"St. Lucia" a Saint Lucia Travel Page by BROOKS

St. Lucia The land of many rivers

St. Lucia is unique and in so many ways unspoiled like Dominica. There is so much lush vegetation, rivers, streams, fruits, and so many things for someone to see whether by airplane or cruise ship. There is a lot of history here and I wanted to share some of it with you.

Historians are certain that the intrepid Christopher Columbus never set foot on St. Lucia. That was his loss. Today the eyepopping scenery and pristine beaches that he missed are sprinkled with sprawling resorts, small hideaways, and friendly villages - all of which draw more and more visitors to this lush, tropical paradise.

Located between Martinique and St. Vincent, and 100 miles (160 km) due west of Barbados, the 27 mile (43 1/2 km) by 14 mile (22 1/2 km) island of St. Lucia (pronounced loo-sha) occupies a prime position in the Caribbean, its natural beauty easily earning it the moniker of "the Helen of the West Indies." The capital city of Castries and surrounding villages in the north are home to 40% of the population; they are also the destination of most vacationers, who stay at posh resorts and play on honey-color beaches.

The Arawaks were St. Lucia's first inhabitants. They paddled up from South America sometime before AD 200. The aggressive Caribs followed, conquering the Arawaks around AD 800. The Caribs called the island Hewanorra (Land Where the Iguana Is Found) after it's oldest and most unusual inhabitants. Having been hunted for their meat over the centuries, the iguanas are now on St. Lucia's endangered list.

Caribs still lived on the island when Europeans attempted to establish a settlement. In 1605, 67 English settlers bound for Guiana aboard the Olive Branch were blown off course and landed at the island's southern tip, near Vieux Fort. Within a few weeks, the Caribs had killed all but 19, who escaped in a canoe. Another group of English settlers came by 30 years later and were met with a similar lack of hospitality. The French arrived in 1651 after the French West India Company bought the island.

For the next 150 years the French and the English battled each other for possession of theisland; there were a dizzying 14 changes in power before the British took possession in 1814. During this time Europeans established sugar plantations, using slaves from West Africa to work the fields. By 1838, when the slaves were emancipated, more than 90% of the population was of African descent, and this is still the approximate racial mix of today's 150,000 St. Lucians.

On February 22, 1979, St. Lucia became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations, with a resident governor-general appointed by the queen. Still, there are many relics of French occupation, notably the island patois (spoken in addition to English), the cuisine, the place names, and the people's surnames.