Montserrat

Archaeological field work in 2012 in Montserrat's Centre Hills indicated there was an Archaic (pre-Arawak) occupation between 2000 and 500 BCE.[17] Later coastal sites show the presence of the Saladoid culture (until 550 CE).[18] The native Caribs are believed to have called the island Alliouagana, meaning 'Land of the Prickly Bush'.[19]

In 2016, nine petroglyphs were discovered by local residents hiking in a wooded area near Soldier Ghaut.[20][21] Another was discovered in 2018 in the same area of the island.[21] The carvings are believed to be 1000–1500 years old.[20]

In November 1493, Christopher Columbus passed Montserrat in his second voyage, after being told that the island was unoccupied due to raids by the Caribs.[22][19]

A number of Irishmen settled in Montserrat in 1632.[23] Most came from nearby Saint Kitts at the instigation of the island's governor Thomas Warner, with more settlers arriving later from Virginia.[19] The first settlers "appear to have been cultivators, each working his own little farm".[24]

The preponderance of Anglo-Irish in the first wave of European settlers led a leading legal scholar to remark that a "nice question" is whether the original settlers took with them the law of the Kingdom of Ireland insofar as it differed from the law of the Kingdom of England.[25]

The Irish being historical allies of the French, especially in their qualified disdain of the English, invited the French to claim the island in 1666, although no troops were sent by France to maintain control.[23] However, the French did attack and briefly occupy the island in the late 1660s;[26] it was captured shortly afterwards by the English and English control of the island was confirmed under the Treaty of Breda the following year.[23] Despite the seizing by force of the island by the French, the island's legal status is that of a "colony acquired by settlement", as the French gave up their claim to the island at Breda.[23]

A neo-feudal colony developed amongst the so-called "redlegs".[27] The Anglo-Irish colonists began to transport both white and Sub-Saharan African slaves for labour, as was common to most Caribbean islands. By the late 18th century, numerous plantations had been developed on the island.

There was a brief French attack on Montserrat in 1712.[26] On 17 March 1768, a slave rebellion failed but their efforts were remembered.[28][26] Slavery was abolished in 1834. In 1985, the people of Montserrat made St Patrick's Day a ten-day public holiday to commemorate the uprising.[29] Festivities celebrate the culture and history of Montserrat in song, dance, food and traditional costumes.[30]

In 1782, during the American Revolutionary War, as America's first ally, France captured Montserrat in their war of support of the Americans.[29][26] The French, not intent on truly colonising the island, then agreed to return the island to Great Britain under the 1783 Treaty of Paris.[31]

Britain abolished slavery in Montserrat and its other territories effective August 1834.[32][29][26]

During the nineteenth century, falling sugar prices had an adverse effect on the island's economy, as Brazil and other nations competed in the trade.[33][34]

The first lime tree orchards on the island were planted in 1852 by a local planter Mr Burke.[35] Later, in 1857, the British philanthropist Joseph Sturge bought a sugar estate to prove it was economically viable to employ paid labour rather than slaves.[19] Numerous members of the Sturge family bought additional land. In 1869, the family established the Montserrat Company Limited and planted Key lime trees, started the commercial production of lime juice, with more than 100,000 gallons produced annually by 1895, set up a school, and sold parcels of land to the inhabitants of the island. The pure lime juice was transported in casks to England where it was clarified and bottled by Evans, Sons & Co, of Liverpool, with a trade mark on each bottle intended to guarantee quality to the public.[24]

Barquentine 'Hilda' loading lime juice[24]

Much of Montserrat came to be owned by smallholders.[36][37]

From 1871 to 1958, Montserrat was administered as part of the federal crown colony of the British Leeward Islands, becoming a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962.[38][19] The first Chief Minister of Montserrat was William Henry Bramble of the Montserrat Labour Party from 1960 to 1970; he worked to promote labour rights and boost tourism to the island, and Montserrat's original airport was named in his honour.[39] However, Bramble's son Percival Austin Bramble was critical of the way tourist facilities were being constructed, and he subsequently set up his own party (the Progressive Democratic Party) which went on to win the 1970 Montserratian general election, with Percival Bramble serving as Chief Minister from 1970 to 1978.[40] The period 1978 to 1991 was dominated politically by Chief Minister John Osborne and his People's Liberation Movement; his brief flirtation with possibly declaring independence never materialised.

