Montserrat
Encyclopedia
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands
, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles
in the West Indies. This island measures approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, giving 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland
and for the Irish ancestry of its inhabitants.
Montserrat's Georgian era
historic capital city of Plymouth
was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee because of an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale, the damage being confined to the areas around Plymouth, including its docking facilities and the former W. H. Bramble Airport
, the remnants of which were buried by flows from volcanic activity on February 11, 2010. An "exclusion zone" extending from the south coast of the island north to parts of the Belham Valley has been imposed because of the size of the existing volcanic dome and the resulting potential for pyroclastic activity. At present visitors are not permitted entry into the exclusion zone, but an impressive view of the destruction of Plymouth can be had from the top of Garibaldi Hill in Isles Bay. Relatively quiet since early 2010, the volcano continues to be closely monitored by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.
The centre of government while construction proceeds on a new town at Little Bay in the north of the island.
peoples when it was claimed by Christopher Columbus
on his second voyage in 1493, naming the island Santa María de Montserrat, after the Monastery of Montserrat
in Catalonia
. The island fell under English
control in 1632 when anti-Catholic violence in Nevis
forced a group of Irish
, many of whom had been unwillingly transported
from Ireland
as indentured servants, to settle in Montserrat. A neo-feudal
colony developed.
The importation of African slaves, common to most Caribbean
islands, began early and an economy based on sugar
, rum
, arrowroot
and Sea Island cotton
was established using slave labor. By the late 1700s there were many plantations on the island.
In 1782, during the American Revolutionary War
, Montserrat was briefly captured
by France
. It was returned to the United Kingdom
under the Treaty of Paris
which ended that conflict. A failed slave uprising on March 17, 1768 led to the celebration of St Patrick's Day as a public holiday in Montserrat, and festivities held that week celebrate the culture of Montserrat, through songs, dances, and traditional costumes and foods. Slavery was abolished in Montserrat in 1834.
Falling sugar prices during the nineteenth century had an adverse effect on the island's economy, and in 1869 the British philanthropist Joseph Sturge
formed the Montserrat Company to buy sugar estates that were no longer economically viable. The company planted lime trees, started the commercial production of lime juice, set up a school, and sold parcels of land to the inhabitants of the island, with the result that much of Montserrat came to be owned by smallholders.
From 1871 to 1958 Montserrat was administered as part of the Federal Colony of the British Leeward Islands
, becoming a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation
from 1958 to 1962. In 1979, The Beatles
producer George Martin
’s AIR Studios Montserrat opened and the island attracted world-famous musicians who came to record in the peaceful, quiet and lush tropical surroundings of Montserrat. The last decade of the 20th century, however, brought two events which devastated the island.
In the early hours of September 17, 1989 Hurricane Hugo
, a Category 4 storm, struck Montserrat with full force producing sustained winds of 140 miles per hour and damaging over 90 percent of the structures on the island. AIR Studios closed, and the tourist economy upon which the island depended was virtually wiped out. Within a few years the island had recovered considerably—only to be struck again by disaster.
In July 1995, Montserrat's Soufriere Hills volcano, dormant for centuries, rumbled to life and began an eruption which eventually buried the island's capital, Plymouth, in more than 12 metres (39.4 ft) of mud, destroyed its airport and docking facilities, and rendered the southern half of the island uninhabitable. Following the destruction of Plymouth, more than half of the population left the island due to the economic disruption and lack of housing. After a period of regular eruptive events during the late 1990s, including one on June 25, 1997 in which 19 people died when they were overtaken by a pyroclastic flow, the volcano's activity in recent years has been confined to infrequent ventings of ash
, mostly into the uninhabited areas in the south but occasionally extending into the northern and western parts of the island. The southern part of the island has been evacuated and visits are severely restricted.
The most recent period of increased activity at the Soufriere Hills volcano, from November 2009 through February 2010, saw ash venting, a vulcanian explosion
which sent pyroclastic flow
s down several sides of the mountain, and on February 11, 2010 a partial collapse of the lava dome
that sent a column of ash more than 20000 feet (6,096 m) into the air, raining down on several nearby islands including Guadeloupe
and Antigua
. Since 2010, the volcano has been relatively quiet.
