169-654: Montserrat ( / ˌ m ɒ n t s ə ˈ r æ t / MONT -sə- RAT ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean . It is part of the Leeward Islands , the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies . Montserrat is about 16 km (10 mi) long and 11 km (7 mi) wide, with roughly 40 km (25 mi) of coastline. It is nicknamed "The Emerald Isle of
338-594: A 34-year hiatus from 1968 to 2002. Defence of the overseas territories is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. Many of the overseas territories are used as military bases by the United Kingdom- and its allies: As overseas territories were added to the land conquered by the British, a number of towns and villages began to request formal recognition to validate their importance, and would be accorded
507-584: A UK police force, and specialist staff and equipment may be sent to assist the local force. Some territories may have other forces beyond the main territorial police, for instance an airport police, such as Airport Security Police (Bermuda) , or a defence police force, such as the Gibraltar Defence Police . In addition, most territories have customs, immigration, border and coastguard agencies. Territories with military bases or responsibilities may also have "Overseas Service Police", members of
676-467: A colony, at the same time re-designated a British Dependent Territory . This category of citizenship was distinguished from British Citizenship by what it did not include — the rights of abode and free entry to the United Kingdom — and was not specific to any colony but to all collectively, except for Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands, the people of which retained British Citizenship . It
845-535: A different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom. The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth realms , a group of 15 independent countries (including the United Kingdom) sharing Charles III as monarch and head of state , and from the Commonwealth of Nations , a voluntary association of 56 countries mostly with historic links to
1014-406: A few tiny off-shore islands, such as Little Redonda off its north coast and Pinnacle Rock and Statue Rock off its east. In July 1995, Montserrat's Soufrière Hills volcano, dormant for centuries, erupted and soon buried the island's capital, Plymouth, in more than 12 metres (39 ft) of mud, destroyed its airport and docking facilities, and rendered the southern part of the island, now termed
1183-612: A full-time population of two between 1992 and 2006). Pitcairn Islands , settled by the survivors of the mutiny on the Bounty , is the smallest settled territory, with 49 inhabitants (all of whom live on the titular island), while the smallest by land area is Gibraltar, which lies on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula . The United Kingdom participates in the Antarctic Treaty System and, as part of
1352-400: A governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. Currently (2019) all but two governors are either career diplomats or have worked in other civil service departments. The remaining two governors are former members of the British armed forces. In territories without a permanent population, a commissioner is usually appointed to represent the monarch. Exceptionally, in
1521-525: A land area of about 480,000 sq nmi (1,600,000 km ). The vast majority of this land area constitutes the almost uninhabited British Antarctic Territory (the land area of all the territories excepting the Antarctic territory is only 18,015 km [6,956 sq mi]), while the two largest territories by population, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda , account for about half of
1690-675: A leading legal scholar to remark that a "nice question" is whether the original settlers took with them the law of the Kingdom of Ireland insofar as it differed from the law of the Kingdom of England . The Irish being historical allies of the French , especially in their qualified disdain of the English, invited the French to claim the island in 1666, although no troops were sent by France to maintain control. The French attacked and briefly occupied
1859-558: A letter to the Vatican dated 1 November 1493, the historian Peter Martyr described Columbus as the discoverer of a Novi Orbis (" New Globe "). The pope issued four bulls (the first three of which are collectively known as the Bulls of Donation ), to determine how Spain and Portugal would colonize and divide the spoils of the new lands. Inter caetera , issued 4 May 1493, divided the world outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along
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#17327654698152028-640: A mountainous interior surrounded by a flatter littoral region, with rock cliffs rising 15 to 30 m (49 to 98 ft) above the sea and a number of smooth bottomed sandy beaches scattered among coves on the western (Caribbean Sea) side of the island. The major mountains are (from north to south) Silver Hill , Katy Hill in the Centre Hills range, the Soufrière Hills and the South Soufrière Hills . The Soufrière Hills volcano
2197-444: A mutiny by sailors who wanted to abandon the search and return to Spain. On the next day, they saw several artefacts floating up the sea, which caused them to believe that land was nearby. Columbus changed the fleet's course to due west, and sailed through the night, with many sailors looking for land. At around 10:00 pm on 11 October, Columbus thought he saw a light "like a little wax candle rising and falling". Four hours later, land
2366-557: A mutual agreement, the British Antarctic Territory is recognised by four of the six other sovereign nations making claims to Antarctic territory . The 14 British Overseas Territories are: Early colonies, in the sense of English subjects residing in lands hitherto outside the control of the English government, were generally known as plantations . The first, unofficial, colony was Newfoundland Colony , where English fishermen routinely set up seasonal camps in
2535-506: A north–south meridian 100 leagues west of either the Azores or Cape Verde Islands in the mid-Atlantic, thus granting Spain all the land discovered by Columbus. The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas , ratified in the next decade by Pope Julius II , moved the dividing line to 370 leagues west of the Azores or Cape Verde. The stated purpose of the second voyage was to convert the indigenous Americans to Christianity. Before Columbus left Spain, he
2704-514: A plan to travel to the Indies (then construed roughly as all of southern and eastern Asia) by sailing directly west across what was believed to be the singular "Ocean Sea," the Atlantic Ocean . By about 1481, Florentine cosmographer Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli sent Columbus a map depicting such a route, with no intermediary landmass other than the mythical island of Antillia . In 1484 on
2873-593: A presence in North America for hundreds of years, but contacts between their North American settlements and Europe had all but ceased by the early 15th century. Until the mid-15th century, Europe enjoyed a safe land passage to China and India —sources of valued goods such as silk , spices , and opiates —under the hegemony of the Mongol Empire (the Pax Mongolica , or Mongol Peace). With
3042-431: A pyroclastic flow travelled down Mosquito Ghaut. This pyroclastic surge could not be restrained by the ghaut (a steep revine leading to the sea) and spilled out of it, killing 19 people who were in the (officially evacuated) Streatham village area. Several others in the area suffered severe burns. British nationality law has changed over time with respect to the status granted to Montserrat residents. In recognition of
3211-425: A school; and sold parcels of land to the inhabitants of the island. The pure lime juice was transported in casks to England, where it was clarified and bottled by Evans, Sons & Co, of Liverpool, with a trade mark on each bottle intended to guarantee quality to the public. Much of Montserrat came to be owned by smallholders . From 1871 to 1958, the island was administered as part of the federal crown colony of
3380-503: A sensation: Hispaniola is a miracle. Mountains and hills, plains and pastures, are both fertile and beautiful ... the harbors are unbelievably good and there are many wide rivers of which the majority contain gold. ... There are many spices, and great mines of gold and other metals... Upon Columbus's return, most people initially accepted that he had reached the East Indies, including the sovereigns and Pope Alexander VI , though in
3549-707: A ship named Pinta probably identical to that from the first expedition. In addition, the expedition saw the construction of the first ship in the Americas, the Santa Cruz or India . On 3 November 1493, Christopher Columbus landed on a rugged shore on an island that he named Dominica . On the same day, he landed at Marie-Galante , which he named Santa María la Galante . After sailing past Les Saintes ( Todos los Santos ), he arrived at Guadeloupe ( Santa María de Guadalupe ), which he explored between 4 November and 10 November 1493. The exact course of his voyage through
