British Leeward Islands

Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands;
	1671–1816; 1833–1958
	Flag (1871–1956) Arms (1909)
	Anthem: "God Save the Queen/King"
Status	British Colony
Capital	St. John's, Antigua
Common languages	English (official); Leeward Caribbean Creole English; Dominican Creole French
Religion	Christianity (Anglican, Catholic, Methodist)
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
• 1671–1702	William III (first)
• 1952–60	Elizabeth II (last)
Governor
• 1683–98	Colonel Christopher Codrington (first)
• 1956–58	Alexander Thomas Williams (last)
History
• Established	1671
• Divided	1816
• Reformed	1833
• Federal colony	1871
• Dominica joined	1871
• Dominica left	1940
• Joined West Indies Federation	1958
• Federation dissolved	31 May 1962
Area
1958	1,047 km2 (404 sq mi)
Currency	Pound sterling (official); Spanish dollar, Mexican peso also used
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Anguilla
	Antigua
	Barbuda
	Dominica
	Montserrat
	Nevis
	Saint Christopher
	Virgin Islands
West Indies Federation
British Virgin Islands
Today part of	Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; British Virgin Islands; Dominica; Montserrat; Saint Kitts and Nevis

The British Leeward Islands now refers to the Leeward Islands as an English and later British colony from 1671 to 1958, except for the years from 1816 to 1833.

History

The Leeward Islands was established as an English colony in 1671. In 1816, the islands were divided in two regions: Antigua, Barbuda, and Montserrat in one colony, and Saint Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the Virgin Islands in the other.

The Leeward Islands as an entity were united again in 1833, coming together until 1871 under the administration of the Governor of Antigua. The islands then became known as the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands from 1871 to 1956, with Dominica becoming part of the colony in 1871 but leaving it again in 1940.

On 3 January 1958 all islands except the Virgin Islands were absorbed into the West Indies Federation. The British Leeward Islands finally ceased to exist with the abolition of the office of its governor, and the elevation of the British Virgin Islands to the status of a separate crown colony, in 1960.[1][2]

A representative Leeward Islands cricket team continues to participate in West Indian domestic cricket.

Armed forces structure in 1939

Includes the structures from Saint Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Dominica, and British Virgin Islands.[3]

Postage stamps

The islands of the Leeward Islands all used postage stamps inscribed "LEEWARD ISLANDS" between 1890 and 1 July 1956, often concurrently with stamps inscribed with the colony's name. The islands also issued revenue stamps between 1882 and the 1930s.

References

"Private Lands Conservation in the British Virgin Islands". University of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. 2004. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
"Encyclopedia Britannica - BVI". Retrieved 1 October 2020.
"Leeward Islands, 03.09.1939". niehorster.org. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Leeward Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 371.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Private Lands Conservation in the British Virgin Islands". University of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. 2004. Retrieved 1 October 2020.

[2] "Encyclopedia Britannica - BVI". Retrieved 1 October 2020.

[3] "Leeward Islands, 03.09.1939". niehorster.org. Retrieved 19 January 2019.