Histrory of St. Lucia
St. Lucia is located in the Lesser Antilles between Martinique and St. Vincent. The island is twenty-seven miles long and fourteen miles wide. Volcanoes formed the island of St. Lucia, the Arawaks first inhabited it and African slaves harvested their major sugarcane market. St. Lucia’s volcano is also known as a sulphur spring and the only drive-in volcano in the world. This volcano had its last minor eruption in the 1780. Although the volcano is dormant it still produces boiling water. The first inhabitants of St. Lucia, the Arawaks who were believed to have come from South America in 200-400 A.D.. The Dutch, English and French all tried to establish a trading station but only the French succeeded and claimed the island in 1635 but didn’t establish their colony until 1951. Two French men started the first sugar plantation in 1765 and in fifteen years another fifty sugar plantations emerged. As the sugarcane boomed so did the slave trade. Slaves were brought over from Africa in order to create the necessary manpower needed to continue the countries dominate agriculture. Sugarcane sustained St. Lucia economically until the abolishment of slavery in 1838, when slaves were given their freedom the sugarcane industry continuously declined. Recently the country rebounded from their economic loss by increasing in growth of banana plantations and becoming a popular tourist destination. This economic stability helped St. Lucia achieve full independence on February 22, 1979.
