History of St. Lucia
St.
Lucia was first settled by Arawak Indians around 200 A.D., though
by 800 their culture had been superseded by that of the Caribs.
These early Amerindian cultures called the island "Iouanalao"
and "Hewanorra," meaning "Island of the
Iguanas."
The history of the island's
European discovery is a bit hazy. It was long believed that
Columbus had discovered St. Lucia in 1502, but recent evidence
suggests that he merely sailed close by. An alternative discoverer
is Juan de la Cosa, a lesser-known explorer who had served at one
time as Columbus' navigator. There are some indications that de la
Cosa may have discovered the island in 1499, although there is
also evidence suggesting that he didn't find the island until
1504. In any case, there was no European presence established on
the island until its settlement in the 1550s by the notorious
buccaneer Francois le Clerc, a.k.a. Jambe de Bois, or Wooden Leg.
Peg-Leg le Clerc set up a fine little base on Pigeon Island, from
whence he issued forth to prey upon unwitting and treasure-laden
Spanish galleons. Around 1600, the Dutch arrived, establishing a
fortified base at Vieux Fort.
The first attempt at colonization
occurred just a few years later, in 1605. An unfortunate party of
English colonists, headed to Guyana on the good ship Olive Branch,
landed on St. Lucia after having been blown off course. In all,
sixty-seven colonists waded ashore, where they purchased land and
huts from the resident Caribs. After a month, the party had been
reduced to only nineteen, and those were soon forced to flee from
the Caribs in a canoe. A few decades later, in 1639, a second
party of English colonists under Sir Thomas Warner also failed in
their settlement attempt.
By mid-century the French had
arrived, and had even "purchased" the island for the
French West India Company. Needless to say, the persevering
British were less than enchanted with this idea, and Anglo-French
rivalry for the island continued for more than a century and a
half. The island's first settlements and towns were all French,
beginning with Soufriere in 1746. By 1780, twelve settlements and
a large number of sugar plantations had been established. Two
years earlier, the British launched their first invasion effort at
the "Battle of Cul de Sac." By 1814, after a prolonged
series of enormously destructive battles, the island was finally
theirs.
Over the next century St. Lucia
settled into the stable democracy and multicultural society that
it is today. The country remained under the British crown until it
became independent within the British Commonwealth in 1979.
Despite the length of British rule, the island's French cultural
legacy is still evident in its Creole dialect.
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