Despite the volcanic activity, much of Montserrat remains lush and green. In February 2005, The Princess Royal
officially opened a new airport at Gerald's in the north (renamed the John A. Osborne Airport); it handles several flights daily operated by Fly Montserrat Airways. Docking facilities are in place at Little Bay, where a new capital town is being constructed.
The people of Montserrat were granted full residency rights in the United Kingdom in 1998, and citizenship was granted in 2002.
Only Saint Peter Parish is currently inhabited, having a population of between 4,000 and 6,000. Saint Peter Parish covers the north-west of the island, and was therefore least affected by the eruptions of Soufrière Hills
, the island's volcano.
The island of Montserrat is located approximately 480 km (298.3 mi) east-southeast of Puerto Rico
and 48 km (29.8 mi) southwest of Antigua
. It comprises 104 km² (40.2 sq mi) but is currently gradually increasing in size owing to the buildup of volcanic deposits on the southeast coast. The island is 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, with rock cliffs rising 15 to 30 m (50–100 feet) above the sea and a number of smooth bottomed sandy beach
es scattered among cove
s on the western (Caribbean) side of the island.
Montserrat has two islets, Little Redonda and Virgin, and Statue Rock.
has centred on the conservation of pribby (Rondeletia buxifolia) in the Centre Hills region. Until 2006, this species was known only from one book about the vegetation of Montserrat. In 2006, conservationists also rescued several plants of the endangered Montserrat orchid (Epidendrum montserratense) from dead trees on the island and installed them in the security of the island’s botanic garden.
Montserrat is known for its coral reefs and its caves along the shore. These caves house many species of bats, and efforts are underway to monitor and protect the ten species of bats from extinction.
's AIR Studios which made the island popular with working musicians who often went there to record while taking advantage of the island's climate and beautiful surroundings.
Since the devastations of Hurricane Hugo
and the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, the Montserratian economy has been effectively halted. Export businesses currently based in Montserrat deal primarily in the selling and shipping of aggregate for construction. Imports include virtually everything available for sale on the island.
The island's operating budget is largely supplied by the British government and administered through the Department for International Development
(DFID) amounting to approximately £25 million per year. Additional amounts are secured through income and property taxes, license and other fees as well as customs duties levied on imported goods.
Note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island (primarily to the UK) following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; few have returned. Pre-eruption population was 13,000 in 1994.
Age structure:
Median age:
Population growth rate: 6.9% (2008 est.)
Birth rate: 17.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: 7.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: 195.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
Infant mortality rate:
Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Nationality:
Ethnic groups: Black, White, Mulatto, Creole. The island's population is mainly a mix of British, Irish and Africans with other minorities.
Religions: Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations
Languages: English
Literacy:
was the first to play for West Indies and he represented the World Series Cricket
West Indians. No other player from Montserrat had gone on to represent West Indies until Lionel Baker
made his One Day International debut against Pakistan in November 2008.
Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in Montserrat.
Montserrat has its own FIFA
Affiliated Football Team
, and has twice competed in the World Cup qualifiers. A field for the team was built near the airport by FIFA. The Montserrat team are currently tied for 203rd place in the FIFA world rankings with 4 other teams, including American Samoa and San Marino. In 2002, the team competed in a friendly match with the second-lowest-ranked team in FIFA at that time, Bhutan
, in The Other Final
- the same day as the final of the 2002 World Cup
. Bhutan won 4-0.
General information
News media
Travel
Health Reports
Other
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
in the West Indies. This island measures approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, giving 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and for the Irish ancestry of its inhabitants.
Montserrat's Georgian era
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
historic capital city of Plymouth
Plymouth, Montserrat
Plymouth is the de jure capital of the island of Montserrat, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom located in the Leeward Island chain of the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. The town was overwhelmed by volcanic eruptions starting in the 1990s and was abandoned...
was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee because of an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale, the damage being confined to the areas around Plymouth, including its docking facilities and the former W. H. Bramble Airport
W. H. Bramble Airport
W.H. Bramble Airport, also known as Blackburne Airport, was a small international airport on the east coast of the island of Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean....
