Montserrat is a small Caribbean island with a history of indigenous people, Spanish colonization, Irish immigration, and slavery. It was briefly part of the West Indies Federation and is now a British territory. The island had a brief renaissance in the 1980s but was devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and a volcanic eruption in 1995. The island’s tourist infrastructure is almost non-existent, but an airport and ferry now operate from neighboring Antigua.
Montserrat is a small territory in the Caribbean. It covers 39 square miles (102 square km). The island is located in the Lesser Antilles island chain, just southwest of the island of Antigua.
Montserrat was probably first inhabited around the 4th century by the Saladoid-Barrancoid group, later joined by the Arawaks in the 9th century. Caribs arrived in the 13th century, by which time the Saladoid-Barrancoid group had vanished. Both Caribs and Arawaks inhabited the island for the next several hundred years.
In 1493 Columbus landed at Montserrat and claimed the island for Spain. However, no permanent settlements were formed by the Spanish and the island lay mostly dormant for the next century or so. In the mid-17th century a number of Irish Catholics emigrated from Saint Kitts and Nevis due to persecution and arrived in Montserrat. These Irish formed a colony at Montserrat with the support of the British crown. A few decades later, Irish prisoners captured when the British conquered Ireland were also sent to the island, substantially increasing the Irish population.
Montserrat eventually developed an economy based on sugar, cotton and rum, like most of the islands in the Lesser Antilles. African slaves were introduced in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to work these crops, only to be freed when Britain abolished slavery in 17.
Montserrat was briefly part of the West Indies Federation, from 1958 to 1962, until the federation disbanded due to internal pressure. When the federation dissolved many of its constituent territories began to move towards independence, but Montserrat reverted to being a British territory, which it remains to this day.
Montserrat underwent a brief renaissance in the 1980s, largely thanks to George Martin’s AIR Studios, which attracted world-class artists from around the world to record their records on the island. In 1989, however, most of the island’s infrastructure was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo and the fledgling tourism industry was essentially eliminated. Six years later, in 1995, the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted, covering the capital city of Plymouth with 40 meters of mud, driving out more than half the population and destroying much of the island.
Since the volcanic eruption, volcanic activity has subsided somewhat, although large amounts of ash are still regularly discharged. The island is now divided into three regions, with the southern half of the island around the volcano and the old capital falling into the Exclusion Zone, which is closed to people, a small area on the west side of the island which forms the daytime entry Zone, open at certain times, and the rest of the island that makes up the North Zone, open to people.
After the volcano, the island’s tourist infrastructure is almost non-existent. There are two hotels left on the island and a small number of guest houses. The roads are covered with rocks erupted by the volcano and much of the island is under a thin dusting of ash. It is truly an otherworldly experience, but for those willing to accept its flaws, it remains a beautiful jewel, perhaps made all the more exotic by the roar of the volcano to the south.
An airport was finally reopened at Montserrat in 2005, and flights are now arriving daily from neighboring Antigua. A ferry also operates from Antigua.
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