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“...old Espagnola or Hispaniola, which
comprises Haiti at the western end and Santo Domingo,
both of which are also republics.
The British islands are divided into six separate
groups : (i) The Bahamas; (2) Barbados ; (3) Jamaica,
with Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands ;
(4) Trinidad and Tobago ; (5) the Windward Islands’
including Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and the
Grenadines; and (6) the Leeward Islands, comprising
Antigua, with Barbuda and Redonda ; St. Kitts, Nevis,
and Anguilla; Montserrat, Dominica, and the Virgin
Islands.
Adjoining the West Indian islands are the colonies of
British* Guiana on the mainland of South America and
British Honduras in Central America, which have many
interests in common with them.
The other islands of importance beside those men-
tioned above are: Porto Rico, St. Thomas, Santa Cruz
or St. Croix, and St. John (American); Guadeloupe
(with its dependencies the Saintes, Marie Galante,
Desirade or Deseada, and St. Bartholomew), and
Martinique...”
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“...Chapter VIII
THE LEEWARD ISLANDS
The Leeward Islands are a British Colony comprising
the Presidencies of Antigua (with its dependencies Bar-
buda and Redonda), Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis
(including Anguilla), Dominica and the Virgin Islands,
which were federated by an Act of the Imperial Parlia-
ment in 1871 (34 and 35 Viet. cap. 107). Their total
area is 704 square miles, or about that of the county of
Surrey. The seat of government is Antigua.
ANTIGUA
Where Nelson refitted his ships in 1805
Antigua—pronounced “ Anteega ”—which is situated
in latitude 170 6' N. and longitude 6i° 45' W., about 40
miles east of Nevis, the same distance north of Guade-
loupe, and 27 miles north-east of Montserrat, has an area
of 108 square miles and a population of 28,864. The
island, which is the seat of government of the Leeward
Islands, is oval in shape, and has three distinct charac-
teristics. In the south and south-west it is volcanic and
mountainous; in the north and north-east it is of coral...”
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“...island; but in the following
year it was ceded to England by the Treaty of Breda, and the
Government was1 entrusted to Lord Francis Willoughby’s
I brother, Lord William Willoughby of Parham.
The subsequent history of Antigua has been, on the whole,
uneventful. A few years after the cession of the island there
I were only five hundred black people in it, while a hundred years
later the population included 37,808 slaves, 1,230 free people
I of colour, and 2,590 whites. In 1689 the inhabitants of Anguilla
1 sought refuge in Antigua, which was defended from the in-
jcursions of the French and Indians by Sir Timothy Thornhill
I and a body of troops. The notorious Mr. Parke became Governor
jin 1706. Violent dissensions arose between him and the
populace, but he refused to resign and was at length killed by
; a riotous mob on December 7th, 1710.* Antigua has been
J visited on several occasions by hurricanes of great severity—
{notably in 1681, 1740, 1792, 1849, and 1899.
CONSTITUTION. By an Act of...”
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“...2i6 POCKET GUIDE TO THE WEST INDIES
ST. CHRISTOPHER or ST. HITTS
The Mother Colony of the British West Indies
St. Christopher, better known as St. Kitts, which with
Nevis and Anguilla is a Presidency of the Leeward
Islands, lies in latitude 170 18' N. and longitude 62° 48'
W., 45 miles to the west of Antigua. It is about 23
miles long, and has a total area of 68 square miles
and a population of 22,415. The island is volcanic,
and consequently very mountainous. The central part
consists of a range of rugged mountains running south-
east and north-west, culminating in Mount Misery,
3,711 feet high. These mountains, which are clothed
with virgin forest bush and grass, run down to the coast.
Their lower slopes, known as “ Mountain Lands,” used
to be planted with sugar-cane ; but they are now mostly
used as pastures or are given out to the labourers, who
grow ground provisions on them. The main range at its
south-east end breaks into a semicircle which encloses a
fertile plain, at the south-west...”
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“...Dominica on April 12th, 1782. St. Kitts
has been British ever since, although it was raided by Villeneuve
in 1805, just before the battle of Trafalgar.
CONSTITUTION'. The Government of St. Kitts, Nevis, and
Anguilla is administered by an officer entitled the Administrator.
There is one Executive Council for the Presidency, consisting
of the Governor, the Administrator, the Colonial Secretary, the
Attorney-General, the Auditor-General, and such other persons
as his Majesty may from time to time appoint. The legislative
body is styled the Legislative Council of St. Christopher and
Nevis, and consists of six official and six nominated unofficial
members, besides the Governor and the Administrator; of the
unofficial not more than five may be appointed from among
the people of St. Kitts and Anguilla, and one at least is selected
from those of Nevis. The Governor, or in his absence the
Administrator, presides, and the President of the Council enjoys
an original and also a casting vote. The Council...”
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“...follow-
ing year. In 1629 the settlement was nearly destroyed by the
Spaniards, and in 1706 it was ravaged by the French, who
destroyed property to the value of half a million, and carried
off between three and four thousand slaves. The island was
taken by the French under the Marquis de Bouillé in 1782, but
restored to Great Britain by the Treaty of Versailles in the
following year.
CONSTITUTION. Nevis forms part of the Presidency of St.
Christopher and Nevis, which also includes the island of Anguilla.
These islands were united by a Federal Act of the Leeward
Islands Legislature in 1882.
Magistrate
Mr. A. C. K. Tibbits.
