Independence Day

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Independence Day

Just like many other nations that have formed a part of the British commonwealth, St Lucia has continued to recognize Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. On said day, thirty-nine years ago, Sir John Compton raised his arms and proudly waved our Independence Declaration signaling Saint Lucia’s entry onto the world stage as an independent nation.

History of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia was first discovered by Europeans in the late 15th or early 16th century. The first settlers were French, and they named the island after Saint Lucia, a young Christian martyr who died during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire of 304 AD.

The English first took control of the island in 1663, and control of the island changed 14 times, being ruled seven times by the French and seven times by the British. The change in ownership finally stopped with English control in 1814 as part of the Treaty of Paris which ended the Napoleonic Wars, when Saint Lucia became a part of the British Windward Islands colony.

In 1958, Saint Lucia joined the West Indies Federation, when the Islands colony was dissolved. In 1967, Saint Lucia became a self-governing island as one of the six members of the West Indies Associated States.

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