization. Most of the rest belong to other Christian denominations, including Seventh-day Adventism
s (7%), Pentecostalism
(6%), Anglicanism
(2%), Evangelical Christianity (2%), and the Baptist
faith; in addition, about 2% of the population adheres to the Rastafari movement
.
Despite a high emigration rate, the population is growing rapidly, about 1.2% per year. Migration from Saint Lucia is primarily to Anglophone
countries, with the United Kingdom
having almost 10,000 Saint Lucian-born citizens, and over 30,000 of Saint Lucian heritage. The second most popular destination for Saint Lucian expatriates is the United States
, where combined (foreign and national born Saint Lucians) almost 14,000 reside. Canada
is home to a few thousand Saint Lucians. Most other countries in the world have fewer than 50 citizens of Saint Lucian origin (the exceptions being Spain
and France
with 124 and 117 Saint Lucian expats respectively).
was at 12 per 100,000 births in 2005. There is one public hospital
and one private hospital in St Lucia. There was a second, but it was burnt down in a fire in the early hours of September 9, 2009.
The culture of Saint Lucia has been influenced by African, East Indian, French and English heritage. One of the secondary languages is an Creole
, a form of French
patois
.
order, and the second's representing Freemasonry
. This can be seen on a mural painted by Dunstan St Omer, depicting the holy trinity
of Osiris
, Horus
and Isis
.
The biggest festival of the year is the Saint Lucian Jazz Festival. Held in early May at multiple venues throughout the island, it draws visitors and musicians from around the world.
Traditionally in common with other Caribbean countries, Saint Lucia held a carnival
before Lent
. In 1999, the government moved Carnival to mid-July to avoid competing with the much larger Trinidad and Tobago carnival
. It wanted to attract more overseas visitors.
In May 2009, Saint Lucians commemorated the 150th Anniversary of West Indian Heritage on the island.
.
Together with Caribbean music genres such as Calypso
, Soca
, Dancehall
, Reggae
, Compas
, Zouk
and Salsa
, Saint Lucia has a strong indigenous folk music tradition.
Each May since 1991, Saint Lucia has hosted an internationally renowned Jazz Festival
.
The dancing in Saint Lucia comes from the Caribbean and is quite active.
, Destiny University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the oldest of which is Spartan Health Sciences University. The leading secondary school for boys is St Mary's College which taught both Sir Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott and for girls St. Joseph's Convent, alma mater of Dame Pearlette Louisy, their Governor General.
Other tourist attractions include a drive-in volcano
, Sulphur Springs
(at Soufrière), the Botanical Gardens, the Majestic twin Peaks "The Pitons", A world heritage site, the rain forests, and Pigeon Island National Park, which is home to Fort Rodney, an old British military base.
The majority of tourists visit Saint Lucia as part of a cruise. Most of their time tends to be spent in Castries
, although Soufriere
, Marigot Bay
and Gros Islet
are popular locations to visit.
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. Part of the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent
Saint Vincent (island)
Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
, northwest of Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
and south of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
. It covers a land area of 620 km2 (238 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 173,765 (2009 census). Its capital is Castries
Castries
Castries , population 10,634, aggl. 37,963 , is the capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the Caribbean. The district with the same name had a population of 61,341 in 2001-05-22, and stretches over an area of ....
. The island nation has been the home of two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott
Derek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...
. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
.
One of the Windward Islands
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
, it was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse
Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy , also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux, lucis "light", she is the patron saint of those who are...
by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib peoples in 1660. England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 (Seven times French and British each). 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."
Saint Lucia has a legal system based on British common law. The judiciary is independent and conducts generally fair public trials. The financial sector has weathered the global financial crisis, but the recession has hurt tourism.
Representative government came about in 1924 (with universal suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
from 1953). From 1958 to 1962 the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies
West Indies Federation
The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom...
. Finally, on February 22, 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
. The island nation celebrates this every year with a public holiday. It is also a member of La Francophonie
La Francophonie
Francophonie is an international organization of politics and governments with French as the mother or customary language, where a significant proportion of people are francophones , or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.Formally known as the Organisation...
