Editing History of Anguilla

{{Short description|none}}
The '''history of [[Anguilla]]''' runs from the [[#Pre-Columbian Anguilla|beginning of human habitation]], probably via settlement from [[Pre-Columbian South America|South America]], through its [[#Colonial Anguilla|colonization]] by the [[English people|English]] in the [[early modern Britain|early modern period]], to the [[#Modern Anguilla|present day]]. Following a series of rebellions and a short-lived period as an [[Republic of Anguilla|independent republic]] during the 1960s, Anguilla has been a separate [[British overseas territory]] since 1980.

==Pre-Columbian Anguilla==
The earliest inhabitants of Anguilla were [[Amerindian]] people from South America, commonly (if imprecisely) referred to as [[Arawak people|Arawaks]]. These people travelled to the island on rafts and in dugout canoes, settling in fishing, hunting and farming groups. Forty Arawak villages have been excavated, the largest being those at Island Harbour, Sandy Ground, Sandy Hill, Rendezvous Bay, and Shoal Bay East.<ref name=gov>{{cite book |chapter=Anguilla's History |chapter-url=http://gov.ai/elections/anguillahistory.htm |publisher=Government of Anguilla |title=The Anguilla House of Assembly Elections<!--sic--> |date=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813051037/http://gov.ai/elections/anguillahistory.htm |access-date=9 June 2015 |archive-date=2007-08-13}}</ref> The Amerindian name for the island was ''Malliouhana''. The earliest Amerindian artefacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300&nbsp;BC, and remains of settlements dating from AD&nbsp;600 have been uncovered. Religious artifacts and remnants of ceremonies found at locations, such as [[Big Springs, Anguilla|Big Springs]] and Fountain Cavern, suggest that the pre-European inhabitants were extremely religious in nature. The Arawaks are popularly said to have been later displaced by fiercer [[Island Caribs|Carib]], but this version of events and characterisation is disputed by some.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://net.ai/precolumbian.html |title=Anguilla's Precolumbian History |date=2003 |website=The Anguilla Guide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050827040910/http://net.ai/precolumbian.html |archive-date=2005-08-27}}</ref>

==Colonial Anguilla==
{{Main|British West Indies|British Leeward Islands|West Indies Federation|Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla}}
The European discovery and renaming of the island is uncertain. Some{{who|date=June 2015}} claim it had been sighted by [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]; others{{who|date=June 2015}} credit it to the [[Kingdom of France|French]] explorer [[René Goulaine de Laudonnière]] during his voyages in 1564 and 1565.{{sfnp|Hakluyt|1904|p=5}} The [[Dutch West India Company]] established a fort on the island in 1631. The Dutch withdrew after the destruction of the fort by Spanish forces in 1633.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atlasofmutualheritage.nl/nl/Anguilla.1009p |title=Anguilla |website=Atlas of Mutual Heritage |language=nl}}</ref>

Anguilla was conquered and colonised by [[England|English]] settlers from [[Saint Kitts|St. Christopher]] beginning in 1650.<ref name=Mitchell>{{cite web |url=https://donmitchellcbeqc.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/anguillas-judicial-system-1650-2017.html |title=Anguilla's Judicial System, 1650-2017 |date=May 12, 2017 |first=Don |last=Mitchell |access-date=16 May 2016}}</ref> A local council was formed, overseen by [[Antigua]]. Six years later, natives from another island attacked, killing most of the men and enslaving the women and children.<ref name=gov/> In 1666, 300 Frenchmen attacked the island, driving the settlers into the forests.<ref name=gov/> It was subsequently returned to the English by the terms of the [[1667 Treaty of Breda]]. The French army assisted by a limited number of Anglo-Irish attacked in 1688, driving the English off the island to [[Antigua]], and periods of drought during the 1680s left conditions so poor that many Anguillians left for [[St Croix]] and the [[British Virgin Islands]] in 1694.<ref name=gov/> During this drought laden period there were several abortive attempt to settle on [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Crab Island]] off the coast of Puerto Rico, as the island was seen as more habitable in comparison to dry and arid Anguilla. The effort to settle Crab Island was led by [[Abraham Howell]], and saw a handful of Anguillians partake, however, the settlers were eventually forcibly evicted by Spanish forces.  In 1724, the population had rebuilt to 360 Europeans and 900 Africans.{{sfnp|Martin|1839|p=102}}

