Anguilla
| Capital Official lan Demonym Government Monarch Governor Chief Minist Establishmen Area Water (%) Population Density GDP (PPP) Per capita Currency Time zone Internet TLD Calling code |
The Valley English Anguillian British Overseas Territory HM Queen Elizabeth II Andrew George Osbourne Fleming UK overseas territory 1980 Total 102 km² (220th) 39.4 sq mi negligible 2006 estimate 13,477 (212th) 132/km² (n/a) 342/sq mi 2004 estimate Total $108.9 million $8,800 East Caribbean dollar (XCD) (UTC-4) .ai +1 264 |
| Flag | History | Politics | Geography |
| Climate | Economy | Demographics | Culture |
| Religion | Language | Music | Sport |
| See also |
Flag
The flag of Anguilla was officially adopted in 1990.
As a British dependent territory the island flies the United Kingdom (UK) flag. The Anguillan coat of arms features three interlocking dolphins over blue water.
History
Anguilla was first settled by Amerindian tribes who migrated from South America. The earliest Amerindian artefacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300 BC, and remains of settlements date from 600 AD. The date of European discovery is uncertain: some sources claim that Columbus sighted the island in 1493, while others state that the island was first discovered by the French in 1564 or 1565. The name Anguilla derives from the word for "eel" in any of various Romance languages (modern Spanish: anguila; French: anguille; Italian: anguilla), probably chosen because of the island's eel-like shape.
Anguilla was first colonised by English settlers from Saint Kitts, beginning in 1650. Other early arrivals included Europeans from Antigua and Barbados. It is likely that some of these early Europeans brought enslaved Africans with them. Historians confirm that African slaves lived in the region in the early seventeenth century. For example, Africans from Senegal lived in St. Christopher (today St. Kitts) in 1626. By 1672 a slave depot existed on the island of Nevis, serving the Leeward Islands. While the time of African arrival in Anguilla is difficult to place precisely, archive evidence indicates a substantial African presence (at least 100) on the island by 1683.
The island was administered by England, and later the United Kingdom, until the early nineteenth century when against the wishes of the inhabitants it was incorporated into a single British dependency along with Saint Kitts and Nevis. After two rebellions in 1967 and 1969 and brief period as a self-declared independent republic headed by Ronald Webster, British rule was fully restored in 1969. Anguilla became a separate British dependency (now termed a British overseas territory) in 1980.
Politics
Anguilla is an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Its politics takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Chief Minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system.
The United Nations Committee on Decolonisation includes Anguilla on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The territory's constitution is Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982 (amended 1990). Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
Geography
Anguilla is a flat, low-lying
island of coral and limestone in the
Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico. The soil is generally thin and
poor, supporting only scrub vegetation.Anguilla is noted for its spectacular and ecologically important coral reefs.
Apart from the main island of Anguilla itself, the territory includes a number of other smaller islands and cays, mostly tiny and uninhabited.
Some of these are:
| Anguillita | Dog Island |
| Prickly Pear Cays | Scrub Island |
| Seal Island | Sombrero, also known as Hat Island |
| Sandy Island |
Climate
Anguilla has a tropical though
rather dry climate, moderated by
northeast trade winds. Temperatures vary little throughout the year. Average daily maxima range from about 27 °C (80 °F) in December to 30 °C (86 °F) in July.
Rainfall is erratic, averaging about 90 cm (35 in) per year, the wettest months being September and October, and the driest February and March.
Anguilla is vulnerable to hurricanes from June to November, peak season August to mid-October.
Economy
Anguilla's thin arid soil is largely unsuitable for agriculture, and the island has few land-based natural resources. Its main industries are tourism, offshore incorporation and management, offshore banking, and fishing. Many insurance and financial business are headquartered in Anguilla.
The economy of Anguilla is expanding rapidly, especially the tourism sector which is driving major new developments in partnerships with multi-national companies. This boom, beginning gently during 2005-2006, is accelerating through 2007 and is expected to continue for years. In an effort to prevent overheating, there is currently a moratorium on "non-belongers" (foreigners) buying land in Anguilla. Anguilla's currency is the East Caribbean dollar, though the US dollar is also widely accepted. The exchange rate is fixed to the US dollar at US$1 = EC$2.70.
Demographics
The majority of residents (90.08%) are black, the descendants of slaves transported from Africa. Growing minorities include whites at 3.74% and people of mixed race at 4.65% (figures from 2001 census).
72% of the population is Anguillian while 28% is non-Anguillian (2001 census). Of the non-Anguillian population, many are citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, St Kitts & Nevis, the Dominican Republic, or Jamaica and a very few Nigerians ranging from 7-15.
2006 and 2007 saw an influx of large numbers of Chinese, Indian, and Mexican workers, brought in as labour for major tourist developments due to the local population not being large enough to support the labour requirements.
Culture
The Anguilla National Trust (ANT) was established in 1993 to preserve the heritage of the island, including its cultural heritage. The Trust has programmes encouraging Anguillan writers and the preservation of the island's history.
The island's cultural history begins with the Arawak Indians. Artifacts have been found around the island, telling of life before European settlers arrived.