.
History
EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans first landed on the island in either 1492 or 1502 during Spain's
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
early exploration of the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
.
In 1643 a French expedition under the direction of Jacques du Parquet the Governor of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
established a permanent settlement on the island under the Govenor De Rousselan, who signed a treaty with the local Caribs in 1660. Like the English and Dutch, the French began to develop the island for the cultivation of sugar cane on extensive plantations. After the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and the France-Spanish coalition was brought to an end by the treaty of Paris (10 February 1763) in which the signatories agreed to an exchange of colonial territories. When the British acquired the island trying to use the Caribs as labourers, they imported enslaved
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
Africans as workers. Many of the Caribs died because of lack of immunity to Eurasian diseases, such as smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
and measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, and as a result of being overworked and maltreated by the Europeans.
Caribbean conditions were hard, and many slaves died as well. The British continued to import slaves until they abolished the trade due to the slave and Carib revolutionary wars against them. By that time, people of ethnic African and Carib descent greatly outnumbered those of ethnic European background.
Thereafter Saint Lucia was much contested by the two European powers until the British secured it in 1814. It was part of the British Windward Islands colony.
It joined the West Indies Federation (1958–62) 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), was again prime minister from 1982 to 1996, when he was succeeded by Vaughn Lewis.
Kenny Anthony of the Labour Party was prime minister from 1997 to 2006, when the UWP, again led by Compton, won control of parliament. In May 2007, after Compton suffered a series of ministrokes, Finance and External Affairs Minister Stephenson King became acting prime minister. He became prime minister after Compton died in September 2007.
Politics
Saint Lucia is a Commonwealth realmCommonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
; Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
of Saint Lucia, represented on the island by a Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
. Executive power, however, is in the hands of the Prime Minister and his cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
. The prime minister is normally the head of the party commanding the support of the majority of the members of the House of Assembly
House of Assembly of Saint Lucia
The Parliament of Saint Lucia has two chambers. The House of Assembly is the popular elected chamber of the Legislature. It has 17 members, elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies.-Current Composition:...
, which has 17 seats. The other chamber of Parliament
Parliament of Saint Lucia
The Parliament of Saint Lucia has two chambers.*the House of Assembly has 17 members, elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies.*the Senate has 11 appointed members....
, the Senate
Senate of Saint Lucia
The Legislature has two chambers. The upper house is the Senate with 11 appointed members.The Government Senators are:* Allen Chastanet* Guy Mayers* Gale T. C. Rigobert* Charlotte Mangal* Lorenzo FrancisThe Opposition Senators are:* Emma Hippolyte...
, has 11 appointed members.
Saint Lucia is a two-party parliamentary democracy. Prime Minister Stephenson King
Stephenson King
Stephenson Toby King was the sixth Prime Minister of Saint Lucia. He represents the constituency of Castries North for the United Workers Party in the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia. King won the elections in 2006, unseating the incumbent Minister of Agriculture Ignatius Jean...
of the business-friendly United Workers Party
United Workers Party (Saint Lucia)
The United Workers Party is a conservative political party in Saint Lucia, led by Prime Minister Stephenson King and previously by John Compton.-History:...
took office in 2007. Saint Lucia is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Caribbean Community
The Caribbean Community is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy...
, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , created in 1981, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean...
(OECS) and La Francophonie
La Francophonie
Francophonie is an international organization of politics and governments with French as the mother or customary language, where a significant proportion of people are francophones , or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.Formally known as the Organisation...
.
Quarters
Saint Lucia has 11 quarters, or parishesParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of the island, under the French colonial government which was continued by the British:examples
of...
- Anse la Raye Quarter
- Castries QuarterCastries QuarterCastries Quarter is one of eleven Quarters on the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia. According to the 2002 census, the population of the Quarter was 64,957, having shown a slow but steady increase over the past ten years. The capital of Saint Lucia, the city of Castries, is located in this...
- Choiseul QuarterChoiseul QuarterChoiseul is a Quarter of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia. Located on the southwestern side of the island, the quarter is home to 6,174 people, according to the 2002 census...