In 1744, during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]], 300 Anguillians and 2 [[privateers]] from St. Christopher invaded the French half of neighboring [[Saint Martin (island)|Saint Martin]], holding it until the 1748 [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]].<ref name=gov/> Two French frigates landed 700<ref name=gov/> or 1000{{sfnp|Martin|1839|p=102}} men at Crocus Bay on Anguilla in 1745 [[Battle of Anguilla|but were repulsed]] by 150 militiamen under Governor Hodge.<ref name=gov/>
[[File:Sombrero Passage, 1805 RCIN 735119.b.jpg|thumb|Attack on [[HMS Blanche]]  by a squadron of French ships in the Sombrero Passage, 19 July 1805. [[Napoleonic Wars]] (1803-15). ]]
On 27 November 1796,{{sfnp|Roche|2005|p=145}} amid the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the French warships [[French corvette Décius (1795)|''Décius'']] and [[French brig Vaillante (1793)|''Vaillante'']] landed 400 Frenchmen at Rendezvous Bay under [[Victor Hugues]].{{sfnp|Martin|1839|p=102}} These were able to destroy the villages at South Hill and The Valley, but the local British regrouped on the Long Path before Sandy Hill Fort. The frigate [[HMS Lapwing (1785)|HMS ''Lapwing'']], sailing from St. Christopher under Captain Barton,{{sfnp|Martin|1839|p=102}} was able to defeat the French ships and the assault again ended in failure.<ref name=gov/>

Attempts were made to develop Anguilla into a [[plantation]]-based economy employing enslaved Africans, but the island's soil and climate were unfavourable and the plantations were largely unsuccessful. Despite this, slaves in Anguilla were not immune to the atrocities of chattel slavery as slaves were still subject to brutal punishment, forced labor and ill-treatment at the hands of their masters.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=S.B |title=Annals of Anguilla, 1650-1923 |date=1976 |publisher=Belfast : Christian Journals |isbn=0904302261 |location=Belfast |pages=18–19 |language=English}}</ref> Anguilla's population is estimated to have fallen from a peak of around 10,000{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} to just 2000.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} In 1819, there were 360 Europeans, 320 free Africans, and 2451 slaves.{{sfnp|Martin|1839|p=102}} Several mixed-race [[mulatto]] slaves that were children of their masters were often willed freedom and in some cases willed land.<ref name=":0" /> In addition to the mulatto class of manumissions, there are cases of Anguillian slaves being rented for their labour to other islands and using the compensation to purchase their freedom and plots of land for paltry sums, as the land was often seen as fruitless by their previous masters.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mitchell |first=Don |date=n.d. |title=Anguilla: From the Archives. 1650-1776 |url=https://www.aahsanguilla.com/uploads/7/3/7/1/7371196/anguilla_from_the_archives._introduction.pdf |journal=Anguilla Archeological and Historical Society}}</ref> The British abolished slavery in their colonies during the 1830s. Emancipation increased the number of slave runaways to the Anguilla from the neighboring French and Dutch islands, who were yet to be freed. While the plantation owners returned to Europe, the freedmen continued to eke out livings on Anguilla as subsistence farmers and fishermen. There were droughts and famines in the 1830s and 1840s. This furthered the already present destitution on the island and led to widespread poverty and suffering on the island, which in turn made theft and smuggling abundant as a means of survival. The British government attempted to send the entire population of the island to [[Demerara]] in [[British Guiana]] (modern [[Guyana]]) but most remained.<ref name=gov/> In the 19th century, the large lake in the center of the island was exploited for salt exported to the [[United States]]; around 3,000,000 [[bushel]]s were produced each year.{{sfnp|Martin|1839|p=102}} This formed the island's principal trade, although [[sugar]], [[cotton]], and [[tobacco]] were also produced.{{sfnp|EB|1878|pp=46–47}}