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#17327654698153718-641: A shorter route to the Orient , Columbus and his crew took three medium-sized ships, the largest of which was a carrack (Spanish: nao ), the Santa María , which was owned and captained by Juan de la Cosa , and under Columbus's direct command. The other two were smaller caravels ; the name of one is lost, but it is known by the Castilian nickname Pinta ("painted one"). The other, the Santa Clara ,
3887-540: A status if deemed to be deserving such as a borough or as a more prestigious city by the monarch. Many cities were designated over several centuries, and as Anglican dioceses began to be created internationally from the 18th century, the process of city creation became aligned to that used in England, being linked to the presence of a cathedral . Later on, this process became untenable and other selection criteria and royal occasions were used instead. However, mainly from
4056-491: A still safer place to land, so the Niña moved once again. At this spot, Columbus took aboard several islanders with food. When told of the vow to Our Lady, the islanders directed the crew to a small shrine nearby. Columbus sent half of the crew to the island to fulfil their vow, but he and the rest stayed on the Niña , planning to send the other half later. While the shore party were in prayer, they were taken prisoner by order of
4225-577: A travel distance of 2,400 nautical miles was about four times too low (which was accurate). In 1486, Columbus was granted an audience with the Catholic Monarchs, and he presented his plans to Isabella. She referred these to a committee, which determined that Columbus had grossly underestimated the distance to Asia. Pronouncing the idea impractical, they advised the monarchs not to support the proposed venture. To keep Columbus from taking his ideas elsewhere, and perhaps to keep their options open,
4394-694: Is exercised by the government, whereas the Premier is the head of government . The Premier is appointed by the Governor from among the members of the Legislative Assembly which consists of nine elected members. The leader of the party with a majority of seats is usually the one who is appointed. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly . The Assembly also includes two ex officio members,
4563-603: Is impossible to find a jury who will not know the defendant in a small population island. Whilst many are geographically remote, the British Overseas Territories share a direct connection with elements of supervisory governance (as did the now independent Commonwealth Nations) still exercisable by the UK’s Government in London, UK. The 2004 Pitcairn Islands sexual assault trial is an example of how
4732-419: Is now inhabited, with a population of between 4,000 and 6,000, the other two parishes being still too dangerous to inhabit. A significantly more up-to-date administrative division type would be the 3 census regions, primarily used for the population census. Going north to south, these are: For census purposes, these are further divided into 23 enumeration districts. Policing is primarily the responsibility of
4901-537: Is provided by Radio Montserrat . There is a single television broadcaster, PTV. Cable and satellite television service is available. The UK postcode for directing mail to Montserrat is MSR followed by four digits according to the destination town; for example, the postcode for Little Bay is MSR1120. The island of Montserrat is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Antigua , 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Redonda (a small island owned by Antigua and Barbuda ), and 35 miles (56 km) northwest of
5070-683: Is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. Raised in 1899, the unit is today a reduced force of about forty volunteer soldiers, primarily concerned with civil defence and ceremonial duties. The unit has a historical association with the Irish Guards . The island is served by landline telephones, fully digitalised, with 3000 subscribers and by mobile cellular, with an estimated number of 5000 handsets in use. An estimated 2860 users have internet access. These are July 2016 estimates. Public radio service
5239-459: Is the island's highest point; its pre-1995 height was 915 metres (3,002 ft). However, it has grown after the eruption due to the creation of a lava dome , with its current height being estimated at 1,050 metres (3,440 ft). The 2011 estimate by the CIA indicates that 30% of the island's land is classified as agricultural, 20% as arable, 25% as forest and the balance as "other". Montserrat has
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5408-463: Is used elsewhere in Misplaced Pages to refer to all such statuses of various of the British Overseas Territories collectively. This status is neither a nationality nor a citizenship, although it confers rights under local legislation. Prior to 1968, the British government made no citizenship (or connected rights) distinction between its nationals in the United Kingdom and those in the British colonies (as
5577-870: The British Empire in the 19th century, to its territorial peak in the 1920s, saw Britain acquire nearly one quarter of the world's land mass, including territories with large indigenous populations in Asia and Africa. From the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century, the larger settler colonies – in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – first became self-governing colonies and then achieved independence in all matters except foreign policy, defence and trade. Separate self-governing colonies federated to become Canada (in 1867), Australia (in 1901), South Africa (in 1910) and Rhodesia (in 1965). These and other large self-governing colonies had by
5746-608: The British Leeward Islands , becoming a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. The first Chief Minister of Montserrat was William Henry Bramble of the Montserrat Labour Party from 1960 to 1970; he worked to promote labour rights and boost tourism to the island, and Montserrat's original airport was named in his honour. Bramble's son, Percival Austin Bramble ,
5915-604: The British Overseas Territories Act 2002 ). Most countries do not recognise the sovereignty claims of any other country, including Britain's, to Antarctica and its off-shore islands. Five nations contest, with counter-claims, the UK's sovereignty in the following overseas territories: The people of the British Overseas Territories are British Nationals. Most of the overseas territories distinguish between those British nationals who have rights reserved under
6084-611: The Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991 came into force, formally abolishing the death penalty for murder on Montserrat. Corruption allegations within the PLM party resulted in the collapse of the Osborne government in 1991, with Reuben Meade becoming the new chief minister, and early elections were called. In 1995–1999, Montserrat was devastated by catastrophic volcanic eruptions in
6253-744: The Commonwealth of Nations through the United Kingdom. The inhabited territories compete in their own right at the Commonwealth Games , and three of the territories ( Bermuda , the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands ) sent teams to the 2016 Summer Olympics . Although the Crown Dependencies of Jersey , Guernsey and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British monarch , they are in
6422-687: The Fall of Constantinople to the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1453, European countries sought to compete with the Silk Road dominated by the gunpowder empires through expanded use of ocean voyages to scope out and establish new trade routes. Portugal was the main European power interested in pursuing trade routes overseas, with the neighboring kingdom of Castile —the predecessor to Spain —having been somewhat slower to begin exploring
6591-879: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has the responsibility of looking after the interests of all overseas territories except the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence . Within the FCDO, the general responsibility for the territories is handled by the Overseas Territories Directorate. In 2012, the FCO published The Overseas Territories: security, success and sustainability which set out Britain's policy for
6760-543: The Greater Antilles , first sighting the eastern coast of the island of Puerto Rico , known to its native Taino people as Borinquen , on the afternoon of 17 November 1493. The fleet sailed along the island’s southern coast for a whole day, before making landfall on its northwestern coast at the Bay of Añasco , between the towns of Mayagüez and Aguadilla , early on 19 November 1493. Upon landing, Columbus christened
6929-514: The International Court of Justice , which issued an advisory opinion on 25 February 2019 which supported the position of the government of Mauritius. On 3 October 2024, British prime minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth jointly announced that an agreement had been reached under which the UK would cede sovereignty over the territory. Under the deal, Diego Garcia will be excluded from any resettlement, and