- Dauphin QuarterDauphin QuarterDauphin is a Quarter on the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia. It contains a village of the same name, located at . It was home to Amerindians, the , who settled there. To this day, there are ruins which serve as a reminder of people who lived there long before Christopher Columbus crossed the...
- Dennery Quarter
- Gros Islet QuarterGros Islet QuarterGros Islet is the newest town in Saint Lucia, having been recently promoted from a village to a town. It is the location of the Beausejour Cricket Grounds where both One Day International and Test Cricket is played. Parts of the 2007 Cricket World Cup and 2010 ICC World Twenty20 where played there...
- Laborie QuarterLaborie QuarterLaborie is a Quarter – an administrative division inherited from the former French colonial regime – on the Caribbean island-nation of Saint Lucia.According to the 2002 census, the population of the Quarter was 7,414 people...
- Micoud QuarterMicoud QuarterMicoud is a Quarter on the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia, and also a village inside that Quarter. According to the 2002 census, the population of the Quarter was 16,143 people. The village of Micoud is located at .-Adjacent quarters:...
- Praslin QuarterPraslin QuarterPraslin is a Quarter of Saint Lucia, a small island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Praslin Quarter's administrative centre is the village of Praslin, which is located at .-Adjacent quarters:...
- Soufrière Quarter
- Vieux Fort QuarterVieux Fort QuarterVieux Fort is located in the southern part of St. Lucia. It is the second-largest town on the island and is the home of St Lucia's international airport, Hewanorra International Airport....
|
|
Geography
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
island of Saint Lucia is more mountainous than many other Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
islands, with the highest point being Mount Gimie
Mount Gimie
Mount Gimie is the tallest mountain on the island of St. Lucia. The mountain's peak reaches 950 m . It is of volcanic origin and is covered by lush tropical rainforest....
, at 950 metres (3,116.8 ft) above sea level. Two other mountains, the Pitons
Pitons
The Pitons are two volcanic plugs in a World Heritage Site in Saint Lucia. The Gros Piton is 771 m, and the Petit Piton is 743 m high; they are linked by the Piton Mitan ridge.- Geography :...
, form the island's most famous landmark. They are located between Soufrière
Soufrière, Saint Lucia
Soufrière is a quarter on the Southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Soufrière was the former capital of Saint Lucia during times of French rule. It is now a small sleepy fishing port with an emerging tourism industry...
and Choiseul
Choiseul, Saint Lucia
Choiseul was originally known as Anse Citron, and an independent parish was established in 1765. In 1769 a census was done and recorded 75 whites, 25 free coloured, 512 negroes and 69 estates in Choiseul. However, most activity was originally in the River Dorée area, south-east of Choiseul.An...
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
Castries
Castries , population 10,634, aggl. 37,963 , is the capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the Caribbean. The district with the same name had a population of 61,341 in 2001-05-22, and stretches over an area of ....
, where about one third of the population lives. Major towns include Gros Islet
Gros Islet
Gros Islet is a community located near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has gone on to become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country....
, Soufrière
Soufrière, Saint Lucia
Soufrière is a quarter on the Southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Soufrière was the former capital of Saint Lucia during times of French rule. It is now a small sleepy fishing port with an emerging tourism industry...
and Vieux Fort. The local climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
is tropical
Tropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...
, moderated by northeast trade wind
Trade wind
The trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator...
s, with a dry season from December 1 to May 31, and a wet season from June 1 to November 30.The amazing thing is that a lot pf people have never been to st. Lucia on the Cruz or by airplanes.Some people have to walk or drive because they can not pay for the trip i cost too much money for them.
Economy
An educated workforce and improvements in roads, communications, water supply, sewerage, and port facilities have attracted foreign investment in tourism and in petroleum storage and transshipment. However, with the U.S., Canada, and Europe in recession, tourism declined by double digits in early 2009. Because of fluctuations in banana prices and possible World Trade Organization–imposed reductions in European Union trade preferences. The recent change in the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
industries, which is the island's main source of revenue. The manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry. Despite negative growth in 2001, economic fundamentals remain solid, and GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
growth should recover in the future.
