Leeward Islands

For other uses, see Leeward Islands (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Leeward Antilles.

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands

Overview of the Leeward Islands not including the Virgin Islands

Overlooking Sandy Ground, Anguilla

The Leeward Islands /ˈliːwərd/ are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. The more southerly part of the Lesser Antilles chain is called the Windward Islands.

Origin of the name

The name of this island group, Leeward Islands, dates from previous centuries, when sailing ships were the sole form of transport across the Atlantic Ocean. Because of prevailing currents and winds, the fastest route west across the Atlantic to the New World from Africa brought sailing ships to a point that was halfway south on the Lesser Antilles chain of islands, roughly between Dominica and Martinique Passage. This area became the dividing line between what are now known as the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands.

In the West Indies, the prevailing winds, known as the trade winds, blow from the southeast to the northwest. When sailing ships arrived, what are now known as the Leeward Islands were downwind, or "in the lee of the wind" to them. In other words, these islands were "leeward" to the sailing ships when they arrived in the West Indies, and could be reached from that arrival point by simply sailing with the wind.

This was in contrast to the Windward Islands further south, which were upwind from the sailing ship's point of arrival, in other words "windward," and had to be reached by sailing against the wind.

Geography

The islands are affected by active volcanism, and notable eruptions have occurred in Montserrat in the 1990s and in 2009 to 2010.

History

The Caribs, for whom the Caribbean is named, are believed to have migrated from the Orinoco River area in South America to settle in the Caribbean islands about 1200 AD, according to carbon dating. Over the century leading up to Columbus' arrival in the Caribbean archipelago in 1492, the Caribs mostly displaced the Maipurean-speaking Taínos, who settled the island chains earlier in history, by warfare, extermination and assimilation.

The islands were among the first parts of the Americas to fall under the control of the Spanish Empire. European contact commenced with Christopher Columbus' second voyage, and many of the islands' names originate from this period, e.g., Montserrat was named in honour of Santa Maria de Montserrat (Our Lady of Montserrat), after the Blessed Virgin of the Monastery of Montserrat, which is located on the Mountain of Montserrat, the national shrine of Catalonia. 'Mont serrat' in Catalan means 'sawn off mountain', and this refers to the jagged appearance of the mountain range.

British colony of the Leeward Islands

See also: List of Governors of the Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands became a British colony in 1671. In 1699, prior to the War of the Spanish Succession, Christopher Codrington became the governor of the Leeward Islands. The war lasted from 1701 to 1714. Daniel Parke II was the British governor of the Leeward Islands from 1706 to 1710. He was assassinated during a mutiny triggered by his self-enriching enforcement of Stuart imperialism.

In 1816 the colony was dissolved, with its last governor being James Leith.

In 1833, the colony was reformed. From 1833 until 1871, the Governor of Antigua performed the duties of the Governor of the Leeward Islands.

The Leeward Islands today are governed by numerous different national and colonial administrations.

List of the Leeward Islands

From the northwest to the southeast, the islands are:

• Puerto Rican Virgin Islands: Vieques, Culebra
• U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Water Island (U.S.)
• British Virgin Islands: Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada (U.K.)
• Anguilla (U.K.)
• Saint Martin/Sint Maarten (Fr./Neth.)
• Saint-Barthélemy (Fr.)
• Saba (Neth.)
• Sint Eustatius (Neth.)
• Saint Kitts
• Nevis
• Barbuda
• Antigua
• Redonda (uninhabited)
• Montserrat (U.K.)
• Guadeloupe (Fr.)
• la Désirade (Fr.)
• Îles des Saintes (Fr.)
• Marie-Galante (Fr.)
• Dominica (sometimes included)

See also

• Windward Islands
• Antilles
• Leeward Antilles
• British Leeward Islands
• Leeward Islands cricket team

External links

• The Leeward Islands Gazette, with full page images and full searchable text is freely and openly available in the Digital Library of the Caribbean
• Antigua, Montserrat and Virgin Islands Gazette, with full page images and full searchable text is freely and openly available in the Digital Library of the Caribbean