In July 1995, Montserrat's Soufriere Hills Volcano, dormant throughout recorded history, rumbled to life and began an eruption which eventually buried the island's capital, Plymouth in mud, destroyed its airport and docking facilities, and rendered the southern half of the island uninhabitable.
This forced more than half of the population to flee the island because they lacked housing. From almost 12000 in 1995, only 4500 stayed or went back nowaday.
After a period of regular eruptive events during the late 1990s including one on June 25, 1997 in which 19 people lost their lives, the volcano's activity in recent years has been confined mostly to infrequent ventings of ash into the uninhabited areas in the south. However, this ash venting does occasionally extend into the populated areas of the northern and western parts of the island.
samedi 12 avril 2008
Geographical and historical informations
Montserrat measures approximately 16 km long and 11 km wide, giving a superficy of a little more than 100 km². The island is located 70 km north-west of Guadalupe, 50 km south-east of Nevis and 50 km south-west of Antigua.
The place was inhabited by Carib people who called it "island of the pricky bushes" when, in 1493, on his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Colombus named it Montserrat after a famous mountain and monastery in Catalonia.
The island fell under English control in 1632 when a group of Irish, fleeing religious persecutions from Nevis ans Saint Kitts, settled there.
Montserrat is often referred to as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean, due both to its ressemblance to coastal Ireland and to the Irish descent of most of its early European settlers. The flag displays Erin with the Golden Harp and the catholic cross, as a personification of Ireland, and the Union Flag.
The import of slaves, mainly coming from West Africa, followed during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and an economy mostly based on sugar canes was established.
After the abolition of slavery in 1834, and with the falling price of sugar, the island's economy went bad. Farmers turned to grow limes and produced a famous lime juice.
But the island had to wait the Beatles producer, Geoges Martin, who created the famous Air Studios in 1979. Montserrat started to attract world-famous musicians who came to record in the peace and quiet and lush tropical surroundings of Montserrat.
Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory located in the Carribean Sea, with a local governement and a british governor.
In September 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck Montserrat with full force, damaging over 90 percent of the structures on the island. Air Studios closed, and the tourist trade, upon which the island depended was nearly wiped out. Within a few years, however, the island had recovered considerably, only to be struck again by disaster...
The place was inhabited by Carib people who called it "island of the pricky bushes" when, in 1493, on his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Colombus named it Montserrat after a famous mountain and monastery in Catalonia.
The island fell under English control in 1632 when a group of Irish, fleeing religious persecutions from Nevis ans Saint Kitts, settled there.
Montserrat is often referred to as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean, due both to its ressemblance to coastal Ireland and to the Irish descent of most of its early European settlers. The flag displays Erin with the Golden Harp and the catholic cross, as a personification of Ireland, and the Union Flag.The import of slaves, mainly coming from West Africa, followed during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and an economy mostly based on sugar canes was established.
After the abolition of slavery in 1834, and with the falling price of sugar, the island's economy went bad. Farmers turned to grow limes and produced a famous lime juice.
But the island had to wait the Beatles producer, Geoges Martin, who created the famous Air Studios in 1979. Montserrat started to attract world-famous musicians who came to record in the peace and quiet and lush tropical surroundings of Montserrat.
Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory located in the Carribean Sea, with a local governement and a british governor.
In September 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck Montserrat with full force, damaging over 90 percent of the structures on the island. Air Studios closed, and the tourist trade, upon which the island depended was nearly wiped out. Within a few years, however, the island had recovered considerably, only to be struck again by disaster...
Where is Montserrat ???
Well, to be honnest, I never heard about Montserrat before G. and I got this mail from a friend of us, working there, and inviting us to visit.
We grabbed our atlas, and barely saw a tiny island, north-west of Guadalupe. According to the book, Montserrat was "... a famous spot for rich tourists and famous people...". In January, when the winter starts to be long, a sunny island for VIP was a good option...
We checked a bit more on internet, to discover that a volcano destroyed the capital city and the airport ten years ago. The destination was less fancy. We decided to update our atlas and to go there...
We grabbed our atlas, and barely saw a tiny island, north-west of Guadalupe. According to the book, Montserrat was "... a famous spot for rich tourists and famous people...". In January, when the winter starts to be long, a sunny island for VIP was a good option...
We checked a bit more on internet, to discover that a volcano destroyed the capital city and the airport ten years ago. The destination was less fancy. We decided to update our atlas and to go there...
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