, the remnants of which were buried by flows from volcanic activity on February 11, 2010. An "exclusion zone" extending from the south coast of the island north to parts of the Belham Valley has been imposed because of the size of the existing volcanic dome and the resulting potential for pyroclastic activity. At present visitors are not permitted entry into the exclusion zone, but an impressive view of the destruction of Plymouth can be had from the top of Garibaldi Hill in Isles Bay. Relatively quiet since early 2010, the volcano continues to be closely monitored by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.
The centre of government while construction proceeds on a new town at Little Bay in the north of the island.
History
Montserrat was populated by Arawak and Carib nativeIndigenous
Indigenous means: belonging to a certain place.Indigenous may refer to:In Ecology and Geography*Indigenous resources, resources which exist within local geography, that are not imported...
peoples when it was claimed by Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
on his second voyage in 1493, naming the island Santa María de Montserrat, after the Monastery of Montserrat
Santa Maria de Montserrat
Santa Maria de Montserrat is a Benedictine abbey located on the mountain of Montserrat, in Monistrol de Montserrat, in Catalonia, Spain.It hosts the Virgin of Montserrat, and the Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, a publishing house, one of the oldest presses in the world still running, with...
in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. The island fell under English
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
control in 1632 when anti-Catholic violence in Nevis
Nevis
Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...
forced a group of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, many of whom had been unwillingly transported
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
as indentured servants, to settle in Montserrat. A neo-feudal
Neofeudalism
Neofeudalism refers to a theorized contemporary rebirth of policies of governance, economy and public life reminiscent of those present in many feudal societies....
colony developed.
The importation of African slaves, common to most Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
islands, began early and an economy based on sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, arrowroot
Arrowroot
Arrowroot, or obedience plant , Bermuda arrowroot, araru, ararao, is a large perennial herb found in rainforest habitats...
and Sea Island cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
was established using slave labor. By the late 1700s there were many plantations on the island.
In 1782, during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, Montserrat was briefly captured
French capture of Montserrat
The Capture of Montserrat was accomplished by a French naval expedition that seized the island of Montserrat from the British on 22 February 1782.-Capture:...
by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It was returned to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
under the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
which ended that conflict. A failed slave uprising on March 17, 1768 led to the celebration of St Patrick's Day as a public holiday in Montserrat, and festivities held that week celebrate the culture of Montserrat, through songs, dances, and traditional costumes and foods. Slavery was abolished in Montserrat in 1834.
Falling sugar prices during the nineteenth century had an adverse effect on the island's economy, and in 1869 the British philanthropist Joseph Sturge
Joseph Sturge
Joseph Sturge , son of a farmer in Gloucestershire, was an English Quaker, abolitionist and activist. He founded the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society . He worked throughout his life in Radical political actions supporting pacifism, working-class rights, and the universal emancipation of...
formed the Montserrat Company to buy sugar estates that were no longer economically viable. The company planted lime trees, started the commercial production of lime juice, set up a school, and sold parcels of land to the inhabitants of the island, with the result that much of Montserrat came to be owned by smallholders.
From 1871 to 1958 Montserrat was administered as part of the Federal Colony of the British Leeward Islands
British Leeward Islands
The British Leeward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960, and consisting of Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and Dominica....
, becoming a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation
West Indies Federation
The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom...
from 1958 to 1962. In 1979, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
producer George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
’s AIR Studios Montserrat opened and the island attracted world-famous musicians who came to record in the peaceful, quiet and lush tropical surroundings of Montserrat. The last decade of the 20th century, however, brought two events which devastated the island.
In the early hours of September 17, 1989 Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
, a Category 4 storm, struck Montserrat with full force producing sustained winds of 140 miles per hour and damaging over 90 percent of the structures on the island. AIR Studios closed, and the tourist economy upon which the island depended was virtually wiped out. Within a few years the island had recovered considerably—only to be struck again by disaster.
