| The Island of Montserrat |
Montserrat 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 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Christopher Columbus gave Montserrat its name on his second voyage to the New World in 1493, after Montserrat mountain located in Catalonia. Montserrat is nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean, both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish descent of its inhabitants.
Its Georgian era capital city of Plymouth was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population were forced to flee abroad by 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.
Visitors are not permitted entry into Plymouth, though an impressive view of the destruction can be had from the top of Garibaldi Hill in Isles Bay.
The village of Brades currently serves as the temporary centre of government while construction proceeds on a new town at Little Bay in the north of the island, out of reach of further volcanic activity. |
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| Flag |
Blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross.
The Arms consist of a shield featuring a lady in green representing Erin, the female personification of Ireland, based on the mythology of Ériu.
The lady is holding a golden harp, a symbol of Ireland that features in the Republic of Ireland's coat of arms.
The cross symbolises Christianity.The Arms pay tribute to the Irish ancestry of Montserrat, as much of the population is descended from the Irish settlers exiled to the island by Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century.
The Coat of Arms of Montserrat was first adopted in 1909. |
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| History of Montserrat |
| Montserrat was populated by Arawak and Carib people 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. The island fell under English control in 1632 when a group of Irish suffering anti-Catholic violence in Nevis, many of whom had been forcibly removed from Ireland as indentured servants, settled in Montserrat. The import of African slaves, common to most Caribbean islands, began early. An economy based on sugar, rum, arrowroot and Sea Island cotton was established. 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 17 March 1798 led to Montserrat becoming one of only two places in the world that celebrates St Patrick's Day as a public holiday, the other being Ireland. 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 Leeward Islands, becoming a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. In 1979, Beatles producer George Martin’s AIR Studios Montserrat opened and the island attracted world-famous musicians who came to record in the peace and 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, the Category 4 Hurricane Hugo struck Montserrat with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, 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. |
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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 12 metres (39 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 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. The southern part of the island has been evacuated and visits are severely restricted.
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| Early 2010 saw increased activity at the Soufriere Hills volcano. On January 8, 2010, pyroclastic flows reached the sea through Aymers Ghaut. On February 5, a vulcanian explosion sent pyroclastic flows down several sides of the mountain, and on February 11 a partial collapse of the lava dome sent a column of ash more than 20,000 feet (6,100 m) into the air that rained down on several nearby islands including Guadeloupe and Antigua. Due to favorable winds, the inhabited areas of Montserrat itself received very little ash from either event. Since the February events, the mountain has been relatively quiet. |
Despite the volcanic activity, most of Montserrat remains lush and green. A new airport at Geralds in the north (renamed the John A. Osborne International Airport in 2008) was opened officially by Princess Anne, the Princess Royal in February 2005. Docking facilities are in place at Little Bay, where the new capital is being constructed.
The people of Montserrat were granted full residency rights in the United Kingdom in 1998, and full citizenship was granted in 2002.
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| Geography |
Montserrat's coastline.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.
Montserrat has two islets: Little Redonda and Virgin, and Statue Rock. |
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| Economy |
Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995 has affected the small economy of Montserrat. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number.
The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade.
Montserrat’s main economic activity is in construction and government services which together accounted for about 50 percent of GDP in 2000 when it was EC$76 million3 (2000–at market prices). In contrast, banking and insurance together accounted for less than 10 percent of GDP in 2000.
The unemployment rate in 1998 was estimated at 6 percent. Montserrat’s domestic financial sector is very small and has seen a reduction in offshore finance in recent years with only 11 offshore banks remaining.
Real GDP continues to decline from EC$122 million in 1995 to about EC$60 million in 1999, with the rate of decline peaking at -21.5 percent for 1996. The decline in economic activity reflected in large part the completion of major projects in both the private and public sectors. |
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| However, the rate of decline has been slowing markedly since 2000 and 2001, when GDP contracted by less than 3 percent. In 2002, the GDP growth rate reverted to a positive 4.6 percent reversing the declining trend over the past six years. |
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| Demographics |
The population of Montserrat is 5,879 (2008 estimate), following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995;, the island had a population of 13,000.
The island's population is mainly a mix of Irish and African; however, immigration has given the island a culturally and ethnically mixed people which includes Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Guadelupians, East Indians, British, Canadian and Americans. Many Montserratians can trace back family to Panama, Dominica and other Caribbean islands. |
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