History of Anguilla

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The history of

British overseas territory
since 1980.

Pre-Columbian Anguilla

The earliest inhabitants of Anguilla were

Carib, but this version of events and characterisation is disputed by some.[2]

Colonial Anguilla

The European discovery and renaming of the island is uncertain. Some[who?] claim it had been sighted by Columbus; others[who?] credit it to the French explorer René Goulaine de Laudonnière during his voyages in 1564 and 1565.[3] The Dutch West India Company established a fort on the island in 1631. The Dutch withdrew after the destruction of the fort by Spanish forces in 1633.[4]

Anguilla was conquered and colonised by

St Croix and the British Virgin Islands in 1694.[1] In 1724, the population had rebuilt to 360 Europeans and 900 Africans.[6]

In 1744, during the

privateers from St. Christopher invaded the French half of neighboring Saint Martin, holding it until the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.[1] Two French frigates landed 700[1] or 1000[6] men at Crocus Bay on Anguilla in 1745 but were repulsed by 150 militiamen under Governor Hodge.[1]

On 27 November 1796,[7] amid the Napoleonic Wars, the French warships Décius and Vaillante landed 400 Frenchmen at Rendezvous Bay under Victor Hugues.[6] These were able to destroy the villages at South Hill and The Valley, but the local British regrouped on the Long Path before Sandy Hill Fort. The frigate HMS Lapwing, sailing from St. Christopher under Captain Barton,[6] was able to defeat the French ships and the assault again ended in failure.[1]

Attempts were made to develop Anguilla into a plantation-based economy employing enslaved Africans, but the island's soil and climate were unfavourable and the plantations were largely unsuccessful. Anguilla's population is estimated to have fallen from a peak of around 10,000[citation needed] to just 2000.[citation needed] In 1819, there were 360 Europeans, 320 free Africans, and 2451 slaves.[6] The British abolished slavery in their colonies during the 1830s. While the plantation owners returned to Europe, the freedmen continued to eke out livings on Anguilla as subsistence farmers and fishermen. There were droughts and famines in the 1830s and 1840s. The British government attempted to send the entire population of the island to Demerara in British Guiana (modern Guyana) but most remained.[1] In the 19th century, the large lake in the center of the island was exploited for salt exported to the United States; around 3,000,000 bushels were produced each year.[6] This formed the island's principal trade, although sugar, cotton, and tobacco were also produced.[8]

In 1871, Anguilla was forced into a federation with

Phosphate of lime was also produced.[9]

It was not until 1951 that Anguilla had a greater say in its administration, the British colony of

Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands. Between 1958 and 1962, the tri-state was part of the West Indies Federation.[1]

Modern Anguilla

On 27 February 1967 (57 years ago) (1967-02-27), Britain granted the territory of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla the status of "associated state", with its own constitution and a considerable degree of self-government. Many Anguillans strenuously objected to the continuing political subservience to Saint Kitts, and on 30 May 1967 (known as "Anguilla Day"), the Kittian police were evicted from the island.[1] The provisional government requested United States administration, which was declined. On 11 July 1967 a referendum on Anguilla's secession from the fledgling state was held. The results were 1,813 votes for secession and 5 against.[1] A separate legislative council was immediately declared. Peter Adams served as the first Chairman of the Anguilla Island Council. After eight days of negotiation on Barbados, on July 31, Adams agreed to return Anguilla to the Anguilla–St Kitts–Nevis federation, in exchange for granting Anguilla limited self-rule similar to that enjoyed by Nevis.[10] Adams agreed to support this pact in principle, but the Council rejected it, replacing Adams as Chairman with Ronald Webster.[11][12] In December, two members of Britain's Parliament worked out an interim agreement by which for one year a British official would exercise basic administrative authority along with the Anguilla Council. Tony Lee took the position in January 1968,[1] but by the end of the term no agreement have been reached on the long-term future of the island's government.

On 7 February 1969 Anguilla held a second referendum resulting in a vote of 1,739 to 4 against returning to association with Saint Kitts. At this point Anguilla declared itself an independent republic, with Webster again serving as Chairman.[

2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, and 40 Metropolitan Police officers peacefully landed on the island, ostensibly to "restore order".[citation needed] That autumn the troops left and Army engineers were brought in to improve the public works. Tony Lee returned as Commissioner and in 1971 worked out another "interim agreement" with the islanders.[1] Effectively Anguilla was allowed to secede from Saint Kitts and Nevis, receiving its first constitution on 12 February 1976. It was not until 19 December 1980 that Anguilla was formally disassociated from Saint Kitts to become a separate British dependency.[1]
While Saint Kitts and Nevis went on to gain full independence from Britain in 1983, Anguilla still remains a British overseas territory.

In recent years Anguilla has become an up-market tourist destination, and tourism is one of the mainstays of the economy. Fishing is another important economic activity, and a financial services sector is also being developed. The modern population of Anguilla is largely of African descent, with a minority having European (mainly English) ancestry.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Anguilla's History". The Anguilla House of Assembly Elections. Government of Anguilla. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Anguilla's Precolumbian History". The Anguilla Guide. 2003. Archived from the original on 2005-08-27.
  3. ^ Hakluyt (1904), p. 5.
  4. ^ "Anguilla". Atlas of Mutual Heritage (in Dutch).
  5. ^ Mitchell, Don (May 12, 2017). "Anguilla's Judicial System, 1650-2017". Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Martin (1839), p. 102.
  7. ^ Roche (2005), p. 145.
  8. ^ a b EB (1878), pp. 46–47.
  9. ^ a b EB (1911), pp. 42–43.
  10. ^ "Anguilla goes back to union". The Modesto Bee. August 1, 1967. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  11. The News and Courier
    . August 12, 1967. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  12. The Leader-Post
    . Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  13. .

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Anguilla