On 10 May 1991, the Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991 came into force, formally abolishing the death penalty for murder on Montserrat.[41]

Corruption allegations within the PLM party resulted in the collapse of the Osborne government in 1991, with Reuben Meade becoming the new chief minister.[42] As a result, early elections were called.[42]

In 1995, Montserrat was devastated by the catastrophic volcanic eruptions of the Soufrière Hills, which destroyed the capital city of Plymouth, and necessitated the evacuation of a large part of the island. Many Montserratians emigrated abroad, mainly to the United Kingdom, though in recent years some have started returning. The eruptions rendered the entire southern half of the island uninhabitable, and it is currently designated an Exclusion Zone with restricted access.

Criticism of the Montserratian government's response to the disaster led to the resignation of Chief Minister Bertrand Osborne in 1997, after only a year in office, and being replaced by David Brandt who remained in office until 2001. Since leaving office, Brandt has been the subject of multiple criminal investigation into alleged sex offences with minors.[43] He was found guilty of six counts of sexual exploitation and sentenced to fifteen years in July 2021.[44]

John Osborne returned as Chief Minister following victory in the 2001 election, being ousted by Lowell Lewis of the Montserrat Democratic Party in 2006. Reuben Meade returned to office in 2009 to 2014;[45] during his term the post of Chief Minister was replaced with that of Premier.

In the autumn of 2017, Montserrat was not hit by Hurricane Irma and sustained only minor damage from Hurricane Maria.[46]

Since November 2019, Easton Taylor-Farrell of the Movement for Change and Prosperity party has been the island's Premier.

Parishes
St. Peter (red)
St. Georges (green)
St. Anthony (cyan)
Plymouth (◾)

For the purposes of local government, Montserrat is divided into three parishes. Going north to south, they are:

• Parish of Saint Peter
• Parish of Saint Georges
• Parish of Saint Anthony

The locations of settlements on the island have been vastly changed since the volcanic activity began. Only the Parish of Saint Peter in the northwest of the island is now inhabited, with a population of between 4,000 and 6,000,[48][49] the other two parishes being still too dangerous to inhabit.

A significantly more up-to-date administrative division type would be the 3 census regions, primarily used for the population census.[50] Going north to south, these are:

• Northern Region (2,369 pop.)
• Central Region (1,666 pop.)
• South of Nantes river (887 pop.)

For census purposes, these are further divided into 23 enumeration districts.

Policing is primarily the responsibility of the Royal Montserrat Police Service.

The defence of Montserrat is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. The Royal Navy maintains a ship on permanent station in the Caribbean (HMS Medway)[51] and additionally sends another Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship as a part of the Atlantic Patrol (NORTH) tasking. These ships' main mission in the region is to maintain British sovereignty for the overseas territories, provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief during disasters such as hurricanes, which are common in the area, and conduct counter-narcotics operations. In October 2023, the destroyer HMS Dauntless (which had temporarily replaced Medway on her Caribbean tasking), visited the territory in order to assist local authorities in preparing for the climax of the hurricane season.[52]

The Royal Montserrat Defence Force is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. Raised in 1899, the unit is today a reduced force of about forty volunteer soldiers, primarily concerned with civil defence and ceremonial duties. The unit has a historical association with the Irish Guards.

Eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano on 22 September 1997

Plymouth City (former capital and major port of Montserrat) on 12 July 1997, after pyroclastic flows burned much of what was not covered in ash

False-colour time-lapse images of the Soufrière Hills volcanic dome collapse in 2010, from NASA

Devastated Plymouth City and volcano (2003)

In July 1995, Montserrat's Soufrière Hills volcano, dormant for centuries, erupted and soon buried the island's capital, Plymouth, in more than 12 metres (39 ft) of mud, destroyed its airport and docking facilities, and rendered the southern part of the island, now termed the exclusion zone, uninhabitable and not safe for travel. The southern part of the island was evacuated and visits are severely restricted.[55] The exclusion zone also includes two sea areas adjacent to the land areas of most volcanic activity.[9]

After the destruction of Plymouth and disruption of the economy, more than half of the population left the island, which also lacked housing. During the late 1990s, additional eruptions occurred. On 25 June 1997, a pyroclastic flow travelled down Mosquito Ghaut. This pyroclastic surge could not be restrained by the ghaut and spilled out of it, killing 19 people who were in the (officially evacuated) Streatham village area. Several others in the area suffered severe burns.