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7098-587: The Italian mile (about 1,480 meters). Alfraganus had calculated the length of a degree to be 56⅔ Arabic miles (66.2 nautical miles). Columbus therefore estimated the size of the Earth to be about 75% of Eratosthenes's calculation, and the distance from the Canary Islands to Japan as 2,400 nautical miles (about 23% of the real figure). There was a further element of key importance in the voyages of Columbus,
7267-471: The Lesser Antilles is debated, but it seems likely that he turned north, sighting and naming many islands including Santa María de Montserrat ( Montserrat ), Santa María la Antigua ( Antigua ), Santa María la Redonda ( Redonda ), and Santa Cruz ( Saint Croix , on 14 November). He also sighted and named the island chain of Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes (the Virgin Islands ), and named
7436-702: The Monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona in Catalonia , Spain . Montserrat means " serrated mountain" in Catalan . Archaeological field work in 2012 in Montserrat's Centre Hills indicated that there had been an Archaic (pre- Arawak ) occupation between 2000 and 500 BCE . Later coastal sites showed the presence of the Saladoid culture (until 550 CE). The native Caribs are believed to have called
7605-589: The Movement for Change and Prosperity party has been the island's Premier. Montserrat is an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom . The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes Montserrat on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories . The island's head of state is King Charles III , represented by an appointed Governor. Executive power
7774-516: The New Palace of Westminster . Speaker of the House of Commons , Sir Lindsay Hoyle said "The two windows represent part of our United Kingdom family". The head of state in the overseas territories is the British monarch, currently King Charles III. The monarch appoints a representative in each territory to exercise the executive power of the monarch. In territories with a permanent population,
7943-466: The Niña ' s lateen sails were re-rigged to standard square sails. Final provisions were secured, and on 6 September the ships departed San Sebastián de La Gomera for what turned out to be a five-week-long westward voyage across the Atlantic. As described in the abstract of his journal made by Bartolomé de las Casas , on the outward bound voyage Columbus recorded two sets of distances: one
8112-661: The North Star . It was once believed that Columbus had discovered magnetic declination , but it was later shown that the phenomenon was already known, both in Europe and in China. After 29 days out of sight of land, on October 7 1492, the crew spotted "[i]mmense flocks of birds", some of which his sailors trapped and determined to be "field" birds (probably Eskimo curlews and American golden plovers ). Columbus changed course to follow their flight. On October 10, Columbus quelled
8281-416: The Royal Montserrat Police Service . The defence of Montserrat is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. The Royal Navy maintains a ship on permanent station in the Caribbean ( HMS Medway ) and from time-to-time may send another Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship as a part of the Atlantic Patrol (NORTH) tasking. These ships' main mission in the region is to maintain British sovereignty for
8450-438: The Soufrière Hills , which destroyed the capital city of Plymouth , and necessitated the evacuation of a large part of the island. Many Montserratians emigrated abroad, mainly to the United Kingdom, although some have returned. The eruptions rendered the entire southern half of the island uninhabitable, and it is currently designated an Exclusion Zone with restricted access. Criticism of the Montserratian government's response to
8619-403: The United Kingdom were stripped of the rights of abode and free entry in 1968, and, in 1983, the British government replaced Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies with British Citizenship (with rights of abode and free entry to the United Kingdom) for those with a qualifying connection to the United Kingdom or British Dependent Territories Citizenship for those with a connection only to
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#17327654698158788-402: The attorney general and financial secretary. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. For the purposes of local government, Montserrat is divided into three parishes . Going north to south, they are: The locations of settlements on the island have been vastly changed since the volcanic activity began. Only the Parish of Saint Peter in the northwest of the island
8957-407: The handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the British government amended the 1981 Act to give British citizenship without restrictions to all BDTCs (the status was also renamed BOTC at the same time) except for those solely connected with Akrotiri and Dhekelia (whose residents already held Cypriot citizenship ). This restored the right of abode in the UK to residents of overseas territories after
9126-483: The modern era . Born in the Republic of Genoa , Columbus was a navigator who sailed in search of a westward route to India , China , Japan and the Spice Islands thought to be the East Asian source of spices and other precious oriental goods obtainable only through arduous overland routes . Columbus was partly inspired by 13th-century Italian explorer Marco Polo in his ambition to explore Asia. His initial belief that he had reached "the Indies" has resulted in
9295-408: The trade winds . He planned to first sail to the Canary Islands before continuing west by utilizing the northeast trade wind. Part of the return to Spain would require travelling against the wind using an arduous sailing technique called beating , during which almost no progress can be made. To effectively make the return voyage, Columbus would need to follow the curving trade winds northeastward to
9464-429: The 16th century. It is now a province of Canada known as Newfoundland and Labrador . After failed attempts, including the Roanoke Colony , the permanent English colonisation of North America began officially in 1607 with the settlement of Jamestown , the first successful permanent colony in Virginia (a term that was then applied generally to North America). Its offshoot, Bermuda , was settled inadvertently after
9633-446: The 1920s become known as dominions . The dominions achieved almost full independence with the Statute of Westminster (1931) . Through a process of decolonisation following the Second World War, most of the British colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean chose independence. Some colonies became Commonwealth realms , retaining the monarch as their own head of state . Most former colonies and protectorates became member states of
9802-406: The 2001 election. He was ousted by Lowell Lewis of the Montserrat Democratic Party in 2006. Reuben Meade returned to office in 2009 to 2014. During his term, the post of Chief Minister was replaced with that of Premier . In the autumn of 2017, Montserrat was not affected by Hurricane Irma , and sustained only minor damage from Hurricane Maria . Since November 2019, Easton Taylor-Farrell of
9971-399: The 20th century onwards, increasing levels of states becoming fully independent caused the numbers of remaining cities to reduce substantially. Voyages of Christopher Columbus#Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico Between 1492 and 1504, the Italian navigator and explorer Christopher Columbus led four transatlantic maritime expeditions in the name of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain to
10140-423: The Americas, in the Bay of Rincón at the eastern end of the Samaná Peninsula in northeast Hispaniola. There he encountered the Ciguayos , the only natives who offered violent resistance during this first voyage. The Ciguayos refused to trade the number of bows and arrows that Columbus desired; in the ensuing clash one Ciguayo was stabbed in the buttocks and another wounded with an arrow in his chest. Because of
10309-409: The Atlantic because of the land area it had to reconquer from the Moors during the Reconquista . This remained unchanged until the late 15th century, following the dynastic union by marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (together known as the Catholic Monarchs of Spain ) in 1469, and the completion of the Reconquista in 1492, when the joint rulers conquered
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#173276546981510478-415: The British Empire (which also includes all Commonwealth realms). Notably, while not independent Commonwealth realms, the territories are separately represented at the Commonwealth Games on the same basis as independent nation members, as are the three Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. Full British citizenship has been granted to most 'belongers' of overseas territories (mainly since
10647-423: The British Overseas Territories were then termed). Indeed, the people of Bermuda had been explicitly guaranteed by Royal Charters for the Virginia Company in 1607 (extended to Bermuda in 1612) and the Somers Isles Company (in 1615) that they and their descendants would have exactly the same rights as they would if they had they been born in England. Despite this, British Colonials without a qualifying connection to
