Iouanalao - “There where the Iguana is found” – was the name given to St. Lucia by its original settlers the Arawak and later the Carib Indians who originated from the Orinoco region of South America. From a Vatican globe of 1502 the island is identified by the name Santa Lucia. A Royal Cedula issued in 1511 by King Ferdinand of Spain names the island Sancta Lucia. From French nautical records of 1624 and 1628, the name “Saint Alousie” is given for the island which historian, Charles Jesse FMI, thinks that without doubt, is derived from the Spanish ‘Saint Alucia’ for Santa Lucia.
Like her namesake, Saint Lucia is one of the islands of the Caribbean that is truly beautiful and unspoilt. Like the legendary Helen of Troy whose beauty launched ‘the battle of a thousand ships’ the two rival naval powers of old, France and Britain, fought over possession of the island for over one hundred and fifty years, earning for St. Lucia the moniker ‘ the Helen of the West Indies’ both for its beauty and the wars fought over her. There is some debate by Historians over the exact number of times that Saint Lucia changed hands, but it is widely asserted that the island was at least seven times French and seven times British until she was finally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1814.
Located midway in the Antillean archipelago curving from the Bahamas in the north to Trinidad in the south, Saint Lucia lies between Martinique to her north and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to her south, with Barbados off to the southeast. The Caribbean Sea washes the island’s western coast and the Atlantic Ocean its eastern shoreline. This 238 square mile tropical island is situated between 60 degrees 53 minutes and 61 degrees 5 minutes west longitude and 13 degrees 43 minutes and 14 degrees 7 minutes north latitude and enjoys a year long temperature that range between 21 to 32 degrees centigrade.
An aerial view of the island reveals a varied landscape of lush tropical forests, high mountain peaks, subdued mornes, wide valleys, cultivated fields and a rugged coastline interspersed with splendid beaches. The breath catching majestic beauty of the two internationally famous twin pitons which in 2004 were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Winding ribbons of roads leading to scattered settlements mainly along the coast. The Soufriere caldera, touted as the world’s only drive-in volcano. The satellite Maria islands on the southeast coast, Rat Island to the northwest and Pigeon Island National Landmark joined to the mainland by a causeway - all note-worthy attractions.
During the 1960s the island embarked on the development of two major industries. On one hand, there was a tremendous boost in banana production as a foreign exchange earner while, on the other hand, there was a tourism development thrust undertaken to increase market share of the expanding tourism to the Caribbean. Beane Field airport in Vieux Fort was developed into what is now Hewanorra International Airport to accommodate the expected increase in visitors. The East Coast Highway was undertaken to improve infrastructure and at once provide a smooth motorway for the visitors arriving at Hewanorra in the south to travel to the resort area in the north of the island.
The establishment of the island’s first waterfront hotel, the Blue Waters Beach Hotel, was the precursor to a number of hotel projects undertaken to satisfy the growing demands of the growing tourism market. The Saint Lucia Tourist Board marketed the island under the brand “St. Lucia, Paradise Found”, but has now rebranded the product “St. Lucia, Simply Beautiful”.
The St Lucia Jazz Festival which was begun to smooth out seasonal dips in tourist arrivals has now grown into a world class event. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) which attracts yachts from all over the world to the island each December has now established Saint Lucia as a major yachting centre in the Caribbean.
In recent years the banana industry has steadily declined with the adverse effect of World Trade Organization (WTO) rulings on preferential trade with Britain. There is, however, an ongoing programme of diversification of the production of agricultural produce with an eye on the export market.
Saint Lucia is a stable democracy run by a bi-cameral parliament with the Prime Minister as head of the Government and The Governor General, Head of State. Universal adult suffrage was attained in 1951 and the island has changed its governments largely by peaceful means by the ballot. Saint Lucia’s 160,000 population is today, descendents of African ex-slaves, white colonists, Indian indentured servants and Syrian immigrants, and the original Amerindians.
On 22nd February, 1979 Saint Lucia became an independent state, having evolved from Plantation economy, to Crown Colony, to a member of the Federation of the West Indies, and Associated State with Great Britain. Saint Lucia is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
Like the other islands of the Caribbean, Saint Lucia’s history is composed of a rich tapestry of events associated with pirates and warfare, slavery and sugar, coaling and bananas, Indian immigration and emigration to the United Kingdom and elsewhere; disasters and disappointments; and above all is imbued with the determination of a small colonized country struggling to survive amid social, economic and political pressures. Despite her limitations of size and in natural resource her sons and daughters have done her proud on the world stage having won the world renowned Nobel Prizes in Economics and Literature and continue to inspire the people of this land to strive for glory in the words of her motto: “The land, the people, the light.”
SOURCES:
Jesse, Charles. Outlines of St. Lucia's History. 4 ed. Castries: Saint Lucia Archaeological and Historical Society, 1986