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
, mostly into the uninhabited areas in the south but occasionally extending into the northern and western parts of the island. The southern part of the island has been evacuated and visits are severely restricted.
The most recent period of increased activity at the Soufriere Hills volcano, from November 2009 through February 2010, saw ash venting, a vulcanian explosion
Vulcanian eruption
The term Vulcanian was first used by Giuseppe Mercalli, witnessing the 1888-1890 eruptions on the island of Vulcano. His description of the eruption style is now used all over the world for eruptions characterised by a dense cloud of ash-laden gas exploding from the crater and rising high above the...
which sent pyroclastic flow
Pyroclastic flow
A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of superheated gas and rock , which reaches speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700 km/h . The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity...
s down several sides of the mountain, and on February 11, 2010 a partial collapse of the lava dome
Lava dome
|250px|thumb|right|Image of the [[rhyolitic]] lava dome of [[Chaitén Volcano]] during its 2008–2009 eruption.In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano...
that sent a column of ash more than 20000 feet (6,096 m) into the air, raining down on several nearby islands including Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
. Since 2010, the volcano has been relatively quiet.
Despite the volcanic activity, much of Montserrat remains lush and green. In February 2005, The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
officially opened a new airport at Gerald's in the north (renamed the John A. Osborne Airport); it handles several flights daily operated by Fly Montserrat Airways. Docking facilities are in place at Little Bay, where a new capital town is being constructed.
The people of Montserrat were granted full residency rights in the United Kingdom in 1998, and citizenship was granted in 2002.
Parishes
Montserrat is divided into three parishes:- Saint Anthony Parish
- Saint Georges Parish
- Saint Peter Parish
Only Saint Peter Parish is currently inhabited, having a population of between 4,000 and 6,000. Saint Peter Parish covers the north-west of the island, and was therefore least affected by the eruptions of Soufrière Hills
Soufrière Hills
The Soufrière Hills volcano is an active complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, it became active in 1995, and has continued to erupt ever since...
, the island's volcano.
Villages
- Cudjoe Head
- Baker Hill
- Banks
- BradesBradesBrades is a village and de facto capital of the Caribbean island of Montserrat since 1998. Brades is located in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat. The official capital Plymouth in the south of the island has been abandoned since 1997 due to the eruption of...
(de facto capital) - Cork Hill
- Davy HillDavy HillDavy Hill is a settlement in the north of the Caribbean island of Montserrat, located close to the west coast near the narrowest point of the island on a saddle between the main bulk of the island's Centre Hills, and the peak of Silver Hill close to the island's northern tip. It is connected by...
- Dyers
- Farells Yard
- Flemmings
- Gerald's
- Hope
- Little Bay
- Look Out
- Old Towne
- Olveston
- PlymouthPlymouth, MontserratPlymouth is the de jure capital of the island of Montserrat, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom located in the Leeward Island chain of the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. The town was overwhelmed by volcanic eruptions starting in the 1990s and was abandoned...
(official capital, abandoned) - Cavalla Hill
- Mongo Hill
- Saint John's
- Judy Piece
- Salem
- Sweeney's
- Woodlands
- St Peter's
- Virgin Island
- Drummonds
- Cheap End
Geography
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and 48 km (29.8 mi) southwest of Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
. It comprises 104 km² (40.2 sq mi) but is currently gradually increasing in size owing to the buildup of volcanic deposits on the southeast coast. The island is 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, with rock cliffs rising 15 to 30 m (50–100 feet) above the sea and a number of smooth bottomed sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es scattered among cove
Cove
A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often inside a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are often considered coves...
s on the western (Caribbean) side of the island.
Montserrat has two islets, Little Redonda and Virgin, and Statue Rock.
Wildlife
Montserrat, like many isolated islands, is home to some exceptionally rare plant and animal species. Work undertaken by the Montserrat National Trust in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, KewRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
has centred on the conservation of pribby (Rondeletia buxifolia) in the Centre Hills region. Until 2006, this species was known only from one book about the vegetation of Montserrat. In 2006, conservationists also rescued several plants of the endangered Montserrat orchid (Epidendrum montserratense) from dead trees on the island and installed them in the security of the island’s botanic garden.
