History of Saint Lucia 27209 224514375 2008-07-09T05:12:43Z 71.205.170.70 /* 19th century */ ==Pre-European people== [[Saint Lucia]]'s first known inhabitants were [[Arawak]]s, believed to have come from northern [[South America]] around [[200]]-[[400]] A.D. Numerous [[archeology|archaeological]] sites on the island have produced specimens of the Arawaks' well-developed [[pottery]]. [[Carib]]s gradually replaced Arawaks during the period from [[800]] to [[1000]] A.D. {{Fact|date=April 2007}} They called the island ''Hiwanarau'', and later ''Hewanorra'', which is now the name used for the [[Hewanorra International Airport]] in [[Vieux Fort]]. The Caribs had a complex society, with hereditary kings and shamans. Their war canoes could hold more than 100 men and were fast enough to catch a sailing ship. They were later feared by the [[Europe]]ans because of stories of violence and cannibalism, but much of this was probably exaggeration on the part of the Europeans. The Caribs were usually generous until attacked or deceived (which are situations common to much of European [[Colonialism|colonial]] history). ==European invasion== [[Europe]]ans first landed on the island in either [[1492]] or [[1502]] during [[Spain]]'s early exploration of the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]]. The [[Netherlands|Dutch]], [[England|English]], and [[France|French]] all tried to establish trading outposts on St. Lucia in the [[17th century]] but faced opposition from Caribs whose land they were occupying. ===17th century===<!-- This section is linked from [[Francophonie]] --> Although the French [[pirate]] [[Francois le Clerc]] (also known as ''Jamb de Bois'', due to his wooden leg) frequented Saint Lucia in the [[1550]]s, it was not until years later, around [[1600]], that the first European camp was started by the Dutch, at what is now [[Vieux Fort]]. In [[1605]], an English vessel called the ''Olive Branch'' was blown off-course on its way to [[Guyana]], and the 67 colonists started a settlement on Saint Lucia but after five weeks only 19 of them remained due to disease and conflict with the Caribs, so they fled the island. The French officially claimed the island in [[1635]] but it was the [[England|English]] that started the next European settlement in [[1639]], which was wiped out by the Caribs. It was not until [[1651]] that the French came, this time from [[Martinique]], commanded by [[De Rousselan]], who held the island until his death in [[1654]]. In [[1664]], [[Thomas Warner]] (son of the governor of [[St Kitts]]) claimed Saint Lucia for England. He brought 1,000 men there to defend it from the French, but after two years there were only 89 left, mostly due to disease. For years after this, the island was official traded back and forth between the English and the French in various treaties, as a bargaining chip in negotiations. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right" align="right" |+Political control from 1674-1814<ref name="worldstatesmen">{{cite web |date=2007 |url = http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Saint_Lucia.html|title = Saint Lucia |format = HTML |publisher = worldstatesmen| accessdate = 2008-04-01 | last= |quote=}}</ref> |- ! Date !! Country |- | 1674 || French crown colony |- | 1723 || Neutral territory (agreed by Britain and France) |- | 1743 || French colony (Sainte Lucie) |- | 1748 || Neutral territory (de jure agreed by Britain and France) |- | 1756 || French colony (Sainte Lucie) |- | 1762 || British occupation |- | 1802 || Restored to France |- | 1803 || British colony (Saint Lucia) |- | 1814 || British possession confirmed |} ===18th century=== The English, with their headquarters in [[Barbados]], and the French, centered on [[Martinique]], found St. Lucia attractive after the [[sugar]] industry developed in [[1765]]. Colonists who came over were mostly indentured white servants serving a small percentage of wealthy merchants or nobles. Conflict with the Caribs increased as more and more land was taken. Near the end of the century, the [[French Revolution]] occurred, and a revolutionary tribunal was sent to Saint Lucia, headed by captain La Crosse. Bringing the ideas of the revolution to Saint Lucia, he set up a guillotine that was used to execute [[House of Bourbon|Royalists]]. In 1794, the French governor of the island declared that all slaves were free, but only a short time later the British invaded again in response to the concerns of the wealthy plantation owners, and restored slavery after years of fighting. Castries was burned in 1796 as part of that battle between the British and the slaves and French republicans. ===19th century=== Britain eventually triumphed, with France permanently ceding Saint Lucia in [[1814]]. The British abolished the African slave trade in [[1807]], three years after former slaves in [[Haiti]] had gained their independence as the first black republic in the Caribbean, but it was not until [[1834]] that slavery was actually abolished on Saint Lucia. Even after slavery was officially abolished, all former slaves had to serve a four-year "apprenticeship" which forced them to work for free for their former slavemasters for at least three-quarters of the work week, with final freedom in [[1838]]. Also in [[1838]], Saint Lucia was incorporated into the British [[Windward Islands]] administration, headquartered in Barbados. This lasted until [[1885]], when the capital was moved to [[Grenada]]. ===20th century to present day=== Increasing self-government has marked St. Lucia's [[20th century]] history. A [[1924]] constitution gave the island its first form of representative government, with a minority of elected members in the previously all-nominated legislative council. Universal adult [[suffrage]] was introduced in [[1951]], and elected members became a majority of the council. Ministerial government was introduced in [[1956]], and in [[1958]] St. Lucia joined the short-lived [[West Indies Federation]], a semi-autonomous dependency of the United Kingdom. When the federation collapsed in [[1962]], following [[Jamaica]]'s withdrawal, a smaller federation was briefly attempted. After the second failure, the United Kingdom and the six windward and leeward islands--Grenada, [[Saint Vincent (island)|St. Vincent]], [[Dominica]], [[Antigua]], [[St. Kitts and Nevis]] and [[Anguilla]], and St. Lucia--developed a novel form of cooperation called associated statehood. As an associated state of the United Kingdom from [[1967]] to [[1979]], St. Lucia had full responsibility for internal self-government but left its external affairs and defense responsibilities to the United Kingdom. This interim arrangement ended on [[February 22]], 1979, when St. Lucia achieved full independence. St. Lucia continues to recognize Queen [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]] as titular head of state and is an active member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. The island continues to cooperate with its neighbors through the Caribbean community and common market ([[CARICOM]]), the East Caribbean Common Market (ECCM), and the [[Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States]] (OECS). ==See also== *[[History of the Caribbean]] *[[History of the Americas]] ==References== {{reflist}} * {{cite book | author=Philpott, Don | title=St Lucia | location=Derbyshire | publisher=Landmark Publishing Ltd | year=1999 | id=ISBN 1-901522-28-8 }} * {{cite book | author=Higgins, Chris | title=St. Lucia | location=Montreal | publisher=Ulysses Travel Guides| year=2001 | id=ISBN 2-89464-396-9}} * {{cite web | title=History of Saint Lucia | work=History of Saint Lucia | url=http://www.un.int/stlucia/consularservices/history.htm | accessdate=September 23 | accessyear=2005}} {{History of North America}} [[Category:History of Saint Lucia| ]] [[Category:National histories|Saint Lucia]] [[es:Historia de Santa Lucía]] [[fr:Histoire de Sainte-Lucie]] [[pt:História de Santa Lúcia]]