Anguilla — the United Kingdom
Anguilla, the British oversees territory in West Indies, is located on the islands Anguillas and Sombrero in the northern part of Small Antilles, 320 km to the east from Puerto Rico. The nearest neighbour is Sen-Marten Island which is located 8 km to the south. They are the most northern of the Caribbean Leeward Islands. Its territory is 91 sq êm. The population is over 11 thousand people. Its administrative centre is Valley (in 1992 595 people lived there).
The length of the island Anguilla makes 27 km, width is 5 km. The highest point is the Crocus Hill (65 m above the sea). The state also includes multitude of deserted small islands such as Scrub Island, Dog Island, Prickly Pear Cays and the most remote island — Sombrero. Together with them the area of the state makes 155 sq km.
The population of the island is the descendants of slaves transported from Africa. In the east there are settlements of the Irish, whose ancestors, in search of a better life, once reached these coasts.
Brief history
Archeologists think that 3500 years ago the island was inhabited by the Indian tribes of Arawak who had significant settlements there. Christopher Columbus discovered this island in 1493. The Dutch founded the first settlement on Anguilla in 1631. But in the middle of the XVII century the Englishmen from the neighbouring islands Saint Kitts and Nevis colonised the island. In the XVIIIth century France twice (in 1745 and 1796) tried to capture the island. In 1882 the island was incorporated into a single British dependency of Leeward Islands along with Saint Kitts and Nevis.
In 1958-1962 these islands made part of West Indies Federation, and in 1967 they received the status of “the associated state of Great Britain”. In the same year Anguilla declared break with Saint Kitts and Nevis, and in 1969, unilaterally, proclaimed itself an independent republic and demanded Great Britain’s recognition. But the authority of the British crown was restored by the English military forces who landed on the territory of Anguilla.
In February, 1976 the Anguilla constitution came into force, giving it right to leave the federation and to become a self-managing British territory in charge of its internal affairs. Anguilla officially left the federation Saint Kitts&Nevis — Anguilla in December, 1980 on the basis of the Act “Of Anguilla”, which was adopted by the British parliament in November-December, 1980 and came into force in December, 1980.
Anguilla is a politically stable society with the advanced democracy. The head of the government is appointed by the British crown. The executive ministerial board is formed from the members of the Legislative board acting on an elective basis. The elections are carried out, at least, once in 5 years. The electoral representation is not presidential, but parliamentary. Great Britain is responsible for safety and external affairs of the island.
The legal system of Anguilla is based on the English general law system with a number of local amendments. Since 1992, and particularly in 1994, numerous aspects of the modern legislation on rendering financial services have been included into the modern legislature of Anguilla. The official language of the state is English.
Climate
A climate of islands is tropical, hot. Monthly average temperatures range from +18°C to +24°C. The sedimentation is from 700 up to 1200 mm per year, basically from August till November. The best time for visiting is winter.
The coconut trees and sea grapes grow mainly near the seacoast. There are also poisonous plants there.
Numerous reservoirs of the island attract birds. There are about 80 kinds of them there. There are herons, swans and white ducks. The pigeon is the symbol of the country and a national bird. Throughout the year visitors of the island can admire the multi-colored humming bird. The island is also inhabited by various species of turtles and lizards.
Before the arrival of the Europeans the island rolled in magnificent evergreen vegetation, but with the course of time the tropical forests were destroyed and the plantations of tobacco, cotton and reed were planted on the fertile lands.
Main Sights
Until recently Anguilla had almost no means of tourism service. Only in the 1980s the government decided to develop tourism, building luxurious hotels and villas. Since then the island has become one of the best resort places of the highest level in the East-Caribbean region.
Due to their transparent coastal waters the islands are very popular among the admirers of diving. What astonishes is that since the middle of the 1980s a set of ships have been purposefully immersed in the waters of Anguilla to create for adventure-lovers an additional stimulus to dive. Today illusive frameworks of ships are lying on the sandy bottom at the depth of 11-23 meters and have already become thoroughly overgrown with sea sponges and corals, having turned into enigmatic tourism attractions.
Due to the abundance of strongly salted lakes, the island also represents a wonderful balneal resort.
Valley, the only city on the island, is the geographical, commercial and political centre of Anguilla. Its sight is the National Ethnographic Museum of Anguilla presenting constantly changing exhibitions concerning the history and the natural environment of the islands.
The fountain is the archeological area of Anguilla. It is a huge underground cave containing multitude of ancient mysterious petrogliphs which are letters of the ancestors of the American Indians. Here you can see rather a rare “carving on stalagmite”, representing Yokahu — the God-creator of Arawak Indians. It is assumed that fountain was the main regional centre of worship and a pilgrimage place for Indians in the past. Nowadays this area is open only for pilgrimage of archeologists, the access for the tourists is limited.
Festivals and holidays of Anguilla are traditional enough for resort areas of the Caribbean islands. In February the annual cultural festival — Moonsplash is held. But the majority of visitors come to the island to visit the Carnival. It is a folklore masquerade show lasting the whole week. At the same time the yacht regatta takes place.
Economy
Catching sea food, extraction of salt and tourism have recently been considered a basis of the island’s economy. Only 5% of the territory on Anguilla is cultivated. The main agricultural crops are sweet potato, peas, sorghum and corn. They breed sheep, goats and pigs. In coastal waters they fish and catch lobsters. The lobsters are delivered to the neighbouring islands.
Salt extracted on the island is exported to Trinidad and Tobago as a raw material for petrochemical industry. The opportunities for the development of tourism on Anguilla are limited because of the vulnerability of natural landscapes and the small size of the country. Nevertheless, up to 120 thousand tourists, including passengers of cruise ships, visit it per year.
The island has a developed system of hotels and restaurants of the world class attracting well-to-do tourists from the USA, Europe and Latin America. The level of living conditions and education is high enough.
There is an air communication with Miami (1.5 hours), New York (4 hours) and other cities of the USA, as well as Europe and Latin America. The length of roads with firm pavement makes up 46 km, there are two small harbours: Road Bay and Blowing Point, besides, there is the airport Wall Blake.
The external help to Anguilla makes up 3 million dollars per year (it mainly comes from Great Britain). There is an excellent communication means system in the country: you can use phone and fax (a direct dialing), cellular communications and the Internet.
The entrance visa is not necessary for the majority of foreign citizens, it is enough to submit a passport and to confirm the ability to buy a return ticket. The citizens of the USA and Canada are even allowed to submit a driver’s license or a birth certificate with a seal and an official photo instead of the passport.