Montserrat is known for its coral reefs and its caves along the shore. These caves house many species of bats, and efforts are underway to monitor and protect the ten species of bats from extinction.
Economy
From 1979 to 1989 Montserrat was home to a branch of George MartinGeorge Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
's AIR Studios which made the island popular with working musicians who often went there to record while taking advantage of the island's climate and beautiful surroundings.
Since the devastations of Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
and the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, the Montserratian economy has been effectively halted. Export businesses currently based in Montserrat deal primarily in the selling and shipping of aggregate for construction. Imports include virtually everything available for sale on the island.
The island's operating budget is largely supplied by the British government and administered through the Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
(DFID) amounting to approximately £25 million per year. Additional amounts are secured through income and property taxes, license and other fees as well as customs duties levied on imported goods.
Famous Montserratians
- Jim AllenJim Allen (cricketer)James Charles "Jim" Allen is a former Montserratian first-class cricketer who represented the World Series Cricket West Indians and is considered the greatest ever Montserrat sportsperson....
— former cricketer who represented the World Series CricketWorld Series CricketWorld Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
West Indians - Lionel BakerLionel BakerLionel Sionne Baker is a West Indian cricketer who has played first-class cricket for the Leeward Islands. He is the first person from Montserrat to have represented the West Indies at Test cricket.-Personal life:...
— the first Montserratian to represent the West Indies in international cricket - Alphonsus "Arrow" CassellArrow (musician)Alphonsus Celestine Edmund Cassell MBE was a calypso and soca musician who performed under the stage name Arrow, and is regarded as the first superstar of soca from Montserrat.-Early years:...
MBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
— musician, known for his socaSoca musicSoca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
song "Hot Hot Hot" which sold over 4 million copies - Maizie WilliamsMaizie WilliamsMaizie Ursula Williams is one of the original members of successful 70s disco music group, Boney M.-Early years:...
- musician, member of musical group Boney MBoney MBoney M. is a Eurodisco group created by German record producer Frank Farian. Originally based in Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Jamaicans Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett, Maizie Williams from Montserrat and Bobby Farrell from Aruba...
Demographics
Population: 5,879 (2008 estimate)Note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island (primarily to the UK) following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; few have returned. Pre-eruption population was 13,000 in 1994.
Age structure:
- 0–14 years: 23.4% (male 1,062; female 1,041)
- 15–64 years: 65.3% (male 2,805; female 3,066)
- 65 years and over: 11.3% (male 537; female 484) (2003 est.)
Median age:
- total: 28.1 years
- male: 27.9 years
- female: 28.3 years (2002)
Population growth rate: 6.9% (2008 est.)
Birth rate: 17.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: 7.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: 195.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
- at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
- 15–64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female
- total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
- total: 7.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
- female: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births
- male: 9.05 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
- total population: 78.36 years.
- male: 76.24 years.
- female: 80.59 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Nationality:
- noun: Montserratian(s)
- adjective: Montserratian
Ethnic groups: Black, White, Mulatto, Creole. The island's population is mainly a mix of British, Irish and Africans with other minorities.
Religions: Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations
Languages: English
Literacy:
- definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
- total population: 97%
- male: 97%
- female: 97% (1970 est.)
Culture
Cricket is a popular sport in Montserrat. Players from Montserrat are in fact eligible to play for the West Indies cricket team. Jim AllenJim Allen (cricketer)
James Charles "Jim" Allen is a former Montserratian first-class cricketer who represented the World Series Cricket West Indians and is considered the greatest ever Montserrat sportsperson....
was the first to play for West Indies and he represented the World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
West Indians. No other player from Montserrat had gone on to represent West Indies until Lionel Baker
Lionel Baker
Lionel Sionne Baker is a West Indian cricketer who has played first-class cricket for the Leeward Islands. He is the first person from Montserrat to have represented the West Indies at Test cricket.-Personal life:...
made his One Day International debut against Pakistan in November 2008.
Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in Montserrat.
