Saint Lucia is an island country next to South America. The economy is developed through tourism, agriculture, and foreign investment.

 

Cosmopolitans obtain second citizenship of Saint Lucia to travel without visas to 145 countries, including the Schengen states, the UK, Andorra, and Singapore.

 

We tell you where Saint Lucia is located, what is worth seeing in the country, how the local population lives, and how much it will cost to rest on one of the favorite islands of Americans.

 

Amazing facts about Saint Lucia

 

 

1. Saint Lucia is a state located on the same name island in the Lesser Antilles archipelago, a former colony of Great Britain.

 

2. Saint Lucia is an island nation located between the islands of Saint Vincent and Martinique. The Atlantic Ocean borders the island to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the west.

 

3. Saint Lucia is located northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. Saint Lucia is a sovereign island country in the Caribbean.

 

4. Saint Lucia is currently the only country in the world named after a woman: Saint Lucy of Syracuse. This Christian saint and martyr is the patroness of people with vision problems.

 

5. Corresponding the name of the island on which this Caribbean state is now located was given by French sailors who were shipwrecked next to it on the day of this saint's holiday (December 13). This holiday is celebrated to this day in Catholic and Protestant countries.

 

6. Contrary to the earlier opinion, Christopher Columbus did not discover this island. True, the island was indeed part of the route along which the world-famous explorer walked, but the Columbus team did not land on it.

 

7. The first people on this island were not Europeans. According to the results of research by historians and archaeologists, the island was initially inhabited by the Arawak Indian tribe during the settlement from the continental part of South America.

 

 

8. The Arawaks inhabited the region from the 2nd millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD. The population of these Indians began to decrease significantly with the arrival of Europeans in America, who brought smallpox and other deadly diseases to the natives.

 

9. In 1550, the French pirate Francois Le Clerc founded the first European settlement on Pigeon Island, located near Saint Lucia and now part of the country of the same name.

 

10. Saint Lucia has 158 kilometers (98 miles) of coastline.

 

11. The area of ​​the Caribbean state is 617 square kilometers. This is approximately 1.5 times less than the area of ​​Kyiv (839 square kilometers) and two times larger than the area of ​​Minsk (349 square kilometers). Also, the size of ​​St. Lucia is 3.5 times larger than the ​​Washington, DC (USA) area.

 

12. The population of Saint Lucia is about 188 thousand people. This is almost 800 times less than in the Russian Federation.

 

13. The local population accounts for only about 0.002% of Earth's total population. The country is in 193rd place in the world ranking of countries in terms of population (between Samoa and Kiribati).

 

14. The island often changed hands. The French were the first European settlers to settle on the island. In 1660 they made a peace treaty with the native Indians.

 

 

15. At the same time, the island has a long colonial history. In the 17th and 18th centuries alone, control of the territory changed hands between the British and the French 14 times. As the island frequently changed hands between British and French colonists, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helena of the West Indies."

 

16. In 1814, the British finally took control of this place. Between 1958 and 1962, the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. In 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations, an organization created by the United Kingdom.

 

17. Saint Lucia declared independence from the British Empire (now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) on 22 February 1979. The islanders celebrate this holiday very actively since many of them witnessed the proclamation of the independence of their homeland.

 

18. Like most Caribbean countries, Saint Lucia is part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Queen Elizabeth II is still considered the head of this state, represented by a governor-general. According to the constitution, it can be any citizen of the Commonwealth, appointed by the will of the monarch. A local native is usually selected for this post based on the country's head of government's recommendation.

 

19. The Royal Police Force includes a special forces unit and the Coast Guard.

 

20. Administratively, the country is divided into 11 parishes. There are local self-government bodies - city and village councils and administrations.

 

21. Having a volcanic origin, the island of St. Lucia is more mountainous than most other islands located in the Caribbean.

 

MOUNTAINS IN SAINT LUCIA

 

22. Rising 950 meters, Mount Jimi is the highest point among the ridges of wooded mountains that divide the island from north to south.

 

23. Two other large local mountains form the Piton chain, the most famous landmark of Saint Lucia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

24. Gros Piton and Petit Piton are two mountains that rise sharply from the Caribbean coast and surround a small bay. The Piton Mitan ridge interconnects them.

 

25. The low mountains located in the central part of the island are covered with forests in which many orchids grow. Numerous rivers and streams flow down from the hills, forming small waterfalls.

 

26. The climate of the island is tropical, with trade winds. The average monthly temperature is around 26°C. The dry season lasts from January to April and the rainy season from May to August. In September-October, "Indian summer" comes, reminiscent of "Indian summer" in Russia.

 

CASTRIES - THE CAPITAL PORT OF THE STATE

 

27. The bulk of the population are blacks and mulattoes - the descendants of enslaved people brought from Africa after the extermination of the Indians.

 

28. The official language is English, although a large part of the population speaks Patois, the local dialect of French.

 

29. The modern symbol of this country is a parrot; the past one is an iguana. Since 1980, the national symbol of Saint Lucia has officially been a parrot, found only on the same name island. A parrot with a green plumage color, a blue-violet forehead, and front of the head, blue head, ears, and cheeks inhabits the island's tropical forests, living on mountain slopes at an altitude of up to 1 thousand meters above sea level.

 

30. Now, this bird is on the verge of extinction. The damage to the bird population was caused by many years of felling and uprooting old trees, replacing forests with plantations, and hunters and birders. At the end of the last century, about four hundred individuals were in the wild. Now parrots are under state protection.

 

31. Interestingly, before the arrival of Europeans, a completely different animal was the island's symbol. The first inhabitants of St. Lucia, among the Arawaks who arrived from South America, called this place Ioanalao. It means "land of the iguanas."