Inflation has been relatively low, averaging 5.5 percent between 2006 and 2008. Saint Lucia’s currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$), a regional currency shared among members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECU). The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCL) issues the EC$, manages monetary policy, and regulates and supervises commercial banking activities in member countries. In 2003, the government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy, including elimination of price controls and privatization of the state banana company.
Demographics
Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbean people or Indo-Caribbeans are Caribbean people with roots in India or the Indian subcontinent. They are mostly descendants of the original indentured workers brought by the British, the Dutch and the French during colonial times...
minority (3%). Members of other or unspecified ethnicity groups, account for about 2% of the population.
The official language is English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
; however Saint Lucian Creole French
Saint Lucian Creole French
French Creole is a creole French which is the generally spoken language in Saint Lucia.It is a sub-variety of Antillean Creole, which is spoken in other islands of the Lesser Antilles and is very closely related to the varieties spoken in Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Grenada and Trinidad and...
(Kwéyòl), which is a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-based Creole colloquially referred to as Patois, is spoken by 95% of the population. This Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole is a creole language with a vocabulary based on French. It is spoken primarily in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary also include elements of Carib and African languages. Antillean Creole is related to Haitian Creole, but has a number of distinctive features; they are...
is used in literature and music, and is gaining official acknowledgement. It evolved from French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, African languages, and Carib
Carib language
Carib, also known as Caribe, Cariña, Galibi, Galibí, Kali'na, Kalihna, Kalinya, Galibi Carib, Maraworno and Marworno, is an Amerindian language in the Cariban language family....
. Saint Lucia is a member of La Francophonie
La Francophonie
Francophonie is an international organization of politics and governments with French as the mother or customary language, where a significant proportion of people are francophones , or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.Formally known as the Organisation...
.
Saint Lucia boasts the highest ratio of Nobel
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureates produced with respect to the total population of any sovereign country in the world. Two winners have come from Saint Lucia: Sir Arthur Lewis won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979, and Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott
Derek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...
received the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
in 1992. Both were born on the same day in 1915 and 1930, respectively: January 23.
About 70% of the population is Roman Catholic, influenced from the days of French Catholic rule and evangelization. Most of the rest belong to other Christian denominations, including Seventh-day Adventism
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
s (7%), Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
(6%), Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
(2%), Evangelical Christianity (2%), and the Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
faith; in addition, about 2% of the population adheres to the Rastafari movement
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
.
Despite a high emigration rate, the population is growing rapidly, about 1.2% per year. Migration from Saint Lucia is primarily to Anglophone
English-speaking world
The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another. For more information, please see:Lists:* List of countries by English-speaking population...
countries, with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
having almost 10,000 Saint Lucian-born citizens, and over 30,000 of Saint Lucian heritage. The second most popular destination for Saint Lucian expatriates is the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where combined (foreign and national born Saint Lucians) almost 14,000 reside. Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is home to a few thousand Saint Lucians. Most other countries in the world have fewer than 50 citizens of Saint Lucian origin (the exceptions being Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with 124 and 117 Saint Lucian expats respectively).
Health
Public expenditure on health was at 3.3 % of the GDP in 2004, whereas private expenditure was at 1.8 %. Health expenditure was at US$ 302 (PPP) per capita in 2004. Infant mortalityInfant mortality
Infant mortality is defined as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. However, the spreading information about Oral Re-hydration Solution to mothers around the world has decreased the rate of children dying...
was at 12 per 100,000 births in 2005. There is one public hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
and one private hospital in St Lucia. There was a second, but it was burnt down in a fire in the early hours of September 9, 2009.
Culture
Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole is a creole language with a vocabulary based on French. It is spoken primarily in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary also include elements of Carib and African languages. Antillean Creole is related to Haitian Creole, but has a number of distinctive features; they are...
, a form of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
.
Festivals
Saint Lucian cultural festivals include La Rose and La Marguerite, the first's representing the RosicrucianRosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
order, and the second's representing Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. This can be seen on a mural painted by Dunstan St Omer, depicting the holy trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
of Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
, Horus
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
and Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
.
