⛰ The Vast History of St. Lucia ⛰

By: Farina Dewan

Image by Didier Masson/ Getty Images

 

Background Information on the Island  

St. Lucia, or one may say "The Land of the Iguanas" is quite an idea exotic, tropical getaway! Despite the limited landscape with an area of twenty-seven miles long and fourteen miles wide, the island has mountains, volcanic beaches, and even the only drive-in volcano Sulphur Springs in the world! With historical ties to England, France, and Dutch that date back to as late as the fourteenth century, the events go from discovered by explorers, to colonization, to creating large industries through slave labor, and to slowly becoming the island it is today. 

 

 The Indigenous People of St. Lucia 

The indigenous people of St. Lucia are the Arawak Indians. They had given the island several names throughout the years. In 200 AD, the island was primarily known as "Louanalao", which means "island of the Iguanas". Around 800 AD was when it was discovered by Carib Indians and the island was renamed, "Hewanorra". The Carib Indians conquered and became one with the Arawak's culture. There are still many residents who's ancestors are the Carib Indians. Hearing facts like these greatly pleases me. Knowing that many people are still connected to their ancestors from over a thousand years ago also inspires me to connect with mine!

 

 Being Discovered by Explorers

According to some evidence, historians believe that Christopher Columbus may have visited or sighted St. Lucia while on his fourth voyage. However, his log had no recorded information about it. On the other hand, a Castilian navigator, Juan de la Cosa acknowledged this island on his map as "El Falcon" during 1500.

 

The French were noted one of the first Europeans to settle on this island, but the actual person to settle here was François le Clerc, a French pirate with a wooden leg. He first settled here in the 1550's and put up the first camp. During 1605, the settlementan occurred when an English ship with about sixty-seven colonists on their way to Guyana had to arrive in St. Lucia instead. 

 

Unfortunately a few months later, there were a few colonists were left and had to fled the island after suffering from several attacks from the Carib chief, Augraumart. 

Many centuries later during the 1600s, the English, French, and Dutch attempted to conquer and colonize St. Lucia to become one of their colonies. Around that time, the Dutch tried to build the Vieux Fort, but this project was pushed out by the Caribs, so it was never completed. Right now one may be thinking how ambitious and courageous the Caribs are! The British attempted to establish settlement of about four-hundred settlers on the island, but they were driven out by the Caribs in less than two years.

Finally in 1651, a member of the French West India Company had purchased the land from the Caribs, which gave them authority to gain control of the island and make it into a French colony. Apparently, this caused a feud between the English and French. In an immediate attempt to regain control of the island, the English sent one-thousand soldiers to fight and take back the island. This everlasting war had finally ended in 1814, and the French surrendered the island to the English.

This map from 1778 shows the positions of the British and French forces during war.

Everlasting War on the Island and Slavery

 During the mid 1650s until early 1800s, St. Lucia was a French Crown Colony and a dependent of Martinique, a similar neighboring island a little fifty mines away. While the French and English were period of warfare, the sugar industry was skyrocketing, but it was through slave labor.  During this period, there were many different temporary treaties, which occasionally changed the control of the island about a dozen times during the 1700s'. During the French Revolution, the French had only remained and it became a "de facto" French colony. 

Finally, on the day of February 4, 1794, France prohibited slavery. A while after that, the island was then invaded by the British again in 1803 and regained control over the island. 

After many years of war, the two feuding sides finally concluded to the Treaty of Paris in 1814, where the British gained control on this island and became a part of the British Windwards Islands colony.

After centuries of British control, St. Lucia became one of the last European colonies to receive independent island by the British Commonwealth in 1979.

 

 

 Staying Connected to Their Roots 

The local residents of St. Lucia take great pride in their cultural past, especially through traditional foods! I don't know about you, but learning about a culture's traditional food is quite interesting to me. Their typical diets insists of mostly starches, green vegetables, and animal protein (based on location). They enjoy various kinds of starches that are often included in traditional cuisines are: yams, dasheen, eddos, sweet potatoes, and breadfruit. The unique cuisines may sound appetizing, but the fact that people should definitely consider that these reflect the plantation past.

 

Since there are such amazing islands around the Caribbean with such fascinating culture and history, I would definitely consider adopting and looking after! The three islands that I am highly considering are: Bahamas, St. Martin/Maarten, and Antigua.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cited Resources

 

Harris, Jo Anne. "St. Lucia." The Virtual Caribbean Library. Web. 09 Feb. 2021.

 

"History & Culture of Saint Lucia: Let Her Inspire You." Saint Lucia Let Her Inspire You. Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, 2021. Web. 09 Feb. 2021.

 

Masson, Didier. "Scenic View Of Mountains And Sea Against Sky." Getty Images. EyeEm. Web. 09 Feb. 2021.

 

Ruppert, Bob. "The Battle of Vigie Peninsula." Journal of the American Revolution. 28 Aug. 2016. Web. 09 Feb. 2021.

 

"Saint Lucia." Countries and Their Cultures. Web. 09 Feb. 2021.