As throughout the Caribbean, holidays are a cultural fixture. Anguilla's most important holidays are of historic as much as cultural importance particularly the anniversary of the emancipation (previously August Monday in the Park), celebrated as the Summer Festival. British holidays, such as the Queen's birthday, are also celebrated.
Religion
According to the 2001 census Christianity is Anguilla's predominant religion, with 29 percent of the population practising Anglicanism. Another 23.9 percent are Methodist. Other churches on the island include Seventh-day Adventist, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Jehovah's Witnesses (0.7%). Between 1992 and 2001 the number of followers of the Church of God and Pentecostal Churches increased considerably. There are at least fifteen churches on the island, several of architectural interest. Although a minority on the island, it is an important location to followers of Rastafarian religion Anguilla is the birthplace of Robert Athlyi Rogers, author of The Holy Piby which has had a strong influence on Rastafarian beliefs. Various other religions are practised as well.
Religions in Anguilla
|
Religion %
Anglican Methodist Seventh-day Adventist Baptist Roman Catholic Church of God Pentecostal Jehovah Witnesses Rastafarian Evangelical Brethren Muslim Presbytarian Hindu Jewish None Other Not stated |
1992
40.4 33.2 7.0 4.7 3.2 10.7 0.7 |
2001
29.0 23.9 7.6 7.3 5.7 7.6 7.7 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.1 4.0 3.5 0.3 |
Today most people in Anguilla speak a British-influenced variety of "Standard" English. Other languages are also spoken on the island, including varieties of Spanish, Chinese and the languages of other immigrants. However, the most common language other than Standard English is the island's own English-lexifier Creole language (not to be confused with French Creole spoken in islands such as Haiti, Martinique, and Guadelupe). It is referred to locally by terms such as "dialect" (pronounced "dialec"), or "Anguillian". It has its main roots in early varieties of English and West African languages, and is similar to the dialects spoken in English-speaking islands throughout the Eastern Caribbean.
Music
The music of Anguilla is part of
the Lesser Antillean music area. The
earliest people of the island were the Caribs and Arawaks, who arrived
from South America. English settlers from St Kitts and Irish people
later colonised the island.Unlike regional neighbours, however, the plantation system of agriculture that relied on chattel slavery never took root in Anguilla, causing a distinctly independent cultural makeup.
The most recent influences on Anguilla's musical life come from elsewhere in the Caribbean, especially the music of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, as well as abroad, especially the music of the United States and the United Kingdom. Anguilla's Rastafarian heritage has played a role in the island's music and culture and produced influential figures like activist Ijahnya Christian and Robert Athlyi Rogers, author of The Holy Piby.
The island has produced a number of popular reggae, calypso, soca and country musicians. Of these, the last is especially characteristic, as country is not otherwise a part of much Caribbean popular music. Anguilla's Island Harbour, an Irish-settled village on the east side of the island, is a major centre for local country music.Soca is a major recent import that has become the most important form of dance music on Anguilla; it is often accompanied by frenzied, sexualised dancing called wukin up.
Perhaps the most famous musician from Anguilla and one of the Caribbean's most acclaimed recording artists is Bankie Banx. Banx has released over ten albums and has played with such music legends such as Bob Dylan, Jimmy Cliff and Jimmy Buffett. He has also opened a popular music bar called the Dune Preserve, built in order to save the Rendezvous Bay dune; the Dune Preserve is home to the Moonsplash Annual Music Festival.More recent popular successes include the soca group Xtreme Band, who gained regional fame following their success in the 2001 Carnival.
Music institutions in Anguilla include the Soroptimist Club and the Annual Tranquility Jazz Festival, though the island's most famous music celebration is Carnival, held near the beginning of August (the first Friday after the first Monday); it includes calypso competitions, j'ouvert, street dances, boat races, costumed parades and stilt walking, and beachside barbecues.
Anguillans also celebrate the anniversary of emancipation in August, and British holidays like the Queen's birthday. For the first time in 2005, Anguilla was home to a Country Music Festival, which was promoted by American country star Billy Ray Cyrus; in addition to Cyrus and other American musicians. Other popular musicians from Anguilla include Evan Webster, the most famous recent performer to emerge from the island's country music heritage.
Sport
Boat racing has deep roots in
Anguillian culture, and is the national
sport. There are regular sailing regattas on national holidays which
are contested by locally built and designed boats.Rugby union is represented in Anguilla by the Anguilla Eels RFC, who were formed in April 2006, through the hard work and dedication of Martin Welsh, Jacquie Ruan, and Mark Harris (Toronto Scottish RFC). They played their first match against formidable Rugby Club Les Archibalds from nearby Marigot in French St. Martin, and won 8-7. The Eels then were finalists in the St. Martin tournament in Nov 2006 and semi finalists in 2007. 2008 has seen the Anguilla Eels play the very strong St Barths Barracudas.
As in many other former British Colonies, cricket is also a popular sport. Anguilla is the home of Omari Banks, who played for the West Indies Cricket Team, while Cardigan Connor played first-class cricket for English county side Hampshire and was 'chef de mission' (team manager) for Anguilla's Commonwealth Games team in 2002.
See also
British Virgin Islands
Antigua & Barbuda
Aruba
Barbados
Bahamas
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
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