10816-422: The British Parliament passed the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 which introduced the current name of British Overseas Territories . This reclassified the UK's dependent territories as overseas territories and, with the exception of those people solely connected with the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus, restored full British citizenship to their inhabitants. During the European Union (EU) membership of
10985-441: The British or Commonwealth Armed Forces. A Joint Ministerial Council of UK ministers, and the leaders of the overseas territories has been held annually since 2012 to provide representation between UK government departments and overseas territory governments. The British Antarctic Territory overlaps with territory claims by both Argentina and Chile. However, territorial claims on the continent may not currently be advanced, under
11154-420: The British philanthropist Joseph Sturge bought a sugar estate to prove that it was economically viable to employ paid labour rather than use slaves. Numerous members of the Sturge family bought additional land. In 1869, the family established the Montserrat Company Limited and planted Key lime trees; started the commercial production of lime juice, with more than 100,000 gallons produced annually by 1895; set up
11323-406: The Caribbean and to Central and South America. These voyages led to the widespread knowledge of the New World . This breakthrough inaugurated the period known as the Age of Discovery , which saw the colonization of the Americas , a related biological exchange , and trans-Atlantic trade . These events, the effects and consequences of which persist to the present, are often cited as the beginning of
11492-418: The Caribbean" both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants. Montserrat is the only non-fully sovereign full member of the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , though it is far from being the only dependency in the Caribbean overall. On 18 July 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano in the southern end of
11661-480: The Catholic Monarchs gave him an allowance, totaling about 14,000 maravedís for the year, or about the annual salary of a sailor. In 1488 Columbus again appealed to the court of Portugal, receiving a new invitation for an audience with John II. This again proved unsuccessful, in part because not long afterwards Bartolomeu Dias returned to Portugal following a successful rounding of the southern tip of Africa. With an eastern sea route now under its control, Portugal
11830-438: The Ciguayos' use of arrows, Columbus named the inlet the Bay of Arrows (or Gulf of Arrows). Four natives who boarded the Niña at Samaná Peninsula told Columbus of what was possibly the Isla de Carib, which was supposed to be populated by cannibalistic Caribs , as well as Matinino, an island populated only by women, which Columbus associated with an island in the Indian Ocean described by Marco Polo . On 16 January 1493,
11999-416: The Commonwealth of Nations , a non-political, voluntary association of equal members, comprising a population of around 2.2 billion people. After the independence of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ) in Africa in 1980 and British Honduras (now Belize ) in Central America in 1981, the last major colony that remained was Hong Kong , with a population of over 5 million. With 1997 approaching,
12168-619: The EU, but they are the only British Overseas Territory to use the Euro as official currency, having previously had the Cypriot pound as their currency until 1 January 2008. On 15 May 2023, the sixteen heraldic shields of the British Overseas Territories and the three coat of arms of the Crown Dependencies were "immortalised" in two new stained-glass windows , unveiled in the Speaker's House at
12337-691: The FCDO in London. Some territories maintain diplomatic officers in nearby countries for trade and immigration purposes. Several of the territories in the Americas maintain membership within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , the Caribbean Community , the Caribbean Development Bank , Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Association of Caribbean States . The territories are members of
12506-719: The Falkland Islands treated as a part of the UK proper through the enactment of British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983 due to the Falklands War with Argentina; and Gibraltarians, who were given the special entitlement to be registered as British citizens upon request without further conditions because of its individual membership in the European Economic Area and the European Economic Community . Five years after
12675-435: The French overseas region of Guadeloupe . Beyond Redonda lies the island of Nevis (which is part of the federation of St Kitts and Nevis ), about 30 miles (48 km) to the north-west. Montserrat comprises 104 km (40 sq mi) and is gradually increasing owing to the buildup of volcanic deposits on the southeast coast. The island is 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide and consists of
12844-469: The Governments of Montserrat and Dominica. Releases from this programme have already taken place in a hope to increase the numbers of the frog and reduce extinction risk from Chytridiomycosis. British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories ( BOTs ) are the fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, while not forming part of
13013-571: The Moorish kingdom of Granada , which had been providing Castile with African goods through tribute . The fledgling Spanish Empire decided to fund Columbus's expedition in hopes of finding new trade routes and circumventing the lock Portugal had secured on Africa and the Indian Ocean with the 1481 papal bull Aeterni regis . In response to the need for a new route to Asia, by the 1480s, Christopher and his brother Bartholomew had developed
13182-558: The Overseas Territories, covering six main areas: Britain and the Overseas Territories do not have diplomatic representations, although the governments of the overseas territories with indigenous populations all retain a representative office in London. The United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA) also represents the interests of the territories in London. The governments in both London and territories occasionally meet to mitigate or resolve disagreements over
13351-497: The Portuguese Azores Islands , but others felt that they were considerably north of the islands. Columbus turned out to be right. On the night of 17 February, the Niña laid anchor at Santa Maria Island , but the cable broke on sharp rocks, forcing Columbus to stay offshore until morning when a safer location was found nearby. A few sailors took a boat to the island, where they were told by several islanders of
13520-621: The South Sandwich Islands (which host only officials and research station staff) and the British Indian Ocean Territory (used as a military base). Permanent residency for the approximately 7,000 civilians living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is limited to citizens of the Republic of Cyprus . Collectively, the territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people and
13689-541: The UK Parliament and the territories. He said that the UK Government's new "Votes for Life" policy mean all Gibraltarians who have previously lived in the UK, for example as students, can now register to vote in its general elections - regardless of how long ago they lived there. However, Fabian Picardo highlighted that, overall, there is no formal mechanism to ensure Gibraltar's interests are represented under
13858-547: The UK Parliament, as well as backbench members of the Conservative Party and Labour Party . The Chief Minister has argued that all British citizens in overseas territories should have the right to vote in UK parliamentary elections. On 29 January 2024, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, addressed the House of Commons Committee on territorial constitution, looking at the relationship between
14027-620: The UK remains the official administrative power of these territories, and under Article 73 is therefore required "to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions." Historically the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Colonial Office were responsible for overseeing all British Colonies, but today
14196-438: The UK was replaced by British Dependent Territories citizenship (BDTC) in the newly minted British Nationality Act 1981 , a status that does not come with it the right of abode in the UK or any overseas territory. For these residents, registration as full British citizens then required physical residence in the UK proper. There were only two exceptions: Falkland Islanders, who were automatically granted British citizenship, and with
14365-655: The UK will continue to administer the island for at least 99 years. Of the eleven territories with a permanent population, all except the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus continue to be listed by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization as non-self-governing territories since they were listed as dependent territories by the UK when it joined the UN in 1947. This means that
