A Historical Overview of the Geography, Politics, and Culture of Montserrat

A Historical Overview of the Geography, Politics, and Culture of Montserrat

Montserrat is a small Caribbean island with an interesting geographical, economic, political, and cultural history. Montserrat was inhabited by a succession of Amerindian groups before being discovered by Spanish explorers in the 1400s. In the seventeenth century, Montserrat was claimed by Great Britain, and settled by an English ruling class, and their Irish indentured servants and African slaves. These new inhabitants created a plantation economy in order to grow sugar cane, thereby significantly changing the landscape. The combination of English, Irish, and African residents also created a unique culture and a form of English Creole. Politically and economically, Montserrat has depended on Great Britain for nearly four centuries. In the late-1990s, a volcanic disaster devastated Montserrat and changed the island’s geography, economy, and political relationship with the United Kingdom. Montserrat’s culture was also affected, as many people fled the island, and those who remained were forced to drastically alter their lifestyle.

Geography

Montserrat is a small, Leeward Island in the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles, located 27 miles southwest of Antigua, at 16 45’ N, 62 12’ W. The island is roughly 12 miles long by 7 miles wide, with a land area of 62 square miles. The climate is tropical, with a mean temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and only slight daily and seasonal temperature variation. The average relative humidity is 75%, and average rainfall is 35 to 40 inches a year. The wet season lasts from June to December and the dry season stretches from January to May, but droughts can last close to a year.

Like many of the other islands in the crescent of the Lesser Antilles, Montserrat was formed by volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago. This volcanic formation resulted in Montserrat’s rugged, mountainous landscape, and inspired Columbus to name the island after a mountain in northeastern Spain. Until 1995, the lay of the land was as follows. In the Northern part of Montserrat lie the oldest volcanic structures, the Silver Hills. These hills have undergone much erosion, with strong northeastern breezes constantly blowing on them. They are less than 1,000 feet in elevation, with rounded slopes and broad ghauts.