Editing Montserrat (section)

== History ==
{{Main|British West Indies|British Leeward Islands|West Indies Federation}}
[[File:Little Bay from above, Montserrat.JPG|thumb|A view of half of the coastline of Little Bay, and a glimpse of Carrs Bay, taken from partway up the headland between Little Bay and Rendezvous Bay, 2012]]
[[File:Admiralty Chart No 254 Montserrat, Published 1869.jpg|thumb|Map of Montserrat (top) and [[Plymouth, Montserrat|Plymouth]] (bottom) in 1869]]

===Pre-colonial era===
Archaeological field work in 2012 in Montserrat's Centre Hills indicated that there had been an Archaic (pre-[[Arawak peoples|Arawak]]) occupation between 2000 and 500&nbsp;[[Common Era|BC]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Antiquity |date=September 2012 |volume=86 |issue=333 |title=The earliest phase of settlement in the eastern Caribbean: new evidence from Montserrat |last1=Cherry |first1=John F. |last2=Ryzewski |first2=Krysta |last3=Leppard |first3=Thomas P. |last4=Bocancea |first4=Emanuela |name-list-style=amp |url=http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/cherry333/ |access-date=25 August 2013 |archive-date=20 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620015741/http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/cherry333/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Later coastal sites showed the presence of the [[Saladoid]] culture (until 550&nbsp;AD).<ref>{{cite book |title=Myths and Realities of Caribbean History |last=Reid |first=Basil A. |year=2009 |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |isbn=978-0817355340 |page=21 |quote=However, archaeological investigations of the very large site of Trants in Montserrat ... [suggest that Trants was] one of the largest Saladoid sites in the Caribbean.}}</ref> The native Caribs are believed to have called the island ''Alliouagana'', meaning 'Land of the Prickly Bush'.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Montserrat-island-West-Indies |title=Encyclopædia Britannica – Monts/errat |access-date=28 June 2019 |archive-date=17 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017182618/https://www.britannica.com/place/Montserrat-island-West-Indies |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2016, nine [[petroglyph]]s were discovered by local residents hiking in a wooded area near [[Soldier Ghaut petroglyphs|Soldier Ghaut]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2016-06-03 |title=Hikers on Caribbean island of Montserrat find ancient stone carvings |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/03/montserrat-petroglyphs-ancient-stone-carvings-hikers |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018185222/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/03/montserrat-petroglyphs-ancient-stone-carvings-hikers |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Cherry |first1=John F. |last2=Ryzewski |first2=Krysta |last3=Guimarães |first3=Susana |last4=Stouvenot |first4=Christian |last5=Francis |first5=Sarita |date=June 2021 |title=The Soldier Ghaut Petroglyphs on Montserrat, Lesser Antilles |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/latin-american-antiquity/article/abs/soldier-ghaut-petroglyphs-on-montserrat-lesser-antilles/F232AC485F4B58D87F7475C37C8AB317 |journal=Latin American Antiquity |language=en |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=422–430 |doi=10.1017/laq.2020.102 |s2cid=233932699 |issn=1045-6635 |access-date=18 October 2022 |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018185152/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/latin-american-antiquity/article/abs/soldier-ghaut-petroglyphs-on-montserrat-lesser-antilles/F232AC485F4B58D87F7475C37C8AB317 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Another was discovered in 2018 in the same area of the island.<ref name=":2"/> The carvings are believed to be 1,000–1,500 years old.<ref name=":1"/>

===Early European period===
{{Main|Irish immigration to Montserrat}}
In November 1493, [[Christopher Columbus]] passed Montserrat on his [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus#Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico|second voyage]], after being told that the island was unoccupied because of raids by the [[Island Caribs|Caribs]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Columbus: The Four Voyages|last=Bergreen|first=Laurence|year=2011|publisher=Viking|isbn=9780670023011 |page=[https://archive.org/details/columbusfourvoya00berg_0/page/140 140]|quote=At daybreak on November 10, Columbus and his fleet departed from [[Guadeloupe]], sailing northwest along the coast to the island of Montserrat. The handful of Indians aboard his ship explained that the island had been ravaged by the Caribs, who had 'eaten all its inhabitants'.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/columbusfourvoya00berg_0/page/140}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

