Nearby Users
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia
616 km²
Castries
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
1-758
.lc
English, French patois
Roman Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostal, Rastafarian, Anglican, Evangelical, other Christian
170,649
parliamentary democracy
blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border
The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Even after the abolition of slavery on its plantations in 1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island, dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979.
tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August