ACCOMMODATION. Charlestown. The Bath House Hotel is
recommended. Board and lodging, 12s. 6d. per day, including
use of the baths (see opposite page). Special terms can be quoted
for families or for a lengthened stay out of season. Branchdeane
House. Board and lodging, 10s. per day. Mrs. Daniell’s
Boarding House. Board and lodging, 8s. i,d. per day.
COMMUNICATIONS. Nevis can...”
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“...Mount Nevis, or Nevis Peak (3,596 feet),
though unattended with difficulty, should be undertaken
by the able-bodied only. The view depends largely upon
atmospheric conditions, there being frequently a cloud
: capping the summit. When the weather is favourable,
Barbuda, Redonda, St. Kitts, St. Eustatius, and Saba
1 can be distinctly seen. Time should be considered as
being of no object, and refreshments should be taken to
beguile the tedium of the journey !
ANGUILLA
The Snakeless Snake Island
Anguilla, the most northerly of the Leeward Islands,
[ about 60 miles north-west of St. Kitts, has an area of
135 square miles. It has as dependencies the “ Dogs ”
l and neighbouring islets, and a population of 4,230.
I Geologically it consists of coral lying on trap rock
j and covered at irregular intervals by a mixture of...”
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“...coral is seen jutting out in
boulders of various sizes, or stretching in belts from one
side of the island to the other, and over another third
there is but a thin layer of soil, which is not sufficiently
deep for agricultural purposes. The remaining third is
very fertile.
-1
li
i
p
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INDUSTRIES. Cotton is now being successfully cultivated p
in the island, the chief industries of which were until recently j p
the raising of live-stock and the production of salt and garden P
stock.
CLIMATE. Anguilla, which has a population of 4,230, is '! I'
very healthy.
HISTORY. The island, which derives its name from its
resemblance to a snake, or possibly from its having been sup- J I'
posed to be 'infested with snakes, was discovered by Columbus E|
on his second voyage in 1493. It was colonised by the English
in 1650. In 1689 the settlers, having been maltreated by the
Irish and French, were transferred to Antigua.
MONTSERRAT
The Emerald Island of the West
Montserrat, which lies in latitude 160 45'...”
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“...cotton, and ground provisions, whilst a
variety of grape grows there to perfection. Many of
the peasants subsist by fishing.
Saint Martin, of which one part is owned by France
and the other by the Netherlands (see page 341), takes
its name fromSieur Saint Martin, who took possession of
the island by virtue of a Commission of Louis XIII.
The chief town in the French quarter is Marigot, and
the staple industry is the cultivation of sugar.
Saint Barthélemy, or St. Bartholomew, lies to the
south of Anguilla, and about 108 miles to the north-
west of Guadeloupe. Its eight square miles are very
mountainous, and its soil, in spite of a scarcity of
moisture, is not unfertile. Bananas, quassia, and tama-
rinds are exported. The chief town is Gustavia, near the...”
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“...is the establishment of the “ Lago ” company,
where oil is transferred from the shallow draft vessels
able to cross the two bars at the entrance of Lake
Maracaibo into ocean-going tankers.
Caracas Bay, a former quarantine station with an
ancient Spanish fort and a delightful beach for bathing,
repays a visit. So too does the Ostrich Farm, where
feathers are obtainable. The ostriches appear to
flourish in the tropical climate.
ST. MARTIN
The joint-ou/ned Island
St. Martin, which lies between Anguilla and St. Bar-
tholomew, is partly French and partly Dutch. Twenty
square m les of the island belong to France, and form a
dependency of Guadeloupe, and 18 square m;les belong
to Holland, and form with St. Eustatiüs and Saba a
dependency of Curasao. It rises to a height of 1,236
feet above the sea, and it has only a small cultivable
area.
INDUSTRIES. Salt is the principal industry of both colonies,
but cotton and live-stock are also exported. The chief settle-
ment in the French portion is Marigot...”
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“...Adventure, 377, 378
“ African Companies,” 36
Agatash, 373
Agouti, the, 7
Akyma, 377
Alarm, H.M.S., 116
Albany, 260
Albemarle, Duke of, 63, 349
Albert, Prince (Duke of York),
130
Albert Victor, Prince, 48, 95,
in, 130, 136, 142, 164
Alfred, Prince. See Edin-
burgh, Duke of
Alleyne, Hon. Forster M., 99
Alleyne, Sir John Gay, 109
Almirante Bay, 418
Amatuk, 389
Ambergris Cay, 393, 396
Amerigo Vespucci, 374
Ancon, 428
Andros, 63, 64, 65
Anegada, 251
Anglican Church, the, 39
Angostura bitters, 115
Anguilla, 201, 233-4
Animal Flower Cave, 111
Anne, Princess, 218
Annotto Bay, 260, 287
Anopheles mosquito, 6
Anstey, Bishop A. H., 94
Antoine, Lake, 164, 166
Antigua, 199-212
— Accommodation in, 202
—- Area, situation and popula-
tion, 199
— Books on, 31
— Climate, 200
—- Communications, 202
— Constitution, 201—2
— Freemasonry, 204
— History, 200-1
—- Parishes, 200
— Sports, 202
Antilla, 348, 363
Antilles, 1
Apex (Trinidad), Ltd., 142
Apodaca, Admiral, 116, 121,
131
Apostles’ Battery, 262
Arakaka, 377...”
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