The biggest festival of the year is the Saint Lucian Jazz Festival. Held in early May at multiple venues throughout the island, it draws visitors and musicians from around the world.
Traditionally in common with other Caribbean countries, Saint Lucia held a carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
before Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
. In 1999, the government moved Carnival to mid-July to avoid competing with the much larger Trinidad and Tobago carnival
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event celebrated on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is the most significant event on the islands' cultural and tourism calendar, with numerous cultural events running in the lead up to the street parade on...
. It wanted to attract more overseas visitors.
In May 2009, Saint Lucians commemorated the 150th Anniversary of West Indian Heritage on the island.
Music and dance
A popular folk dance is the QuadrilleQuadrille
Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...
.
Together with Caribbean music genres such as Calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
, Soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
, Dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
, Reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, Compas
Compas
Compas may refer to:* Compas music, a Haitian musical genre* Compás, a flamenco time signature* COMPAS, a Canadian polling company* Rob Compas , Dutch cyclist...
, Zouk
Zouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
and Salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, Saint Lucia has a strong indigenous folk music tradition.
Each May since 1991, Saint Lucia has hosted an internationally renowned Jazz Festival
Saint Lucia Jazz Festival
The St. Lucia Jazz Festival is an annual internationally-known event which takes place on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. The event brings together international as well as local musicians...
.
The dancing in Saint Lucia comes from the Caribbean and is quite active.
Education
The Education Act provides for free and compulsory education in Saint Lucia from the ages of 5 to 15. Public spending on education was at 5.8 % among the 2002–2005 GDP. Saint Lucia has one university; University of the West Indies Open Campus, and a few medical schools – International American University − College of MedicineInternational American University − College of Medicine
International American University College of Medicine is a private medical school located in Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. IAU confers upon its graduates the Doctor of Medicine degree.-Curriculum:...
, Destiny University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the oldest of which is Spartan Health Sciences University. The leading secondary school for boys is St Mary's College which taught both Sir Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott and for girls St. Joseph's Convent, alma mater of Dame Pearlette Louisy, their Governor General.
Tourism
Tourism is vital to Saint Lucia's economy. Its economic importance is expected to continue to increase as the market for bananas becomes more competitive. Tourism tends to be more substantial during the dry season (January to April). Saint Lucia tends to be popular due to its tropical weather and scenery and its numerous beaches and resorts.Other tourist attractions include a drive-in volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
, Sulphur Springs
Sulphur Springs, Saint Lucia
Sulphur Springs is the "world's only drive in volcano"; it is located in Saint Lucia towards the southwestern side of the island, near Soufrière. According to scientists, it is supposed to erupt in around 100 years and the impact of it can wipe out 3/4 of St Lucia.The water boils at 212 F but the...
(at Soufrière), the Botanical Gardens, the Majestic twin Peaks "The Pitons", A world heritage site, the rain forests, and Pigeon Island National Park, which is home to Fort Rodney, an old British military base.
The majority of tourists visit Saint Lucia as part of a cruise. Most of their time tends to be spent in Castries
Castries
Castries , population 10,634, aggl. 37,963 , is the capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the Caribbean. The district with the same name had a population of 61,341 in 2001-05-22, and stretches over an area of ....
, although Soufriere
Soufrière, Saint Lucia
Soufrière is a quarter on the Southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Soufrière was the former capital of Saint Lucia during times of French rule. It is now a small sleepy fishing port with an emerging tourism industry...
, Marigot Bay
Marigot Bay
Marigot Bay is located on the western coast of the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, 3.75 miles southwest from Castries and a short distance from the Saint Lucian National Marine Reserve...
and Gros Islet
Gros Islet
Gros Islet is a community located near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has gone on to become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country....
are popular locations to visit.
See also
- Caribbean SeaCaribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
- Commonwealth of NationsCommonwealth of NationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
- Saint Lucian British
- Windward IslandsWindward IslandsThe Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
External links
- Official website of the Government of Saint Lucia
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members
- Saint Lucia from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Atlas of Saint Lucia