Visit Anguilla

 Visit Anguilla

Anguilla (/æŋˈɡwɪlə/ ang-gwil-ə) is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla, approximately 16 miles (26 km) long by 3 miles (5 km) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The island's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 35 square miles (90 km2), with a population of approximately 13,500 (2006 estimate).

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVDBNF_JuKY[/embed]



Anguilla has become a popular tax haven, having no capital gains, estate, profit or other forms of direct taxation on either individuals or corporations. In April 2011, faced with a mounting deficit, it introduced a 3% "Interim Stabilisation Levy", Anguilla's first form of income tax.
The name Anguilla is an anglicised or latinate form of earlier Spanish anguila, French anguille, or Italian anguilla, all meaning "eel" in reference to the island's shape. For similar reasons, it was formerly known as Snake or Snake Island.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI_EWqkO820[/embed]
Anguilla was first settled by Indigenous tribes who migrated from South America. The earliest Native American artefacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300 bc; remains of settlements date from ad 600. The Arawak name for the island seems to have been Malliouhana. The date of European invasion and colonisation is uncertain: some sources claim that Columbus sighted the island during his second voyage in 1493, while others state that the island was first "discovered" (for colonisation) by the French explorer René Goulaine de Laudonnière in 1564.

Traditional accounts state that Anguilla was first colonised by English settlers from Saint Kitts beginning in 1650. In this early colonial period, however, Anguilla sometimes served as a place of refuge and recent scholarship focused on Anguilla has placed greater significance on other Europeans and creoles migrating from St. Christopher, Barbados, Nevis and Antigua. The French temporarily took over the island in 1666 but returned it to English control under the terms of the Treaty of Breda the next year. A Major John Scott who visited in September, 1667, wrote of leaving the island "in good condition" and noted that in July, 1668, "200 or 300 people fled thither in time of war."

It is likely that some of these early Europeans brought enslaved Africans with them. Historians confirm that African slaves lived in the region in the early 17th century. For example, Africans from Senegal lived in St. Christopher in 1626. By 1672 a slave depot existed on the island of Nevis, serving the Leeward Islands. While the time of African arrival in Anguilla is difficult to place precisely, archival evidence indicates a substantial African presence of at least 100 slaves by 1683. These seem to have come from Central Africa as well as West Africa.

Attempts by the French to capture the island during the War of Austrian Succession (1745) and the Napoleonic Wars (1796) ended in failure.

During the early colonial period, Anguilla was administered by the British through Antigua; in 1825, it was placed under the administrative control of nearby Saint Kitts. In 1967, Britain granted Saint Kitts and Nevis full internal autonomy. Anguilla was also incorporated into the new unified dependency, named Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, against the wishes of many Anguillians. This led to two Anguillian Revolutions in 1967 and 1969 headed by Ronald Webster. The island briefly operated as the independent "Republic of Anguilla". The goal of the revolution was not independence per se, but rather independence from Saint Kitts and Nevis and a return to being a British colony. British authority was fully restored in July 1971 and in 1980 Anguilla was finally allowed to secede from Saint Kitts and Nevis and become a separate British Crown colony (now a British overseas territory).
Anguilla is an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Its politics take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Chief Minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system.

The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes Anguilla on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The territory's constitution is Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982 (amended 1990). Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Visit Anguilla
Anguilla being a dependency of the UK, the UK is responsible for its military defence, although there are no active garrison or armed forces present. Anguilla has a small marine police force, comprising around 32 personnel, which operates one M160-class fast patrol boat.
The majority of residents (90.08%) are black, the descendants of slaves transported from Africa. Growing minorities include whites at 3.74% and people of mixed race at 4.65% (figures from 2001 census). Visit Anguilla

72% of the population is Anguillian while 28% is non-Anguillian (2001 census). Of the non-Anguillian population, many are citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, St Kitts & Nevis, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Nigeria. Visit Anguilla

2006 and 2007 saw an influx of large numbers of Chinese, Indian and Mexican workers, brought in as labour for major tourist developments due to the local population not being large enough to support the labour requirements. Visit Anguilla

Christian churches did not have a consistent or strong presence during the initial period of English colonisation. Spiritual and religious practices of Europeans and Africans tended to reflect their regional origins. As early as 1813, Christian ministers formally ministered to enslaved Africans and promoted literacy in English among converts. The Wesleyan (Methodist) Missionary Society of England built churches and schools in 1817. Visit Anguilla

According to the 2001 census, Christianity is Anguilla's predominant religion, with 29.0 percent of the population practising Anglicanism. Another 23.9 percent are Methodist. Other churches on the island include Seventh-day Adventist, Baptist, Roman Catholic (served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John's - Basseterre, with see at Saint John on Antigua and Barbuda) and Jehovah's Witnesses (0.7%). Between 1992 and 2001 the number of followers of the Church of God and Pentecostal Churches increased considerably. There are at least 15 churches on the island, several of architectural interest. Although a minority on the island, it is an important location to followers of Rastafarian religion – Anguilla is the birthplace of Robert Athlyi Rogers, author of The Holy Piby which has had a strong influence on Rastafarian beliefs. Various other religions are practised as well. Visit Anguilla

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia