St. Lucia

Saint Lucia (French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries.
The French were the island's first European settlers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib Indians in 1660. England took control of the island from 1663 to 1667. In ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times, and rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".
Representative government came about in 1840 (with universal suffrage from 1953). From 1958 to 1962, the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. On 22 February 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations associated with the United Kingdom. Saint Lucia is a mixed jurisdiction, meaning that it has a legal system based in part on both the civil law and English common law. The Civil Code of St. Lucia of 1867 was based on the Quebec Civil Code of 1866, as supplemented by English common law-style legislation. It is also a member of La Francophonie.
== Links To Peel ==
Peel took a holiday on the island in March 1977. Upon his return to the UK, on the programme of 05 April 1977 he played a record from the isle by the Diamond Steel Band. In 1986 he co-hosted the Caribbean Celebration programme with Ranking Miss P. Peel mentioned on the programme that he had bought King Short Shirt's 'Ghetto Vibes' LP when he was holidaying on the island.
== Sessions ==
* None
== Festive Fifty ==
* None
== See Also ==
* Countries
== External Links ==
* Wikipedia
Category:Countries
Category:Maps
Category:Places