In recognition of the disaster, in 1998, the people of Montserrat were granted full residency rights in the United Kingdom, allowing them to migrate if they chose. British citizenship was granted in 2002.[56]

For a number of years in the early 2000s, the volcano's activity consisted mostly of infrequent ventings of ash into the uninhabited areas in the south. The ash falls occasionally extended into the northern and western parts of the island. In the most recent period of increased activity at the Soufrière Hills volcano, from November 2009 through February 2010, ash vented and there was a vulcanian explosion that sent pyroclastic flows down several sides of the mountain. Travel into parts of the exclusion zone was occasionally allowed, though only by a licence from the Royal Montserrat Police Force.[57] Since 2014 the area has been split into multiple subzones with varying entry and use restrictions, based on volcanic activity: some areas even being (in 2020) open 24 hours and inhabited. The most dangerous zone, which includes the former capital, remains forbidden to casual visitors due to volcanic and other hazards, especially due to the lack of maintenance in destroyed areas. It is legal to visit this area when accompanied by a government-authorised guide.[58][59]

The northern part of Montserrat has largely been unaffected by volcanic activity, and remains lush and green. In February 2005, Princess Anne officially opened what is now called the John A. Osborne Airport in the north. Since 2011, it handles several flights daily operated by Fly Montserrat Airways. Docking facilities are in place at Little Bay, where the new capital town is being constructed; the new government centre is at Brades, a short distance away.

Montserrat, like many isolated islands, is home to rare, endemic plant and animal species. Work undertaken by the Montserrat National Trust in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has centred on the conservation of pribby (Rondeletia buxifolia) in the Centre Hills region. Until 2006, this species was known only from one book about the vegetation of Montserrat.[60] In 2006, conservationists also rescued several plants of the endangered Montserrat orchid (Epidendrum montserratense) from dead trees on the island and installed them in the security of the island's botanic garden.

Montserrat is also home to the critically endangered giant ditch frog (Leptodactylus fallax), known locally as the mountain chicken, found only in Montserrat and Dominica. The species has undergone catastrophic declines due to the amphibian disease Chytridiomycosis and the volcanic eruption in 1997. Experts from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust have been working with the Montserrat Department of Environment to conserve the frog in-situ in a project called "Saving the Mountain Chicken",[61] and an ex-situ captive breeding population has been set up in partnership with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Zoological Society of London, Chester Zoo, Parken Zoo, and the Governments of Montserrat and Dominica. Releases from this programme have already taken place in a hope to increase the numbers of the frog and reduce extinction risk from Chytridiomycosis.

The national bird is the endemic Montserrat oriole (Icterus oberi).[62] The IUCN Red List classifies it as vulnerable, having previously listed it as critically endangered.[63] Captive populations are held in several zoos in the UK including: Chester Zoo, London Zoo, Jersey Zoo and Edinburgh Zoo.

The Montserrat galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati), a type of lizard, is endemic to Montserrat and is listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered.[64][65] A species action plan has been developed for this species.[66]

In 2005, a biodiversity assessment for the Centre Hills was conducted. To support the work of local conservationists, a team of international partners, including Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Montana State University, carried out extensive surveys and collected biological data.[67] Researchers from Montana State University found that the invertebrate fauna was particularly rich on the island. The report found that the number of invertebrate species known to occur in Montserrat is 1241. The number of known beetle species is 718 species from 63 families. It is estimated that 120 invertebrates are endemic to Montserrat.[67]

Montserrat is known for its coral reefs and its caves along the shore. These caves house many species of bats, and efforts are underway to monitor and protect the ten species of bats from extinction.[68][69]

The Montserrat tarantula (Cyrtopholis femoralis) is the only species of tarantula native to the island. It was first bred in captivity at the Chester Zoo in August 2016.[70]

Montserrat has a tropical rainforest climate (Af according to the Köppen climate classification) with the temperature being warm and consistent year-round, and lots of precipitation. Summer and autumn are wetter because of Atlantic hurricanes.

