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'Montserrat' (IPA: ) is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. It measures approximately 16 km (10 miles) long and 11 km (7 miles) wide, giving 40 km of coastline.^[1] Montserrat was given its name by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1493, after its namesake located in Catalonia, Spain. Montserrat is often referred to as ''the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean'', due both to its resemblance to coastal Ireland and to the Irish descent of most of its early European settlers.
Its Georgian-era capital city of Plymouth was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population forced to flee abroad by an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995.^[2] 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. An exclusion zone extending from the south coast of the island north to parts of the Belham Valley has been closed because of an increase in the size of the existing volcanic dome. This zone includes St. George's Hill which provided visitors with a spectacular view of the volcano and the destruction it has wrought upon the capital. A new airport at Gerald's in the northern part of the island opened in 2005.

Contents

History

Primary schools

Parishes

Towns

Geography

Economy

Famous Montserratians

Demographics

Culture

Miscellaneous topics

Operation Montserrat

References

External links

History

Main articles: History of Montserrat

Montserrat was populated by Arawak and Carib peoples when it was claimed by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage for Spain in 1493, naming the island ''Santa María de Montserrate'', after the ''Blessed Virgin of the Monastery of Montserrat'', which is located on the Mountain of Montserrat, in Catalonia, Spain. The island fell under English control in 1632 when a group of Irish fleeing anti-Roman Catholic sentiment in Saint Kitts and Nevis settled there. The import of slaves, common to most Caribbean islands, mainly coming from West Africa, followed during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and an economy based on sugar, rum, arrowroot and Sea Island cotton was established.
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. 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 philanthropist Joseph Sturge of Birmingham formed the Montserrat Company to buy sugar estates that were no longer economically viable. The company planted limes starting production of the island's famous 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.^[3]
From 1871 to 1958 Montserrat was administered as part of the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands, becoming a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962.


With the advent of Beatles producer George Martin’s AIR Studios Montserrat in the 1970s, the island attracted world-famous musicians who came to record in the peace and quiet and lush tropical surroundings of Montserrat. The last several years of the 20th century, however, brought two events which devastated the island.
In September 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck Montserrat with full force, damaging over 90 percent of the structures on the island. AIR Studios closed, and the tourist trade upon which the island depended was nearly wiped out. Within a few years, however, the island had recovered considerably — only to be struck again by disaster.

In July 1995, Montserrat's Soufriere Hills volcano, dormant throughout recorded history, rumbled to life and began an eruption which eventually buried the island's capital, Plymouth, in more than 40 feet (12 m) of mud, destroyed its airport and docking facilities, and rendered the southern half of the island uninhabitable. This forced more than half of the population to flee the island because they lacked housing. After a period of regular eruptive events during the late 1990s including one on June 25, 1997 in which 19 people lost their lives, the volcano's activity in recent years has been confined mostly to infrequent ventings of ash into the uninhabited areas in the south. However, this ash venting does occasionally extend into the populated areas of the northern and western parts of the island. As an example, on May 20, 2006, the lava dome that had been slowly building collapsed, resulting in an ashfall of about an inch (2.5 cm) in Old Towne and parts of Olveston. There were no injuries or significant property damage.


Long referred to as "The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" for both its Irish heritage and its resemblance to coastal Ireland, Montserrat today remains lush and green. A new airport, opened officially by the Princess Royal Princess Anne in February 2005, received its first commercial flights on July 11, 2005, and docking facilities are in place at Little Bay where a new capital is being constructed out of reach of any further volcanic activity.
The people of Montserrat were granted full residency rights in the United Kingdom in 1998, and citizenship was granted in 2002.

Primary schools

★ Government Primary Schools — Brades, and Look Out Primary.

★ St. Augustine Roman Catholic School (Palm Loop, Montserrat)

Parishes

Main articles: Parishes of Montserrat

Montserrat is divided into three parishes:

★ Saint Anthony Parish

★ Saint Georges Parish

★ Saint Peter Parish

Towns

★ Brades (de facto capital)

★ Davy Hill

★ Farells Yard

★ Flemmings

★ Gerald's

★ Hope

★ Little Bay

★ LookOut

★ Old Towne

★ Olveston

★ Plymouth (official capital, abandoned)

★ Saint John's

★ Salem

★ Sweeney's

★ Woodlands

Geography

Main articles: Geography of Montserrat

The island of Montserrat is located approximately 480 km (300 miles) east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 48 km (30 miles) Southwest of Antigua. It comprises only 104 km² (40 square miles) and is increasing gradually owing to volcanic deposits on the southeast coast of the island; it is 16 km (10 miles) long and 11 km (7 miles) wide, with dramatic rock faced cliffs rising 15 to 30 m (50-100 feet) above the sea and smooth bottomed sandy beaches scattered among coves on the west side of the island. Montserrat has been a quiet haven of extraordinary scenic beauty and near perfect climate to the mainly Canadian, British and US expatriates who sought privacy in its cliffside villas and estates.
Montserrat has only two islets: Little Redonda and Virgin.
The Soufrière Hills or Montserrat volcano is an active complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on this island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy it became active in 1995, and eruptions have continued up to the present.

Economy

Main articles: Economy of Montserrat

It was formerly the home of a branch of George Martin's AIR Studios (and other amenities) that made the island popular with working and vacationing musicians and other celebrities.

Famous Montserratians

★ Alphonsus "Arrow" Cassell, MBE born in Montserrat is well known for his soca song "Hot Hot Hot" which has sold over 4 million copies. [1]

★ Shabazz Baidoo — A footballer who has a Montserrat descent, makes a living in Coca Cola Championship in England, playing for Queens Park Rangers.

★ Tesfaye Bramble — A footballer who makes a living in League 2 in England, playing for Stockport County.

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Montserrat

Population: 8,400 (2002 estimate)
Note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; many 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: 11.4% (male 537; female 484) (2003 est.)
Median age:

★ total: 27.8 years

★ male: 27.7 years

★ female: 27.9 years (2002)
Population growth rate: 4.5% (2003 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.)
HIV/AIDS — adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS — people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS — deaths: NA
Nationality:

★ noun: Montserratian(s)

★ adjective: Montserratian
Ethnic groups: black, white — mainly of mixed Irish and African descent
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

Main articles: Culture of 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 199th place in the FIFA world rankings with seven other teams, including American Samoa and Guam.

Miscellaneous topics

★ Communications in Montserrat

★ Radio Antilles

★ Radio Montserrat

★ Transport in Montserrat

Operation Montserrat

Currently, American and British middle school students are eligible to participate in an Operation Montserrat live simulation. This is a videoconference program based on events of 1996 in which a hurricane approaches and a volcanic eruption occur nearly at the same time. The students are responsible for rescuing all of the people. In the weeks leading up to this, they practice the skills they need in their classroom.^[4]

References

1. Montserrat CIA World Factbook, 19 September, 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
2. Montserrat Volcano Observatory Retrieved 2 October 2006.
3. Commonwealth Secretariat website: Montserrat. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
4. e-Mission: Operation Montserrat The Operation Montserrat website. Retrieved 1 May 2007

External links

★ Government of Montserrat

★ Radio Montserrrat — ZJB Listen live online

★ Official release archive

★ Montserrat Tourist Board

★ Volcanism of Montserrat

★ Montserrat Reporter news site

★

★ Montserrat Travel Information

★ Montserrat Volcano Observatory

★ Montserrat Webdirectory

★ Satellite image of Montserrat from Google Maps

★ Montserrat Hospitality Association

★ Air Montserrat