St. Lucia Island History
The history of St. Lucia Island is a bit different from its Caribbean neighbors. First inhabited by native South American Indians for the first modern millennia, St. Lucia Island remained relatively untouched by European settlement until the early seventeenth century. Much of the early history of St. Lucia Island was a back and forth between the native Arawak Indians, pirates who used the Island as a jumping off point for high-seas marauding, and English settlers who wished to colonize and settle. The French eventually settled much of the decision making process by purchasing St. Lucia Island in the mid-seventeenth century. The French West India Company took control in 1651, making St. Lucia Island part of France’s new world trade triangle. As with many other territories throughout the world, St. Lucia Island was in the middle of the French/British play for colonial power. By 1814, the British took control of St. Lucia Island and its prosperous plantation economy. Under British rule, St. Lucia Island abolished slavery and with it its economic might. It was not until the mid-twentieth century that St. Lucia Island experienced a resurgence in its economy that was sparked by the tourism industry. In 1979 St. Lucia Island achieved independence under the British Commonwealth. Today, a more vibrant economic outlook allows the over 200,000 St. Lucia Island residents to achieve a greater level of success than ever before. |
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