John A. Osborne Airport is the only airport on the island (constructed after the W. H. Bramble Airport was destroyed in 1997 by the volcanic eruption). Scheduled service to Antigua is provided by FlyMontserrat[80] and ABM Air.[81] Charter flights are also available to the surrounding islands.

Ferry service to the island was provided by the Jaden Sun Ferry. It ran from Heritage Quay in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda to Little Bay on Montserrat. The ride was about an hour and a half and operated five days a week.[82]

This service stopped in 2019 due to being financially unsustainable and the only access to Montserrat now is by air.

English is the sole official language and the main spoken language. A few thousand people speak Montserrat Creole, a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English.[86][87] Historically Irish was spoken, but not any more.[88]

The Irish constituted the largest proportion of the white population from the founding of the colony in 1628. Most were indentured servants; others were merchants or plantation owners. The geographer Thomas Jeffrey claimed in The West India Atlas (1780) that the majority of those on Montserrat were either Irish or of Irish descent, "so that the use of the Irish language is preserved on the island, even among the Negroes."[89]

African slaves and Irish indentured servants of all classes were in constant contact, with sexual relationships being common and a population of mixed descent appearing as a consequence.[90] The Irish were also prominent in Caribbean commerce, with their merchants importing Irish goods such as beef, pork, butter and herring, and also importing slaves.[91]

There is indirect evidence that the use of the Irish language continued in Montserrat until at least the middle of the nineteenth century. The Kilkenny diarist and Irish scholar Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin noted in 1831 that he had heard that Irish was still spoken in Montserrat by both black and white inhabitants.[92]

In 1852, Henry H. Breen wrote in Notes and Queries: a Medium of Intercommunication for Literary Men, etc., "The statement that 'the Irish language is spoken in the West India Islands, and that in some of them it may be said to be almost vernacular,' is true of the little Island of Montserrat, but has no foundation with respect to the other colonies."[93]

In 1902, The Irish Times quoted the Montreal Family Herald in a description of Montserrat, noting that "the negroes to this day speak the old Irish Gaelic tongue, or English with an Irish brogue. A story is told of a Connaught man who, on arriving at the island, was, to his astonishment, hailed in a vernacular Irish by the black people."[94]

A letter by W. F. Butler in The Atheneum (15 July 1905) quotes an account by a Cork civil servant, C. Cremen, of what he had heard from a retired sailor called John O'Donovan, a fluent Irish speaker:

"He frequently told me that in the year 1852, when mate of the brig Kaloolah, he went ashore on the island of Montserrat which was then out of the usual track of shipping. He said he was much surprised to hear the negroes actually talking Irish among themselves, and that he joined in the conversation..."[92]

The British phonetician John C. Wells conducted research into speech in Montserrat in 1977–78 (which included also Montserratians resident in London).[95] He found media claims that Irish speech, whether Anglo-Irish or Irish Gaelic, influenced contemporary Montserratian speech were largely exaggerated.[95] He found little in phonology, morphology or syntax that could be attributed to Irish influence, and in Wells' report, only a small number of Irish words in use, one example being minseach [ˈmʲiɲʃəx] which he suggests is the noun goat.[95]

In 2001, the CIA estimated the primary religion as Protestant (67.1%, including Anglican 21.8%, Methodist 17%, Pentecostal 14.1%, Seventh-day Adventist 10.5%, and Church of God 3.7%), with Catholics constituting 11.6%, Rastafarian 1.4%, other 6.5%, none 2.6%, unspecified 10.8%.[6]

Residents of Montserrat are known as Montserratians. The population is predominantly, but not exclusively, of mixed African-Irish descent.[96] It is not known with certainty how many African slaves and indentured Irish labourers were brought to the West Indies, though according to one estimate some 60,000 Irish were "Barbadosed" by Oliver Cromwell,[97] some of whom would have arrived in Montserrat.