14534-525: The UK, including: The territories have no official representation in the UK Parliament, but have informal representation through the all-party parliamentary group , and can petition the UK government through the Directgov e-Petitions website. Two national parties, UK Independence Party and the Liberal Democrats , have endorsed calls for direct representation of overseas territories in
14703-398: The United Kingdom , the main body of EU law did not apply and, although certain slices of EU law were applied to the overseas territories as part of the EU's Association of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT Association), they were not commonly enforceable in local courts. The OCT Association also provided overseas territories with structural funding for regeneration projects. Gibraltar
14872-501: The United Kingdom and China negotiated the Sino-British Joint Declaration , which led to the whole of Hong Kong becoming a special administrative region of China in 1997, subject to various conditions intended to guarantee the preservation of Hong Kong's capitalist economy and its way of life under British rule for at least 50 years after the handover . George Town , Cayman Islands , has consequently become
15041-419: The United Kingdom itself, are part of its sovereign territory. The permanently inhabited territories are delegated varying degrees of internal self-governance , with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence , foreign relations , and internal security, and ultimate responsibility for "good" governance. Three of the territories are chiefly or only inhabited by military or scientific personnel,
15210-572: The United Kingdom may choose to provide the legal framework for particular cases where the territory cannot do so alone. The highest court for all the British overseas territories is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The British overseas territories generally look after their own policing matters and have their own police forces . In smaller territories, the senior officer(s) may be recruited or seconded from
15379-585: The United States in relation to Bermuda, with which it has retained close links since Bermuda was founded as an extension of Virginia). In regard to movement within British sovereign territory, only British citizenship grants the right of abode in a specific country or territory, namely, the United Kingdom proper (which includes its three Crown Dependencies ). Individual overseas territories have legislative independence over immigration, and consequently, BOTC status, as noted above, does not automatically grant
15548-592: The War of the Spanish Succession. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was the subject of a territorial dispute with Mauritius , the government of which claims that the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from the rest of British Mauritius in 1965, three years before Mauritius was granted independence from the United Kingdom, was unlawful. The long-running dispute was referred in 2017 to
15717-419: The advice of the UK government. To comply with the court's decision, the territorial governors now act on the advice of each territory's executive and the UK government can no longer disallow legislation passed by territorial legislatures. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state , and they are usually responsible for appointing the head of government, and senior political positions in
15886-421: The best they can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves . They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them. I think they can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no religion. If it pleases our Lord, I will take six of them to Your Highnesses when I depart, in order that they may learn our language. Columbus called
16055-415: The citizenship shown as British Overseas Territories Citizen in order to prove their entitlement to obtain a passport with the citizenship shown as British Citizen , most now have two passports, although the local governments of the territories do not distinguish an individual's local status based on either form of citizenship, and the passport with the citizenship shown as British Citizen consequently shows
16224-518: The constituency system - just the voluntary interest of individual MPs, such as those in the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gibraltar. The Chief Minister acknowledged the difficulty of finding a system to accommodate Westminster representation and OT's self-governance - but said that the "Pandora's Box" of devolution had opened a window to how this could be addressed. Foreign affairs of the overseas territories are handled by
16393-433: The curvature of the Earth. Eratosthenes (who assumed three variables he had not proved: the distance of the sun, parallel light rays, and that the earth was spherical) had measured the diameter of the Earth with good precision in the 2nd century BC, and the means of calculating its diameter using an astrolabe was known to both scholars and navigators. Where Columbus differed from the generally accepted view of his time
16562-577: The default citizenship was renamed British Overseas Territories Citizenship (except still for Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, for which British Citizenship remained the default), the immigration bars against its holders were lowered, and its holders were also entitled to obtain British Citizenship by obtaining a second British Passport (something that had previously been illegal) with the citizenship so indicated. As British Overseas Territories Citizens must provide their British Passport with
16731-519: The disaster led to the resignation of Chief Minister Bertrand Osborne in 1997 after only a year in office. He was replaced by David Brandt , who remained in office until 2001. Since leaving office, Brandt has been the subject of multiple criminal investigation into alleged sex offences with minors. He was found guilty of six counts of sexual exploitation and sentenced to fifteen years in July 2021. John Osborne returned as Chief Minister following victory in
16900-415: The disaster, in 1998, the people of Montserrat were granted full residency rights in the United Kingdom, allowing them to migrate if they chose. British citizenship was granted in 2002 to British Overseas Territories citizens in Montserrat and all but one other British Overseas Territory. For a number of years in the early 2000s, the volcano's activity consisted mostly of infrequent ventings of ash into
17069-559: The exclusion zone, but a view of destroyed Plymouth can be seen from the top of Garibaldi Hill in Isles Bay. The volcano has been relatively quiet since early 2010 and continues to be closely monitored by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory . In 2015, it was announced that planning would begin on a new town and port at Little Bay on the northwest coast of the island, and the centre of government and businesses
17238-456: The exclusion zone, uninhabitable and not safe for travel. The southern part of the island was evacuated and visits are severely restricted. The exclusion zone also includes two sea areas adjacent to the land areas of most volcanic activity. After the destruction of Plymouth and disruption of the economy, more than half of the population left the island, which also lacked housing. During the late 1990s, additional eruptions occurred. On 25 June 1997,
17407-732: The governor based in New Zealand. Following the Lords' decision in Ex parte Quark, 2005, it is held that the King in exercising his authority over British Overseas Territories does not act on the advice of the government of the UK, but in his role as king of each territory, with the exception of fulfilling the UK's international responsibilities for its territories. The reserve powers of the Crown for each territory are no longer considered to be exercisable on
17576-459: The holder to be entitled to all of the same right as does the passport with the citizenship shown as British Overseas Territories Citizen , and is often required to access services in the United Kingdom, and is accepted by the immigration authorities of more foreign countries, many of which have barriers against holders of British Overseas Territories Citizen passport holders that do not apply to British Citizen passport holders (the exception being
17745-640: The holding measures of the Antarctic Treaty System . Gibraltar was captured from Spain in 1704 by a force led by Admiral Sir George Rooke representing the Grand Alliance on behalf of the Archduke Charles, pretender to the Spanish throne. Spanish attempts to regain the territory failed, and it was eventually ceded to the Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht as part of the settlement of
17914-426: The homeward journey was begun. While returning to Spain, the Niña and Pinta encountered the roughest storm of their journey, and on the night of 13 February, lost contact with each other. All hands on the Niña vowed, if they were spared, to make a pilgrimage to the nearest church of Our Lady wherever they first made land. On the morning of 15 February, land was spotted. Columbus believed they were approaching
