Montserrat History

St.Peters Anglican Church- David Mac Gillivray

Montserrat, The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean:

Montserrat, covering 39.5 square miles (63.7 square kilometers), is a British Crown colony between Nevis and Guadeloupe. Christopher Columbus gave this Caribbean island its name. On his second voyage, Columbus noticed that the island resembled the land around the Spanish abbey of Santa Maria de Montserrati.

Before 1995, this pear-shaped island had a population of about ten thousand and was lush, green, mountainous, isolated, and unspoiled. There are three green-clad mountain ranges and the island is edged by largely black sand beaches.

Montserrat is popularly known as the “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean”, because of its lush, green, tropical landscape and its unique Irish connections, which date back centuries. Montserrat was originally inhabited by Arawak and Carib Indians. The first European settlers in 1632 were English and Irish Catholics brought over from the Protestant island of St. Kitts by Englishman Thomas Warner. Whilst Catholics were unwelcome in other British colonies, the religion was tolerated on Montserrat and the island became a refuge for persecuted Irish Catholics. In addition, Cromwell sent some of his Irish political prisoners to Montserrat following his victory at Drogheda in 1649. By 1678, a census showed that more than half the people on the island were Irish, with the remainder a combination of English, Scots and Africans. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the Irish had the strongest influence on the developing culture of Montserrat, which is still apparent today.

The Irish connection is obvious upon arrival in Montserrat in the distinctive shamrock which is stamped in all international passports. In addition, the national flag also bears a crest of the legendary Irish figure of Erin with a harp standing alongside the Union Jack.

Montserrat is the only country in the world outside Ireland where St Patrick’s Day is a public holiday. On March 17th, celebrations are staged across the island, consisting of special events, concerts and performances. The festivities now spread over a week, taking on a distinctly Caribbean flavour with blends of calypso, reggae and iron band music. During the week, the old custom of wearing green still remains.

Irish heritage is still very much in evidence in the names of both towns and inhabitants, while the national dish, goat water, is supposedly based on a traditional Irish stew recipe. A popular local folk dance, the Bam-chick-a-lay, is also thought to have its root in Irish step dance.