A number of [[Kingdom of Ireland|Irishmen]] [[Irish immigration to Montserrat|settled in Montserrat]] in 1632.<ref name="Colonial Law' 1966. P. 855">{{cite book |title=Commonwealth and Colonial Law |first=Kenneth |last=Roberts-Wray |location=London |publisher=Stevens |year=1966 |page=855}}</ref> Most came from nearby [[Saint Kitts]] at the instigation of the island's governor [[Thomas Warner (explorer)|Thomas Warner]], with more settlers arriving later from [[Virginia]].<ref name="auto"/> The first settlers "appear to have been cultivators, each working his own little farm".<ref name="The Island of Montserrat">{{Cite journal|date=1895|title=The Island of Montserrat|journal=The Illustrated London News|volume=106|issue=Summer Number|pages=37|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The preponderance of protestant Anglo-Irish in the first wave of European settlers led 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]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Commonwealth and Colonial Law|first=Kenneth|last=Roberts-Wray|location=London|publisher=Stevens|year=1966|page=856}}</ref>

The Irish being historical allies of the [[Kingdom of France|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.<ref name="Colonial Law' 1966. P. 855"/> The French attacked and briefly occupied the island in the late 1660s;<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://blogs.brown.edu/archaeology/fieldwork/montserrat/montserrats-archaeological-resources/|title=Brown Archaeology- Montserrat|date=9 July 2015|access-date=28 June 2019|archive-date=4 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604123149/http://blogs.brown.edu/archaeology/fieldwork/montserrat/montserrats-archaeological-resources/|url-status=live}}</ref> it was captured shortly afterwards by the English, and English control of the island was confirmed under the [[Treaty of Breda (1667)|Treaty of Breda]] the following year.<ref name="Colonial Law' 1966. P. 855"/> 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.<ref name="Colonial Law' 1966. P. 855"/>

A [[neo-feudalism|neo-feudal]] colony developed amongst the so-called "[[redlegs]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Akenson |first=Donald H. |author-link=Donald Akenson |title=If the Irish ran the world: Montserrat, 1630–1730 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kbwvVtRTYEC |year=1997 |publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]] |isbn=978-0-7735-1686-1 |pages=12–57, 273 |chapter=Ireland's neo-Feudal Empire, 1630–1650 |access-date=17 October 2015 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003185054/https://books.google.com/books?id=5kbwvVtRTYEC |url-status=live }}</ref> The protestant Anglo-Irish colonists began to transport both [[black people|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.