18083-517: The indigenous Americans indios (Spanish for 'Indians') in the mistaken belief that he had reached the East Indies; the islands of the Caribbean are termed the West Indies because of this error. Columbus initially encountered the Lucayan , Taíno , and Arawak peoples. Noting their gold ear ornaments, Columbus took some of the Arawaks prisoners and insisted that they guide him to
18252-465: The island Alliouagana , meaning 'Land of the Prickly Bush'. In 2016, nine petroglyphs were discovered by local residents hiking in a wooded area near Soldier Ghaut . Another was discovered in 2018 in the same area of the island. The carvings are believed to be 1000–1500 years old. In November 1493, Christopher Columbus passed Montserrat on his second voyage , after being told that the island
18421-524: The island San Juan Bautista after Saint John the Baptist , preacher and prophet who baptized Jesus Christ , and remained anchored there for two days, 20 and 21 November 1493. Fleet member Diego Álvarez Chanca recounts that as they sailed along the southern coast of Puerto Rico , a Taino woman and boy, who had volunteered to join them on-board in Guadeloupe , after having been rescued together with
18590-407: The island became active and its eruptions destroyed Plymouth , Montserrat's Georgian era capital city situated on the west coast. Between 1995 and 2000, two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee, mostly to the United Kingdom , leaving fewer than 1,200 people on the island in 1997. (The population had increased to nearly 5,000 by 2016). The volcanic activity continues, mostly affecting
18759-458: The island in the late 1660s; it was captured shortly afterwards by the English, and English control of the island was confirmed under the Treaty of Breda the following year. Despite the seizing by force of the island by the French, the island's legal status is that of a "colony acquired by settlement", as the French gave up their claim to the island at Breda. A neo-feudal colony developed amongst
18928-475: The island of La Gomera in the Canaries , then undergoing conquest by Castile , Columbus heard from some inhabitants of El Hierro that there was supposed to be a group of islands to the west. A popular misconception that Columbus had difficulty obtaining support for his plan because Europeans thought the Earth was flat can be traced back to a 17th-century campaign of Protestants against Catholicism, and
19097-530: The island of Virgin Gorda . On Santa Cruz , the Europeans saw a canoe with a few Carib men and two women. They had two male captives, and had recently castrated them. The Europeans pursued them, and were met with arrows from both the men and women, fatally wounding at least one man, who perished about a week later. The Europeans either killed or captured all aboard the canoe, thereafter beheading them. Another
19266-462: The island's captain, João de Castanheira, ostensibly out of fear that they were pirates. Castanheira commandeered their shore boat, which he took with several armed men to the Niña , planning to arrest Columbus. When Columbus defied him, Castanheira said he did not believe or care about Columbus' story, denounced the Spaniards, and went back to the island. After another two days, Castanheira released
19435-431: The island, agreed to return the island to Great Britain under the 1783 Treaty of Paris . In 1834, Britain abolished slavery in Montserrat and its other territories. During the nineteenth century, falling sugar prices had an adverse effect on the island's economy, as Brazil and other nations competed in the trade. The first lime tree orchards on the island were planted in 1852 by a local planter, Mr Burke. In 1857,
19604-538: The lack of maintenance in destroyed areas. It is legal to visit this area when accompanied by a government-authorised guide. The northern part of Montserrat has largely been unaffected by volcanic activity, and remains lush and green. In February 2005, Princess Anne officially opened what is now called the John A. Osborne Airport in the north. Since 2011, it handles several flights daily operated by Fly Montserrat Airways . Docking facilities are in place at Little Bay, where
19773-498: The largest city among the dependent territories, partly because of the constant and healthy flow of immigration to the city and the territory as a whole, which saw its population jump 26% from 2010 to 2021, the fastest population growth of any of the territories. Prior to 1 January 1983, the territories were officially referred to as the Crown Colonies . At that time they were renamed British Dependent Territories . In 2002,
19942-511: The local government for those with a qualifying connection to the territory. In Bermuda, by example, this is called Bermudian status , and can be inherited or obtained subject to conditions laid down by the local government (non-British nationals must necessarily obtain British nationality in order to obtain Bermudian status). Although the expression "belonger status" is not used in Bermuda, it
20111-523: The middle latitudes of the North Atlantic, where he would be able to catch the " westerlies " that blow eastward to the coast of Western Europe. The navigational technique for travel in the Atlantic appears to have been exploited first by the Portuguese, who referred to it as the volta do mar ('turn of the sea'). Columbus's knowledge of the Atlantic wind patterns was, however, imperfect at
20280-603: The morning of October 12. Columbus called this island San Salvador; its indigenous name was Guanahani . The modern San Salvador Island in the Bahamas is considered to be the most likely candidate for this island. Columbus wrote of the natives he first encountered in his journal entry of 12 October 1492: Many of the men I have seen have scars on their bodies, and when I made signs to them to find out how this happened, they indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San Salvador to capture them; they defend themselves
20449-711: The mountain chicken, found only in Montserrat and Dominica . The species has undergone catastrophic declines due to the amphibian disease Chytridiomycosis and the volcanic eruption in 1997. Experts from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust have been working with the Montserrat Department of Environment to conserve the frog in-situ in a project called "Saving the Mountain Chicken", and an ex-situ captive breeding population has been set up in partnership with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Zoological Society of London , Chester Zoo , Parken Zoo, and
20618-511: The name " West Indies " being attached to the Bahamas and the islands of the Caribbean . At the time of Columbus's voyages, the Americas were inhabited by Indigenous Americans , and Columbus later participated in the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas . Columbus died in 1506, and the next year, the New World was named "America" after Amerigo Vespucci , who realized that it
20787-487: The natives, a few Taíno he had kidnapped, flowers, and a hammock. He also brought the previously unknown tobacco plant, the pineapple fruit, and the turkey. He did not bring any of the precious East Indies spices such as black pepper, ginger or cloves. In his log, he wrote "there is also plenty of 'ají', which is their pepper, which is more valuable than black pepper, and all the people eat nothing else, it being very wholesome". Columbus brought captured Taínos to present to
20956-577: The new capital town is being constructed; the new government centre is at Brades, a short distance away. Montserrat, like many isolated islands, is home to rare, endemic plant and animal species. Work undertaken by the Montserrat National Trust in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has centred on the conservation of pribby ( Rondeletia buxifolia ) in the Centre Hills region. Until 2006, this species
21125-425: The newly claimed and colonized for the Crown; he would also receive ten percent of all the revenues from the new lands in perpetuity if he was successful. He had the right to nominate three people, from whom the sovereigns would choose one, for any office in the new lands. The terms were unusually generous but, as his son later wrote, the monarchs were not confident of his return. For his westward voyage to find
21294-490: The overseas territories of Saint Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands, an administrator is appointed to be the governor's representative. In the territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, there is an administrator in each of the two distant parts of the territory, namely Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha . The administrator of the Pitcairn Islands resides on Pitcairn, with
21463-446: The overseas territories, provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief during disasters such as hurricanes, which are common in the area, and conduct counter-narcotics operations. In October 2023, the destroyer HMS Dauntless (which had temporarily replaced Medway on her Caribbean tasking), visited the territory in order to assist local authorities in preparing for the climax of the hurricane season. The Royal Montserrat Defence Force