In 1871, Anguilla was forced into a federation with [[St Kitts]]; the next year, the islands petitioned the British colonial office to permit separate and direct rule. Around this time, the population had risen to 3000.{{sfnp|EB|1878|pp=46–47}} In 1882, [[Nevis]] was added.<ref name=gov/> The population had risen to 3890 by the time of the [[First World War]].{{sfnp|EB|1911|pp=42–43}} By that time, [[charcoal]] production had essentially [[deforestation|deforested]] the entire island, but the expanded pastureland permitted export of [[cattle]] to [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Saint Thomas]]. [[Phosphate of lime]] was also produced.{{sfnp|EB|1911|pp=42–43}}

It was not until 1951 that Anguilla had a greater say in its administration, the British colony of [[Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla]], itself part of the [[Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands]]. Between 1958 and 1962, the tri-state was part of the [[West Indies Federation]].<ref name=gov/>

==Modern Anguilla==
{{Main|British Overseas Territories}}
[[File:Flag of St Christopher Nevis Anguilla.svg|thumb|Flag of St Christopher Nevis Anguilla]]
On {{start date and age|1967|02|27|df=y|p=y}}, Britain granted the territory of [[Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla]] the status of "[[associated state]]", with its own constitution and a considerable degree of self-government. Many Anguillans strenuously objected to the continuing political subservience to Saint Kitts, and on 30 May 1967 (known as "Anguilla Day"), the Kittian police were evicted from the island.<ref name=gov/>  The provisional government requested United States administration, which was declined.  On 11 July 1967 a referendum on Anguilla's secession from the fledgling state was held. The results were 1,813 votes for secession and 5 against.<ref name=gov/> A separate legislative council was immediately declared. Peter Adams served as the first Chairman of the Anguilla Island Council. After eight days of negotiation on Barbados, on July 31, Adams agreed to return Anguilla to the Anguilla–St{{nbsp}}Kitts–Nevis federation, in exchange for granting Anguilla limited self-rule similar to that enjoyed by Nevis.<ref name="modestobee">{{cite news |title=Anguilla goes back to union |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HxExAAAAIBAJ&dq=anguilla%20peter-adams&pg=6076%2C330405 |newspaper=[[The Modesto Bee]] |date=August 1, 1967 |access-date=June 5, 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Adams agreed to support this pact in principle, but the Council rejected it, replacing Adams as Chairman with [[Ronald Webster]].<ref name="newscourier">{{cite news |title=Anguilla levels warning at force |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Kn1JAAAAIBAJ&dq=anguilla%20peter%20adams&pg=2384%2C2545725 |newspaper=[[The News and Courier]] |date=August 12, 1967 |access-date=June 5, 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="leaderpost">{{cite news |title=Anguilla seeks permanent ally |last=Berrellez |first=Robert |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WepUAAAAIBAJ&dq=anguilla%20peter-adams&pg=2408%2C1612310 |newspaper=[[The Leader-Post]] |date=September 9, 1967 |access-date=June 5, 2012}}</ref> In December, two members of Britain's [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] worked out an interim agreement by which for one year a British official would exercise basic administrative authority along with the Anguilla Council. Tony Lee took the position in January 1968,<ref name=gov/> but by the end of the term no agreement have been reached on the long-term future of the island's government.

On 7 February 1969 Anguilla held a second referendum resulting in a vote of 1,739 to 4 against returning to association with Saint Kitts. At this point Anguilla declared itself an independent republic, with Webster again serving as Chairman.{{Citation Needed|date=August 2022}}  A new British envoy, [[William Whitlock (politician)|William Whitlock]], arrived on 11 March 1969 with a proposal for a new interim British administration. He was quickly expelled.<ref name=gov/> On 19 March 1969, a contingent of [[2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment|2nd Battalion]], the [[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]], and 40 [[Metropolitan Police]] officers [[Operation Sheepskin|peacefully landed]] on the island, ostensibly to "restore order".{{Citation Needed|date=August 2022}}  That autumn the troops left and Army engineers were brought in to improve the public works. Tony Lee returned as Commissioner and in 1971 worked out another "interim agreement" with the islanders.<ref name=gov/> Effectively Anguilla was allowed to secede from [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], receiving its first constitution on 12 February 1976. It was not until 19 December 1980 that Anguilla was formally disassociated from Saint Kitts to become a separate British dependency by the [[Anguilla Act 1980]].<ref name=gov/> While Saint Kitts and Nevis went on to gain full independence from Britain in 1983, Anguilla still remains a British overseas territory.