 

 

32. Most islanders live in the coastal part of Saint Lucia at the foot of the mountain range. About 60 thousand people live in the island's northern region, mainly in the capital city of Castries. The Indians have descendants. And even today, ancient Arawak languages ​​are spoken by a small number of people from Saint Lucia, as well as neighboring island nations such as Grenada, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

 

33. Multilingualism is a common socio-cultural phenomenon in the Caribbean island. Although the official language of Saint Lucia is English, Patois Creole and Queyol French are spoken by 95 percent of the population.

 

34. In this regard, the islanders bypass most other peoples. Indeed, according to the latest research, only about 75% of the world's population speaks two or more languages ​​(multilingualism) to one degree or another.

 

35. Although plantation slavery was abolished in the island nation as early as 1834, Saint Lucia remained an island dependent on agricultural production and cheap manual labor for a long time.

 

36. Agriculture was concentrated on the cultivation of sugar cane. In 1964, sugar cane plantations were converted to banana production.

 

BANANA PLANTATIONS

 

37. Bananas are still the main crop on the island to this day, complemented by the production of coconuts, cocoa, citrus fruits, spices, cassava, and sustainable fishing industry.

 

38. But Saint Lucia is not a "banana republic." Rapidly developing since the 70s of the last century, tourism is vital to the economy of the Caribbean state.

 

39. The most significant number of tourists visit the island by sea on cruise ships through one of the five major ports. The completion of the construction of a new terminal for Quantum-class cruise ships gave an enormous impetus to the development of cruise tourism.

 

40. Ports are connected with the capital and other cities by a ring road that runs throughout the island. Tourists here can rent not only cars but also yachts or helicopters.

 

41. Islanders lived long in warmth and were surrounded by lush vegetation. The average life expectancy in Saint Lucia is 72 years. The officially registered literacy rate of the local population is about 67 percent of the people.

 

42. This Caribbean island nation is the same size as Islay in Scotland. And if Islay is known for single malt Scotch whiskey (Laphroaig or Lagavulin), then St. Lucia has become famous for slightly different alcoholic beverages. We are talking about popular varieties of rum, such as Chairman's Reserve and Rodney's Reserve.

 

43. To attract more wealthy guests to the island, its authorities periodically arrange large-scale cultural events. So, the islanders hold a variety of sports festivals.

 

44. An annual jazz festival is also held there, attracting tourists and musicians from all over the world to the resorts of St. Lucia. The festival's grand finale takes place on Pigeon Island, located to the north of the country's main island of Saint Lucia, also called similarly.

 

DEREK WALCOTT

 

45. Despite a relatively modest population, this country can boast of having two Nobel Prize winners among its citizens at once. Sir Arthur Lewis, born in Saint Lucia in 1915, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979. Derek Walcott, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992, was born in Castries in 1930.

 

46. As a result, Saint Lucia ranks second in the world rankings regarding the ratio of Nobel Prize winners compared to the total population. Only the Faroe Islands (one Nobel laureate out of 49,000) have a higher density of Nobel laureates.

 

47. Orchids and a range of other exotic plants will grow in the lush rainforests of this island country. Saint Lucia is also adorned with pristine white and black sand beaches. The average annual temperature there is around 27ºC.

 

48. The islanders did not win the Olympics, despite their love of cricket. There are no Olympic medals in the piggy bank of Saint Lucia athletes. None. The most considerable Olympic achievement of the islanders was the performance of a team of six successfully qualified athletes at the Olympic Games in Atlanta (USA) in 1996.

 

49. But this does not prevent Caribbean athletes from keeping their bodies in good shape. Fortunately, there are more than enough sports infrastructure facilities in Saint Lucia. And, of course, we are talking not only about the numerous pools next to the no less numerous local hotel complexes. The island also has several grounds for playing cricket, which is widespread and very popular.

 

50. Tourism and bananas are the primary sources of foreign exchange for Saint Lucia.

 

 

51. Society in Saint Lucia is matriarchal rather than patriarchal. On this island, women are usually entirely responsible for running the household. They manage the home and raise their children. And in most cases, they do it with little or no help from men.

 

52. From a very early age, girls on the island receive more education from their parents than boys. This continues in school and colleges. For this reason, more and more women are taking on leadership roles, making careers while men continue to do unskilled work.

 

53. Many islanders practice the use of traditional therapies and alternative medicine. The island even has several relevant medical facilities. Some locals have a wealth of experience using plants and herbs combined into various tinctures, poultices, and remedies.

 

54. There are also practicing shamans in the country (locally known as Obeah or Tchenbwaorzeb). With the help of spells, these people treat not only medical ailments but also mental disorders and troubles of a supernatural origin. But even with traditional medicine in Saint Lucia, everything is in order.

 

55. Saint Lucia is a trendy destination for weddings and honeymoons.

 

 

56. The island state is also considered a natural paradise for divers. The waters of the jurisdiction offer them multi-layered underwater walls, shipwrecks, and coral reefs that form unique ecosystems with very colorful inhabitants.

 

57. There are two airports in St. Lucia - St. Lucia Huanora and Castries George Charles. The airport in Castries is intended for local airlines, while Huanora serves international flights connecting the island with New York, London, Toronto, Miami, Chicago, Montreal, and other major cities.

 

58. Citizenship in this country gives many bonuses. For example, being the owner of her passport, you can easily open bank accounts worldwide and freely invest in different parts of the world.

 

59. Saint Lucia is also an excellent base for expanding business globally.

 

60. Saint Lucia is part of the Commonwealth, led by Great Britain. It is a member of the UN and its specialized organizations, the Organization of American States and the Organizations of the Eastern Caribbean States, the Caribbean Community, and the Caribbean Common Market.