=== 18th century ===
There was a brief French attack on Montserrat in 1712.<ref name="auto1" /> On 17 March 1768, a [[Montserrat slave rebellion of 1768|slave rebellion]] failed but their efforts were remembered.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gallery Montserrat: some prominent people in our history |last=Fergus |first=Howard A. |year=1996 |publisher=Canoe Press, University of West Indies |isbn=976-8125-25-X |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2DD81ZHWhxgC&pg=PA83 |access-date=20 September 2020 |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928160251/https://books.google.com/books?id=2DD81ZHWhxgC&pg=PA83#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> Slavery was abolished in 1834. In 1985, the people of Montserrat made [[St Patrick's Day]] a ten-day public holiday to commemorate the uprising.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Montserrat-island-West-Indies |title=Encyclopaedia Britannica - Montserrat |access-date=28 June 2019 |archive-date=17 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017182618/https://www.britannica.com/place/Montserrat-island-West-Indies |url-status=live }}</ref> Festivities celebrate the culture and history of Montserrat in song, dance, food and traditional costumes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Montserrat's St. Patrick's Day Commemorates a Rebellion |url=https://daily.jstor.org/montserrats-st-patricks-day-commemorates-a-rebellion/ |website=JSTOR Daily |access-date=19 March 2021 |date=16 March 2021 |archive-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320103516/https://daily.jstor.org/montserrats-st-patricks-day-commemorates-a-rebellion/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1782, during the [[American Revolutionary War]], as America's first ally, France [[French capture of Montserrat|captured]] Montserrat in their war of support of the Americans.<ref name="auto2"/><ref name="auto1"/> The French, not intending to colonise the island, agreed to return the island to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] under the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|1783 Treaty of Paris]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3486500012&asid=8f6a1000a7714d6594e798b80e62edf4 |chapter=Caribbean |last=O'Shaughnessy |first=A. J. |title=Landmarks of the American Revolution: Library of Military History |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=2006 |editor-last=Boatner, III |editor-first=M. M. |edition=2nd |location=Detroit, MI |page=33 |isbn=9780684314730 |via=Gale Virtual Reference |access-date=20 September 2020 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003185058/https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fi.do%3Fp%3DGVRL%26sw%3Dw%26v%3D2.1%26it%3Dr%26id%3DGALE%257CCX3486500012%26asid%3D8f6a1000a7714d6594e798b80e62edf4&prodId=GVRL |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== New crops and politics ===
In 1834, Britain [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|abolished slavery]] in Montserrat and its other territories.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/Legis_07.htm |title=Slavery Abolition Act 1833; Section XII |date=28 August 1833 |access-date=23 May 2016 |archive-date=24 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524010152/http://www.pdavis.nl/Legis_07.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto2"/><ref name="auto1"/>

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.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Beckles|first=Hilary McD|year=1998|editor-last=Finkelman|editor-first=Paul|editor2-last=Miller|editor2-first=Joseph Calder|chapter=Caribbean Region: English Colonies|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/macmillanencyclo00paul_0/page/154|title=Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery|publisher=Simon & Schuster Macmillan|volume=1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/macmillanencyclo00paul_0/page/154 154–159]|isbn=9780028647807}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|year=1998|editor-last=Finkleman|editor-first=Paul|editor2-last=Calder Miller|editor2-first=Joseph|title=Plantations: Brazil|url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/BT2350051325/WHIC?u=aubu98092&xid=7aa21dc7|journal=Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|via=GALE World History in Context|access-date=14 February 2018|archive-date=28 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628060425/http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/BT2350051325/WHIC?u=aubu98092&xid=7aa21dc7|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first lime tree orchards on the island were planted in 1852 by a local planter, Mr Burke.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1895 |title=The Island of Montserrat |journal=The Illustrated London News |volume=106 |issue=Summer Number |pages=37 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In 1857, the British philanthropist [[Joseph Sturge]] bought a sugar estate to prove that it was economically viable to employ paid labour rather than use slaves.<ref name="auto"/> 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 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.<ref name="The Island of Montserrat"/> 
[[File:Montserrat_lime_industry_transport.jpg|thumb|[[Barquentine]] 'Hilda' loading lime juice<ref name="The Island of Montserrat"/>]]
Much of Montserrat came to be owned by [[smallholding|smallholders]].<ref name="Connection">{{cite web |url=http://www.sturgefamily.com/Discover/THE+MONTSERRAT+CONNECTION.htm |title=The Montserrat Connection |website=Sturgefamily.com |first1= Joseph Edward |last1=Sturge |date=March 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104225552/http://www.sturgefamily.com/Discover/THE%20MONTSERRAT%20CONNECTION.htm |archive-date=4 January 2017 |access-date=8 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/YearbookInternal.asp?NodeID=140427 |title=Montserrat |website=Commonwealth Secretariat |access-date=30 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708041758/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/YearbookInternal.asp?NodeID=140427 |archive-date=8 July 2011}}</ref>