In recent years Anguilla has become an up-market tourist destination, and tourism is one of the mainstays of the economy. Fishing is another important economic activity, and a financial services sector is also being developed. The modern population of Anguilla is largely of African descent, with a minority having European (mainly English) ancestry.<ref>{{cite book|title=Fodor's in Focus St. Maarten, St. Barths & Anguilla|page=110|isbn=978-1-4000-0758-5|edition=1st |publisher=[[Fodor's]]|year=2008}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Republic of Anguilla]]
* [[History of the Caribbean]]
* [[History of the Americas]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite EB9 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Anguilla |volume=2  |ref={{harvid|EB|1878}}}}
* {{cite EB1911 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Anguilla |volume=2 |ref={{harvid|EB|1911}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Dyde |first=Brian |title=Out of the Crowded Vagueness |publisher=Macmillan Education |date=2005 |isbn=0-333-97598-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/outofcrowdedvagu00dyde }}
* {{cite book |last=Hakluyt |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Hakluyt |title=The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, & Discoveries of the English Nation Made by Sea or Over-land to the Remote and Farthest Distant Quarters of the Earth at any time within the compasse of these 1600 Yeeres, ''Vol.&nbsp;IX'' Made to Florida and New Mexico; certeine Voyages made for the discovery of the Gulfe of California, and to the famous city of Mexico, with the Discourses and Letters depending upon the Voyages of this ninth Volume |chapter=The second voyage unto Florida, made and written by Captaine Laudonniere, which fortified and inhabited there two Summers and one whole Winter |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFYMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA5 |location=Glasgow |date=1904 |publisher=James MacLehose &&nbsp;Sons}}
* {{cite book |last=Martin |first=Robert Montgomery |author-link=Robert Montgomery Martin |chapter=Chapter XIV.—Anguilla. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaUNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA102 |title=Statistics of the Colonies of the British Empire in the West Indies, South America, North America, Asia, Austral-Asia, Africa, and Europe; comprising the Area, Agriculture, Commerce, Manufactures, Shipping, Custom Duties, Population, Education, Religion, Crime, Government, Finances, Laws, Military Defence, Cultivated and Waste Lands, Emigration, Rates of Wages, Prices of Provisions, Banks, Coins, Staple Products, Stock, Moveable and Immoveable Property, Public Companies, &c. of Each Colony; with the Charters and the Engraved Seals. From the Official Records of the Colonial Office. |location=London |date=1839 |publisher=William H. Allen &&nbsp;Co.}}
* {{cite book |last=Petty |first=Colville |title=Anguilla: Where There's a Will There's A Way |date=1984 |location=East End, Anguilla |publisher=C.L. Petty}}
* {{cite book |first=Jean-Michel |last=Roche |year=2005 |title=Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours |isbn=978-2-9525917-0-6 |oclc=165892922 |publisher=Group Retozel-Maury Millau |volume=1 |language=fr}}
* {{cite book |url=http://houseofnehesipublish.com/sxm/literature-fiction/ |editor-last=Sekou |editor-first=Lasana M. |date=2015 |title=Where I See The Sun – Contemporary Poetry in Anguilla |location=[[Philipsburg, Sint Maarten]] |publisher=House of Nehesi Publishers |isbn=978-0-99622-420-8}}

==External links==
{{wikiatlas|Anguilla}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.rulers.org/rula2.html#anguilla |title=List of rulers for Anguilla |website=Rulers.org}}

{{History of North America}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Anguilla}}
[[Category:History of Anguilla| ]]
[[Category:1650 establishments in the British Empire]]