Montserrat has its own FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
Affiliated Football Team
Montserrat national football team
The Montserrat national football team represents the small Caribbean island of Montserrat in the CONCACAF football region. Football is the second most popular sport in Montserrat, with cricket being the most-played sport on the island. The team play at the Blakes Estate Stadium in Plymouth and the...
, and has twice competed in the World Cup qualifiers. A field for the team was built near the airport by FIFA. The Montserrat team are currently tied for 203rd place in the FIFA world rankings with 4 other teams, including American Samoa and San Marino. In 2002, the team competed in a friendly match with the second-lowest-ranked team in FIFA at that time, Bhutan
Bhutan national football team
The Bhutan national football team is the national team of Bhutan and is controlled by the Bhutan Football Federation.- History :While a Bhutanese National football team has existed since the 1970s, it was officially founded in 1983 and joined FIFA in 2000....
, in The Other Final
The Other Final
The Other Final is a 2003 documentary film, directed by Johan Kramer, about a football match between Bhutan and Montserrat, the then-lowest ranked teams in the FIFA World Rankings. The game was played in the Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan. Bhutan won the game 4-0...
- the same day as the final of the 2002 World Cup
2002 World Cup
2002 World Cup may refer to:*Alpine skiing – 2002 Alpine Skiing World Cup*Athletics – 2002 IAAF World Cup*Field Hockey:** 2002 Men's World Hockey Cup** 2002 Women's World Hockey Cup...
. Bhutan won 4-0.
See also
- British Overseas TerritoriesBritish overseas territoriesThe British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories of the United Kingdom which, although they do not form part of the United Kingdom itself, fall under its jurisdiction. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not acquired independence or have voted to remain British territories...
- Caribbean SeaCaribbean SeaThe Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
- Leeward IslandsLeeward IslandsThe Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
External links
Government- Government of Montserrat
- Montserrat National Trust
- Montserrat Hospitality Association
- Premier of MontserratPremier of MontserratThe Premier of Montserrat is the head of government of Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean which is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. As a result, the head of state of Montserrat is Queen Elizabeth II, who is the head of state of the United Kingdom...
General information
- Montserrat from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Montserrat Webdirectory
- Brief history with a commemorative coin of Montserrat
News media
Travel
Health Reports
- Toxicity of volcanic ash from Montserrat by RT Cullen, AD Jones, BG Miller, CL Tran, JMG Davis, K Donaldson, M Wilson, V Stone, and A Morgan. Institute of Occupational MedicineInstitute of Occupational MedicineThe Institute of Occupational Medicine was founded in 1969 by the National Coal Board as an independent charity. The IOM is a major independent centre of scientific excellence in the fields of occupational health and environmental health, occupational hygiene and occupational safety...
Research Report TM/02/01 - A Health Survey of Workers on the Island of Montserrat by HA Cowie, MK Graham, A Searl, BG Miller, PA Hutchison, C Swales, S Dempsey, and M Russell. Institute of Occupational MedicineInstitute of Occupational MedicineThe Institute of Occupational Medicine was founded in 1969 by the National Coal Board as an independent charity. The IOM is a major independent centre of scientific excellence in the fields of occupational health and environmental health, occupational hygiene and occupational safety...
Research Report TM/02/02 - A Health Survey of Montserratians Relocated to the UK by HA Cowie, A Searl, PJ Ritchie, MK Graham, PA Hutchison, and A Pilkington. Institute of Occupational MedicineInstitute of Occupational MedicineThe Institute of Occupational Medicine was founded in 1969 by the National Coal Board as an independent charity. The IOM is a major independent centre of scientific excellence in the fields of occupational health and environmental health, occupational hygiene and occupational safety...
Research Report TM/01/07
Other
- Satellite image of Montserrat from Google Maps
- Montserrat Volcano Observatory
- Official release archive
- Volcanism of Montserrat
- Antigua, Montserrat and Virgin Islands Gazette, with full page images and full searchable text is freely and openly available in the Digital Library of the CaribbeanDigital Library of the CaribbeanThe Digital Library of the Caribbean is an international digital library operated collaboratively by the contributing partners.-Partners:...