From 1871 to 1958, the island was administered as part of the federal [[crown colony]] of the [[British Leeward Islands]], becoming a province of the short-lived [[West Indies Federation]] from 1958 to 1962.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hendry |first1=Ian |last2=Dickson |first2=Susan |title=British Overseas Territories Law |date=2011 |publisher=Hart Publishing |location=Oxford |isbn=9781849460194 |page=325 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxncBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA325 |access-date=20 September 2020 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003185055/https://books.google.com/books?id=WxncBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA325 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto"/> 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.<ref name="source2">''Gallery Montserrat: some prominent people in our history'' By Howard A. Fergus. Publisher: Canoe Press University of the West Indies. {{ISBN|978-976-8125-25-5}} / {{ISBN|976-8125-25-X}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=2DD81ZHWhxgC&dq=bramble+fergus+montserrat&pg=PA129] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628060425/https://books.google.com/books?id=2DD81ZHWhxgC&dq=bramble+fergus+montserrat&pg=PA129|date=28 June 2023}}</ref> Bramble's son, [[Percival Austin Bramble]], was critical of the way tourist facilities were being constructed, and he set up his own party, the [[Progressive Democratic Party (Montserrat)|Progressive Democratic Party]], which won the [[1970 Montserratian general election]]. Percival Bramble served as Chief Minister from 1970 to 1978.<ref name=RA>Robert J Alexander & Eldon M Parker (2004) ''A History of Organized Labor in the English-speaking West Indies'', Greenwood Publishing Group, p144</ref> The period 1978 to 1991 was dominated politically by Chief Minister [[John Osborne (Montserrat politician)|John Osborne]] and his [[People's Liberation Movement (Montserrat)|People's Liberation Movement]] A brief flirtation with possibly declaring independence never materialised.

On 10 May 1991, the [[Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991]] came into force, formally [[Capital punishment in the United Kingdom#Abolition|abolishing]] the [[Capital punishment|death penalty]] for murder on Montserrat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1991/988/contents/made/data.htm|title=The Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|language=en|access-date=2020-03-15|archive-date=28 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628060425/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1991/988/contents/made/data.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Corruption allegations within the PLM party resulted in the collapse of the Osborne government in 1991, with [[Reuben Meade]] becoming the new chief minister,<ref name=SA>South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002, Psychology Press, p565</ref> and early elections were called.<ref name=SA/>

In 1995–1999, Montserrat was devastated by catastrophic volcanic eruptions in the [[Soufrière Hills]], which destroyed the capital city of [[Plymouth, Montserrat|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 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 (politician)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mnialive.com/articles/attorney-at-law-david-s-brandt-has-been-remanded-into-custody-at-her-majesty-s-prison-on-montserr|title=Attorney-at-Law David S. Brandt Has Been Remanded into Custody at Her Majesty's Prison on Montserrat|website=mnialive.com|access-date=28 June 2019|archive-date=28 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628034138/http://www.mnialive.com/articles/attorney-at-law-david-s-brandt-has-been-remanded-into-custody-at-her-majesty-s-prison-on-montserr|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was found guilty of six counts of sexual exploitation and sentenced to fifteen years in July 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/montserrat-ex-chief-minister-sentenced-sexual-exploitation-case|title=Montserrat: Ex chief minister sentenced in sexual exploitation case|date=July 19, 2021|access-date=10 March 2022|archive-date=22 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222104722/https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/montserrat-ex-chief-minister-sentenced-sexual-exploitation-case|url-status=live}}</ref>

John Osborne returned as Chief Minister following victory in 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.<ref>[http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/21440/88/ Radio Jamaica]{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, New MCPR Gov't in Montserrat, 9 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.</ref> During his term, the post of Chief Minister was replaced with that of [[Premier of Montserrat|Premier]].

In the autumn of 2017, Montserrat was not affected by [[Hurricane Irma]], and sustained only minor damage from [[Hurricane Maria]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.inta.org/INTABulletin/Pages/Latin_America_Update_7218.aspx |title=Update on Caribbean IP Offices Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria |website=Inta.org |access-date=28 April 2019 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613235138/https://www.inta.org/INTABulletin/Pages/Latin_America_Update_7218.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Since November 2019, [[Easton Taylor-Farrell]] of the [[Movement for Change and Prosperity]] party has been the island's Premier.