Saint Lucia

HISTORY

The earliest inhabitants of Saint Lucia in the eastern Caribbean Sea were probably Arawaks from South America who called it Iouanalao, meaning ‘land of the iguanas’.

A map of Saint Lucia. Wikipedia Commons

The French were first to colonize St Lucia and they named it after St Lucia of Syracuse (283–304).

St Lucia is the only country in the world named after a woman.

Saint Lucia of Syracuse was honored in the Middle Ages and remained a well-known saint in early modern England. Her feast day, known as Saint Lucy's Day, is celebrated in the West on December 13. She is a patron saint of the blind, martyrs, epidemics, throat infections, salesmen and writers.

Saint Lucy, by Francesco del Cossa (c. 1430 – c. 1477)

In 1664, a force of 1,000 men under the command of Thomas Warner (son of Sir Thomas Warner, the governor of St Kitts) claimed Saint Lucia for England. Within two years most had died of disease.

The island changed hands between Britain and France fourteen times in the 17th and 18th centuries. Because it switched control so often between the two countries, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".

The flag of Saint Lucia consists of a cerulean blue field charged with a yellow triangle in front of a white-edged black isosceles triangle. It was adopted on March 1, 1967 after the country became an Associated State of the United Kingdom that year.

The British took definitive control of the island and ruled St Lucia until February 22, 1979. Queen Elizabeth II is still its head of state.

February 22nd is Independence Day in St Lucia, marking the Caribbean island’s independence from the UK.

FUN ST LUCIA FACTS

Saint Lucia has won two Nobel prizes: Derek Walcott (Literature) in 1992 and Arthur Lewis (Economics) 1979.

With a population of 178,015, Saint Lucia boasts the second highest ratio of Nobel laureates per capita of any independent country.

The official language is English. Saint Lucian Creole French (Kwéyòl), which is colloquially referred to as Patois ("Patwa"), is spoken by 95% of the population.

The national dish of St Lucia is figvét é lanmowi (stewed saltfish with boiled green bananas).

Oil accounts for 33 per cent of exports and bananas 22 per cent.

Tourism is an important foreign currency earner for St Lucia. Around 65 per cent of Saint Lucia’s economy is from tourism. The majority of tourists visit the island as part of a cruise.

The volcanic island of Saint Lucia has more mountains than most Caribbean islands, with the highest point being Mount Gimie, at 950 metres (3,120 feet) above sea level.

Two other mountains, the Pitons, form the island's most famous landmark. The Majestic twin peaks are  a world heritage site.

Aerial view of The Pitons By Chensiyuan 

Saint Lucia is also one of the few islands in the world that boasts a drive-in volcano.

Saint Lucia has competed at every summer Olympics since 1996 but has yet to win a medal.

In 2007 Daren Sammy became the first Saint Lucian to represent the West Indies in Test cricket. On his debut against England, Sammy took  7/66 which were the best bowling figures for a West Indian in his first Test since Alf Valentine in 1950.

 Appropriately enough for an island Saint Lucia is an anagram of “is nautical.” Another one being “is a lunatic”.

Source Daily Express.