History

The Carib people who were believed to be the first settlers provided the first recorded name for Montserrat, and named the island “Alliouagana”, which is believed to mean “the land of the prickly bush”.

Christopher Columbus, during his second voyage to the New World came across the islands on 11 November, 1493. He named it Santa Maria de Montserrate for the jagged peaks resembling the Monastery of Montserrate near Barcelona Spain.

The Island was first colonized by Irish and English settlers led by Sir Thomas Warner in 1632. Following this Irish immigrants came from Virginia and plantations were set up to grow tobacco and indigo, later followed by the cultivation of cotton and sugar. Slave labor being imported to provide the workforce needed for the cultivation of these crops.

In 1783, Montserrat was restored to England, by the Treaty of Versailles. Slavery was abolished in 1834, the falling price of sugar, a series of earthquakes and hurricanes between 1890 and 1936, brought the collapse of the economy. In the 1850’s Joseph Sturge, an Englishman formed a company ( Montserrat Company) which bought abandoned sugar estates and encouraged the cultivation of limes.

In 1871 Montserrat became part of the Leewards island chain. In 1958 a member of the West Indies Federation. Presently Montserrat as a British Dependent territory is a member of the CARICOM ( Caribbean Common Market) and the OECS ( Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States.

Volcanic in origin, Montserrat has seen the resurgence of a dormant volcano. Increased seismic activity was recorded in mid-1992 and this lead to eruptions on June 25, 1995. The capital Plymouth was fully evacuated in April of 1996. With subsequent eruptions,  two thirds of the island was deemed unsafe for habitation. The remaining third of the Island is presently being developed comprising the safe area of the Island.

With the lull in the volcanic activity, the initial emigration has now been arrested, and the emphasis is on the rebuilding of the economy and the development of the Island.