Data published by the Central Intelligence Agency indicates the ethnic group mix as follows (2011 est.):[6]

88.4%: African/black

03.7%: mixed

03.0%: Hispanic/Spanish (of any race, including white)

02.7%: non-Hispanic Caucasian/white

01.5%: East Indian/Indian

00.7%: other

Montserrat has one national radio station, Radio Montserrat. The station offers a wide selection of music and news within the island and also on the internet for Montserratians living overseas.

Notable shows include the Morning Show with Basil Chambers and Rose Willock's Cultural Show.

Montserrat's national dish is goat water, a thick goat meat stew served with crusty bread rolls.[10] Montserrat cuisine resembles the general British and Caribbean cuisines, as it is situated in the Caribbean zone and it is a British territory. The cuisine includes a wide range of light meats, like fish, seafood and chicken, which are mostly grilled or roasted. Being a fusion of numerous cultures, such as Spanish, French, African, Indian and Amerindian, the Caribbean cuisine is unique and complex. More sophisticated meals include the Montserrat jerk shrimp, with rum, cinnamon bananas and cranberry. In other more rural areas, people prefer to eat homemade food, like the traditional mahi mahi and local breads.

Montserrat is home to the Montserrat Yachting Association.[104]

Montserrat has competed in every Commonwealth Games since 1994.[105]

Miguel Francis who now represents the United Kingdom and previously represented Antigua and Barbuda was born in Montserrat. He holds the Antiguan National record over 200m in 19.88.[106][107]

Basketball is growing in popularity in Montserrat with the country now setting up their own basketball league.[108][109] The league contains six teams, which are the Look-Out Shooters, Davy Hill Ras Valley, Cudjoe Head Renegades, St. Peters Hilltop, Salem Jammers and MSS School Warriors.[110] They have also built a new 800 seater complex which cost $1.5 million.

In common with many Caribbean islands, cricket is a very popular sport in Montserrat. Players from Montserrat are eligible to play for the West Indies cricket team. Jim Allen was the first to play for the West Indies and he represented the World Series Cricket West Indians, although, with a very small population, no other player from Montserrat had gone on to represent the West Indies until Lionel Baker made his One Day International debut against Pakistan in November 2008.[111]

The Montserrat cricket team forms a part of the Leeward Islands cricket team in regional domestic cricket; however, it plays as a separate entity in minor regional matches,[112] as well having previously played Twenty20 cricket in the Stanford 20/20.[113] Two grounds on the island have held first-class matches for the Leeward Islands, the first and most historic was Sturge Park in Plymouth, which had been in use since the 1920s. This was destroyed in 1997 by the volcanic eruption. A new ground, the Salem Oval, was constructed and opened in 2000. This has also held first-class cricket. A second ground has been constructed at Little Bay.[114]

Montserrat has its own FIFA affiliated football team, and has competed in the World Cup qualifiers five times but failed to advance to the finals from 2002 to 2018. A field for the team was built near the airport by FIFA. In 2002, the team competed in a friendly match with the second-lowest-ranked team in FIFA at that time, Bhutan, in The Other Final, the same day as the final of the 2002 World Cup. Bhutan won 4–0. Montserrat has failed to qualify for any FIFA World Cup. They have also failed to ever qualify for the Gold Cup and Caribbean Cup. The current national team relies mostly on the diaspora resident in England and in the last World Cup qualification game against Curaçao nearly all the squad members played and lived in England.

Montserrat has a club league, the Montserrat Championship, which has played sporadically since 1974. The league was most recently on hiatus from 2005 until 2015 but restarted play in 2016.

Surfer brothers Carrll and Gary Robilotta at Isle's Bay, Montserrat

Carrll Robilotta, whose parents moved from the United States to Montserrat in 1980, was responsible for pioneering the sport of surfing on the island. He and his brother Gary explored, discovered, and named the surf spots on the island during the 80s and early 90s.[115]

Settlements in italics have been destroyed by pyroclastic flows since the 1997 eruption. Others have been evacuated or destroyed since 1995.

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• Montserrat National Trust
• Premier of Montserrat

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• A Health Survey of Montserratians Relocated to the UK Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine by HA Cowie, A Searl, PJ Ritchie, MK Graham, PA Hutchison, and A Pilkington. Institute of Occupational Medicine Research Report TM/01/07.

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