21632-635: The people of the British Dependent Territories (other than those of Gibraltar and the Falklands), which was understood universally as intended to raise a colour bar and had done so given that most white colonials were not affected by it and had made restoration of a single citizenship part of its election manifesto. In 2002, when the British Dependent Territories became the British Overseas Territories ,
21801-414: The prisoners, having been unable to get confessions from them or to capture his real target, Columbus. Some claimed that Columbus was captured, but this is contradicted by Columbus's logbook. Leaving the island of Santa Maria in the Azores on 23 February, Columbus headed for Castilian Spain, but another storm forced him into Lisbon . He anchored next to a king's harbor patrol ship on 4 March 1493, where he
21970-464: The process of governance in the territories and levels of autonomy. Britain provides financial assistance to the overseas territories via the FCDO (previously the Department for International Development ). As of 2019, only Montserrat, Saint Helena, Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha receive budgetary aid (i.e. financial contribution to recurrent funding). Several specialist funds are made available by
22139-487: The rest hosting significant civilian populations. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state . These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and are subject to change. Most of the territories retain permanent civilian populations, with the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory , South Georgia and
22308-445: The right of abode in any of the territories, as it depends on the territory's immigration laws. A territory may issue belonger status to allow a person to reside in the territory that they have close links with. The governor or immigration department of a territory may also grant the territorial status to a resident who does not hold it as a birthright. From 1949 to 1983, the nationality status of Citizenship of UK and Colonies (CUKC)
22477-450: The rudder of the Pinta broke. Martín Alonso Pinzón suspected the owners of the ship of sabotage, as they were afraid to go on the journey. The crew was able to secure the rudder with ropes until they could reach the Canary Islands, where they arrived on 9 August. The Pinta had its rudder replaced on the island of Gran Canaria , and by September 2 the ships rendezvoused at La Gomera, where
22646-418: The so-called " redlegs ". The Anglo-Irish colonists began to transport both Sub-Saharan African slaves and Irish indentured servants for labour, as was common to most Caribbean islands. By the late 18th century, numerous plantations had been developed on the island. There was a brief French attack on Montserrat in 1712. On 17 March 1768, a slave rebellion failed but their efforts were remembered. Slavery
22815-527: The source of the gold. Columbus noted that their primitive weapons and military tactics made the natives susceptible to easy conquest. Columbus observed the people and their cultural lifestyle. He also explored the northeast coast of Cuba , landing on 28 October 1492, and the north-western coast of Hispaniola , present day Haiti , by December 5 1492. Here, the Santa Maria ran aground on Christmas Day , 25 December 1492, and had to be abandoned. Columbus
22984-463: The sovereigns, never having met the infamous Caribs. In Columbus's letter on the first voyage , addressed to the Spanish court, he insisted he had reached Asia, describing the island of Hispaniola as being off the coast of China. He emphasized the potential riches of the land, exaggerating the abundance of gold, and that the natives seemed ready to convert to Christianity. The letter was translated into multiple languages and widely distributed, creating
23153-462: The territory. Each overseas territory has its own legal system independent of the United Kingdom. The legal system is generally based on English common law , with some distinctions for local circumstances. Each territory has its own attorney general and court system. For the smaller territories, the United Kingdom may appoint a UK-based lawyer or judge to work on legal cases. This is particularly important for cases involving serious crimes and where it
23322-534: The territory. The governor is also responsible for liaising with the UK government, and carrying out any ceremonial duties. A commissioner has the same powers as a governor, but also acts as the head of government. Although the British Government is the national government, much of governance within the territories has been delegated to local government, with all of those that have permanent populations having some degree of representative government (which
23491-433: The time of his first voyage. By sailing directly due west from the Canary Islands during hurricane season , skirting the so-called horse latitudes of the mid-Atlantic, Columbus risked either being becalmed or running into a tropical cyclone , both of which, by chance, he avoided. Around 1484, King John II of Portugal submitted Columbus's proposal to his experts, who rejected it on the basis that Columbus's estimation of
23660-666: The total BOT population. The Cayman Islands alone comprise 28% of the entire BOT population. At the other end of the scale, three territories have no civilian inhabitants – the Antarctic Territory (currently consisting of five research stations), the British Indian Ocean Territory (whose inhabitants, the Chagossians , were forcibly moved to Mauritius and the United Kingdom between 1968 and 1973), and South Georgia (which actually did have
23829-464: The uninhabited areas in the south. The ash falls occasionally extended into the northern and western parts of the island. In the most recent period of increased activity at the Soufrière Hills volcano, from November 2009 through February 2010, ash vented and there was a vulcanian explosion that sent pyroclastic flows down several sides of the mountain. Travel into parts of the exclusion zone
23998-559: The vicinity of Plymouth, including its docks, and the eastern side of the island around the former W. H. Bramble Airport , the remnants of which were buried by flows from further volcanic activity on 11 February 2010. An exclusion zone was imposed, encompassing the southern part of the island as far north as parts of the Belham Valley, because of the size of the existing volcanic dome and the resulting possibility of pyroclastic activity. Visitors are generally not permitted to enter
24167-576: The voyage to be in violation of the 1479 Treaty of Alcáçovas . After spending more than a week in Portugal, Columbus set sail for Spain. He arrived back in Palos on 15 March 1493 and later met with Ferdinand and Isabella in Barcelona to report his findings. Columbus showed off what he had brought back from his voyage to the monarchs, including a few small samples of gold, pearls , gold jewelry from
24336-531: The wrecking of the Virginia Company 's flagship there in 1609, with the company's charter extended to officially include the archipelago in 1612. St. George's town, founded in Bermuda in that year, remains the oldest continuously inhabited British settlement in the New World (with some historians stating that – its formation predating the 1619 conversion of James Fort into Jamestown – St. George's
24505-629: Was a unique landmass. The search for a westward route to Asia was completed in 1521, when the Magellan expedition sailed across the Pacific Ocean and reached Southeast Asia , before returning to Europe and completing the first circumnavigation of the world. Many Europeans of Columbus's day assumed that a single, uninterrupted ocean surrounded Europe, Asia and Africa, although Norse explorers had colonized areas of North America beginning with Greenland c. 986 . The Norse maintained
24674-563: Was abolished in 1834. In 1985, the people of Montserrat made St Patrick's Day a ten-day public holiday to commemorate the uprising. Festivities celebrate the culture and history of Montserrat in song, dance, food and traditional costumes. In 1782, during the American Revolutionary War , as America's first ally, France captured Montserrat in their war of support of the Americans. The French, not intending to colonise
24843-455: Was actually the first successful town the English established in the New World ). Bermuda and Bermudians have played important, sometimes pivotal, but generally underestimated or unacknowledged roles in the shaping of the English and British transatlantic empires. These include maritime commerce, settlement of the continent and of the West Indies , and the projection of naval power via the colony's privateers , among other areas. The growth of
25012-461: Was critical of the way tourist facilities were being constructed, and he set up his own party, the Progressive Democratic Party , which won the 1970 Montserratian general election . Percival Bramble served as Chief Minister from 1970 to 1978. The period 1978 to 1991 was dominated politically by Chief Minister John Osborne and his People's Liberation Movement A brief flirtation with possibly declaring independence never materialised. On 10 May 1991,
