Historyedit

Pre-colonial periodedit

The first proven inhabitants of Saint Lucia were the Arawaks, though there may have been other native peoples prior to them. The Arawaks are believed to have come from northern South America, sometime around AD 200–400, as there are numerous archaeological sites on the island where specimens of their pottery have been found. The Arawaks called the island Iouanalao, meaning 'Land of the Iguanas', due to the island's high number of iguanas.

The Kalinago (Island Caribs) arrived around AD 800, and seized control from the Arawaks by killing their men and assimilating the women into their own society. They called the island Hewanarau, then later Hewanorra, which means "there where iguanas are found".

Early European periodedit

It is possible that Christopher Columbus may have sighted the island during his fourth voyage in 1502, but he does not mention the island in his log. Juan de la Cosa noted the island on his map of 1500, calling it El Falcon, and another island to the south Las Agujas. A Spanish cédula from 1511 mentions the island within the Spanish domain, and a globe in the Vatican made in 1520, shows the island as Sancta Lucia.

In the late 1550s, the French pirate François le Clerc (known as Jambe de Bois, due to his wooden leg) set up a camp on Pigeon Island, from where he attacked passing Spanish ships. In 1605, an English vessel called the Oliphe Blossome was blown off-course on its way to Guyana, and the 67 colonists started a settlement on Saint Lucia, after initially being welcomed by the Carib chief Anthonie. By 26 September 1605, only 19 survived following continued attacks by the Carib chief Augraumart, so the settlers fled the island. The English tried to settle the island again in 1638, but the Caribs continued to be hostile. Eventually, the French successfully claimed the island in 1650 and they signed a treaty with the Caribs in 1660. In 1664, Thomas Warner (son of Sir Thomas Warner, the governor of St Kitts) claimed Saint Lucia for England but the English fled again in 1666, with the French gaining full control of the island after the signing of the Treaty of Breda. Saint Lucia was made an official French crown colony in 1674, as a dependency of Martinique.

18th and 19th centuriesedit

After the slave-based sugar industry developed, both the British and the French found the island attractive. During the 18th century, the island changed ownership, or was declared neutral territory, a dozen times, although the French settlements remained and the island was a de facto French colony well into the eighteenth century.

In 1722, George I of Great Britain granted both Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent to the 2nd Duke of Montagu. Montague appointed Nathaniel Uring, a merchant sea captain and adventurer, as deputy-governor. Uring went to the islands with a group of seven ships, and established settlement at Petit Carenage. Unable to get enough support from British warships, he and the new colonists were quickly run off by the French.

During the Seven Years' War, Britain occupied Saint Lucia for a year, but handed the island back to the French in 1763, under the Treaty of Paris. Like the English and Dutch on other islands, in 1765, the French began to develop the land for the cultivation of sugar cane as a commodity crop on large plantations. The British occupied the island again in 1778.

From 1782 to 1803, control of the island switched multiple times. In January 1791, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly sent four commissaires to St Lucia to spread the revolutionary philosophy. By August 1791, slaves began to abandon their estates and Governor Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat fled. In December 1792, Lt. Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse arrived with revolutionary pamphlets, and the impoverished whites and free people of colour began to arm themselves as patriots. On 1 February 1793, France declared war on England and Holland, and General Nicolas Xavier de Ricard took over as Governor. The National Convention abolished enslavement on 4 February 1794. On 1 April 1794, St. Lucia was captured by a British expeditionary force led by Vice Admiral John Jervis. Morne Fortune was renamed Fort Charlotte. Soon, a combined force of French Revolutionary Army soldiers and maroons, L'Armee Française dans les Bois, began to fight back, starting the First Brigand War.

A short time later, the British invaded the island as a part of the war with France that had recently broken out. On 21 February 1795, French forces under the nominal control of Victor Hugues, defeated a battalion of British troops at Vieux Fort and Rabot. In 1796, Castries was burned as part of the conflict. Leading the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment, General John Moore retook Fort Charlotte in 1796, after two days of bitter fighting. As an honour, the Fusiliers' regimental colour was displayed on the flagstaff of the captured fortress at Morne Fortune for an hour before being replaced by the Union Jack. Upon the capture of the fort, Moore's superior, Ralph Abercromby, departed the island and placed Moore in charge of the British garrison. Moore remained at this post until falling ill with yellow fever, leading to his return to Britain before 1798.

In 1803, the British regained control of the island. Many members of the L'Armee Française dans les Bois escaped into the thick rainforest where they evaded capture and established maroon communities.

Slavery on the island continued for a short time, but anti-slavery sentiment was rising in Britain. The British stopped the import of slaves by anyone, white or coloured, when they abolished the slave trade in 1807.

France and Great Britain continued to contest Saint Lucia until the British secured it in 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris, ending the Napoleonic Wars. Thereafter, Saint Lucia was considered one of the British Windward Islands colonies.

The institution of slavery was abolished on the island in 1834, as it was throughout the British Empire. After abolition, all former slaves had to serve a four-year "apprenticeship", to accustom them to the idea of freedom. During that period, they worked for their former masters for at least three-quarters of the work week. Full freedom was duly granted by the British in 1838. By that time, people of African ethnicity greatly outnumbered those of ethnic European background. People of Carib descent also comprised a minority on the island.

20th centuryedit

Saint Lucia's first representative government was introduced in 1924, with the first election taking place in 1925. Many Saint Lucians served during the Second World War, and the conflict visited the island directly during the Battle of the Caribbean, when a German U-boat attacked and sank two British ships in Castries harbour on 9 March 1942. The United States used the island as a military hub during the war, including setting up a secondary naval base in Gros Islet and using what is now the island's international airport as an air force base.

Universal suffrage was introduced in 1951 and elections were held the same year. In 1958, Saint Lucia joined the West Indies Federation, although the federation was dissolved just years later in 1962. In 1967, Saint Lucia became one of the six members of the West Indies Associated States, with internal self-government. Independence was peacefully gained in 1979 under Sir John Compton of United Workers Party, with the island remaining within the British Commonwealth, keeping then-Queen Elizabeth II as Monarch, represented locally by a Governor-General.

Post-independence eraedit

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Despite leading the country to independence, Compton's initial term as prime minister lasted only a few months, being defeated by the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) under Allan Louisy in the 1979 Saint Lucian general election. In 1980, Hurricane Allen struck the island, destroying much of its infrastructure and reducing economic growth. Compton returned to power after the 1982 Saint Lucian general election after much instability during the labour government's term. During Compton's second time as the island's leader, banana exports significantly increased and easily became the nation's main source of revenue. There were also improvements to infrastructure, and education was expanded to rural areas. Saint Lucia was also key to the US invasion of Grenada. During the 1990s and 2000s, the nation's economy began shifting away from agriculture to tourism under the leadership of Kenny Anthony. The 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001 killed two Saint Lucians, and caused an economic slowdown in the country. Although growth remained decent until the beginning of the Great Recession. The recession, as well as the landfall of Hurricane Tomas in 2010, led to slow economic growth during the early 2010s, although the economy picked up during the later part of the decade and avoided contraction until 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic caused major economic issues globally.

In June 2016, the United Workers Party (UWP), led by Allen Michael Chastanet, won 11 of the 17 seats in the general election, ousting the St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) of the incumbent Prime Minister Kenny Anthony. However, Saint Lucia Labour Party won the next election in July 2021, meaning its leader Philip J Pierre became the ninth Prime Minister of Saint Lucia since the independence.