25181-626: Was directed by Ferdinand and Isabella to maintain friendly, even loving, relations with the natives. He set sail from Cádiz , Spain, on 25 September 1493. The fleet for the second voyage was much larger: two naos and 15 caravels. The two naos were the flagship Marigalante ("Gallant Mary") and the Gallega ; the caravels were the Fraila ('the nun'), San Juan , Colina ('the hill'), Gallarda ('the gallant'), Gutierre , Bonial , Rodriga , Triana , Vieja ('the old'), Prieta ('the brown'), Gorda ('the fat'), Cardera , and Quintera . The Niña returned for this expedition, which also included
25350-438: Was finally convinced by the king's clerk Luis de Santángel , who argued that Columbus would bring his ideas elsewhere, and offered to help arrange the funding. Isabella then sent a royal guard to fetch Columbus, who had travelled several kilometers toward Córdoba. In the April 1492 " Capitulations of Santa Fe ", Columbus was promised he would be given the title "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" and appointed viceroy and governor of
25519-405: Was in his incorrect assumption of a significantly smaller diameter for the Earth, claiming that Asia could be easily reached by sailing west across the Atlantic. Most scholars accepted Ptolemy 's correct assessment that the terrestrial landmass (for Europeans of the time, comprising Eurasia and Africa ) occupied 180 degrees of the terrestrial sphere, and dismissed Columbus's claim that the Earth
25688-410: Was in measurements he normally used, the other in the Portuguese maritime leagues used by his crew. Las Casas originally interpreted that he reported the shorter distances to his crew so they would not worry about sailing too far from Spain, but Oliver Dunn and James Kelley state that this was a misunderstanding. On 13 September 1492, Columbus observed that the needle of his compass no longer pointed to
25857-400: Was known only from one book about the vegetation of Montserrat. In 2006, conservationists also rescued several plants of the endangered Montserrat orchid ( Epidendrum montserratense ) from dead trees on the island and installed them in the security of the island's botanic garden. Montserrat is also home to the critically endangered giant ditch frog ( Leptodactylus fallax ), known locally as
26026-420: Was moved temporarily to Brades . After a number of delays, including Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in early 2020, the Little Bay Port Development Project, a £28 million project funded by the UK and the Caribbean Development Bank , began in June 2022. In 1493, Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Montserrate , after the Virgin of Montserrat of
26195-437: Was much smaller and that Asia was only a few thousand nautical miles to the west of Europe. Columbus believed the incorrect calculations of Marinus of Tyre , putting the landmass at 225 degrees, leaving only 135 degrees of water. Moreover, Columbus underestimated Alfraganus 's calculation of the length of a degree, reading the Arabic astronomer's writings as if, rather than using the Arabic mile (about 1,830 m), he had used
26364-403: Was nicknamed the Niña ("girl"), perhaps in reference to her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer. The Pinta and the Niña were piloted by the Pinzón brothers ( Martín Alonso and Vicente Yáñez , respectively). On the morning of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera , Huelva , going down the Rio Tinto and into the Atlantic. Three days into the journey, on 6 August 1492,
26533-426: Was no longer interested in trailblazing a western trade route to Asia crossing unknown seas. In May 1489, Isabella sent Columbus another 10,000 maravedis , and the same year the Catholic Monarchs furnished him with a letter ordering all cities and towns under their domain to provide him food and lodging at no cost. As Queen Isabella's forces neared victory over the Moorish Emirate of Granada for Castile, Columbus
26702-433: Was not the case for British Hong Kong ) which have been delegated responsibility for local legislation, irrevocably guaranteed the same rights and representation they would have if born in England, representation in the national Parliament of the United Kingdom has yet to be extended to any overseas territory. The structure of the territorial government appears to be closely correlated to the size and political development of
26871-428: Was occasionally allowed, though only by a licence from the Royal Montserrat Police Force. Since 2014 the area has been split into multiple subzones with varying entry and use restrictions, based on volcanic activity: some areas even being (in 2020) open 24 hours and inhabited. The most dangerous zone, which includes the former capital, remains forbidden to casual visitors due to volcanic and other hazards, especially due to
27040-405: Was popularized in works such as Washington Irving 's 1828 biography of Columbus. In fact, the knowledge that the Earth is spherical was widespread, having been the general opinion of Ancient Greek science, and gaining support throughout the Middle Ages (for example, Bede mentions it in The Reckoning of Time ). The primitive maritime navigation of Columbus's time relied on both the stars and
27209-434: Was received by the native cacique (chieftain) Guacanagari , who gave him permission to leave some of his men behind. Columbus left 39 men, including the interpreter Luis de Torres , and founded the settlement of La Navidad . He kept sailing along the northern coast of Hispaniola with a single ship, until he encountered Pinzón and the Pinta on 6 January. On 13 January 1493, Columbus made his last stop of this voyage in
27378-420: Was shared by residents of the UK proper and residents of overseas territories, although most residents of overseas territories lost their automatic right to live in the UK after the ratification of Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 that year unless they were born in the UK proper or had a parent or a grandparent born in the UK. In 1983, CUKC status of residents of overseas territories without the right of abode in
27547-431: Was sighted by a sailor named Rodrigo de Triana (also known as Juan Rodríguez Bermejo) aboard the Pinta . Triana immediately alerted the rest of the crew with a shout, and the ship's captain, Martín Alonso Pinzón, verified the land sighting and alerted Columbus by firing a lombard . Columbus would later assert that he had first seen land, thus earning the promised annual reward of 10,000 maravedís . They landed on
27716-476: Was stated by some Conservative Party backbench MPs that the secret intent of the Conservative government was to restore a single citizenship, with full rights across the United Kingdom and the British Dependent Territories, once Hong Kong and its British Dependent Territories Citizens had been returned to the People's Republic of China in 1997. By that time, the Labour Party was in government with Tony Blair as Prime Minister. Labour had decried discrimination against
27885-413: Was summoned to the Spanish court for renewed discussions. He waited at King Ferdinand's camp until January 1492, when the monarchs conquered Granada. A council led by Isabella's confessor, Hernando de Talavera , found Columbus's proposal to reach the Indies implausible. Columbus had left for France when Ferdinand intervened, first sending Talavera and Bishop Diego Deza to appeal to the queen. Isabella
28054-559: Was the only overseas territory that was part of the EU, although it was not part of the European Customs Union, the European Tax Policy, the European Statistics Zone or the Common Agriculture Policy. Gibraltar was not a member of the EU in its own right; it received representation in the European Parliament through its being part of the South West England constituency. Overseas citizens held concurrent European Union citizenship, giving them rights of free movement across all EU member states. The Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus were never part of
28223-450: Was thrown overboard, and when he was spotted crawling away holding his entrails, the Arawaks recommended he be recaptured so he would not alert his tribe; he was thrown overboard again, and then had to be shot down with arrows. Columbus's childhood friend Michele da Cuneo—according to his own account—took one of the women in the skirmish, whom Columbus let him keep as a slave; Cuneo subsequently beat and raped her. The fleet continued to
28392-430: Was told a fleet of 100 caravels had been lost in the storm. Astoundingly, both the Niña and the Pinta had been spared. Not finding King John II of Portugal in Lisbon, Columbus wrote to him and waited for a reply. The king agreed to meet Columbus at Vale do Paraíso, despite the poor relations between Portugal and Castile at the time. Upon learning of Columbus's discoveries, the Portuguese king informed him that he believed
28561-420: Was unoccupied because of raids by the Caribs . A number of Irishmen settled in Montserrat in 1632. Most came from nearby Saint Kitts at the instigation of the island's governor Thomas Warner , with more settlers arriving later from Virginia . The first settlers "appear to have been cultivators, each working his own little farm". The preponderance of Anglo-Irish in the first wave of European settlers led
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