Saint Lucia

152 Pages·2008·18.012 MB·English

by  Tamra Orr

BELyEpERE TIBURON LIBRARY
02586 7670
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2019 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/saintlucia0000orrt
J 972.98 Orr 2008
Orr, Tamra
Saint Lucia
31111025867670 BEL-TIB
DATE DUE
Brodart Co. Cat. #55 137 001 Printed in USA

CULTURES OF THE WORLD0
SAINT LUCIA
Tamra Orr
1713
Marshall Cavendish
Benchmark
New York
PICTURE CREDITS
Cover photo: © Randall Bishop
age fotostock/Blaine Harrington: 79 • age fotostock/Bruno Morandi: 50 • age fotostock/Sylvain Grandadam: 52, 69 • age
fotostock Walter Bihikow: 11 • age fotostock/Yadid Levy: 47 • alt.TYPE/reuters: 40, 108, 109, 110. Ill, 112 • Art Director's &
Trip: 74, 81, 116 • Audrius Tomonis: 135 • Corbis: 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 28, 37, 38, 43, 46, 18, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 05. 66, 70, 71, 72,
77, 78, 80, 8”, 88, 93, 97, l«. 99, 100. 119, 120, 121, 122, 125, 120 • E.Blauer/Laure: 17, 02. 89, 128 • Eye Ubiquitous Hutchison:
92, 118 • Jason Laure: 13, 36, 55, 84, 94, 95 • Joel Sartore/National Geographic Image Collection: 12, 19, 25. 51. 90, 124, 125 •
Masterfile/George Contorakes: 107 • MCIA/Thomas Khoo: 130 • Photolibrary: 1, 5, i, 3, 7, 18, 20. 22, 23. 2 i, 20. 32. 35, 11. 15,
67, 68, 85, 86, 96, 104, 105, 106, 113, 117, 127 • Richard Elliot: 76 • Stockfood/Brauner, Michael: 131 • Wides & Holl: 129
PRECEDING PAGE
Young elementary school girls from Anse La Raye in Saint Lucia.
Publisher (U.S.): Michelle Bisson
Editors: Christine Florie, Stephanie Pee, Rizza Manois
Copyreader: Mindy Hicks
Designer: Benson Tan
Cover picture researcher: Connie Gardner
Picture researchers: Thomas Khoo, Joshua Ang
Marshall Cavendish Benchmark
99 White Plains Road
Tarrytown, NY 10591
Web site: www.marshallcavendish.us
© Times Media Private Limited 1997
© Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited 2008
All rights reserved. First edition 1997. Second edition 2008.
® “Cultures of the World” is a registered trademark of Times Publishing Limited.
Originated and designed by Times Media Private Limited
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
A member of Times Publishing Limited
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or
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owner. Request tor permission should be addressed to the Publisher.
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited.
All Internet sites were correct and accurate at the time of printing. All
monetary figures in this publication are in U.S. dollars.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Orr, Tamra.
Saint Lucia / by Tamra Orr
p.cm. — (Cultures of the world)
Summary: 'Provides comprehensive information on the geography, history, governmental structure
economy, cultural diversity,
peoples, religion, and culture of Saint Lucia”—Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index
ISBN 978-0-7614-2569-4
1.Saint Lucia—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Title: Saint Lucia. III. Series.
F2100.077 2008
972.9843—dc22 2006038625
Printed in China
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 5
GEOGRAPHY 7
• •
A land of diversity The island cities A Caribbean
, •
climate • Bright, bold and bountiful Wild and wonderful
HISTORY 27
, •
Pirates Ho! A game of tug of war • Going forward
•
Modern times
GOVERNMENT 37
• •
Gaining independence Inside government
A tale of two parties
ECONOMY 43
•
Green gold9 Declining banana trade Tourism in Saint Lucia
•
• Leaning toward diversification The problems con tinue
A man selling fresh
produce in Saint Lucia.
ENVIRONMENT 57
•
Environmental issues Building more and more
•
A little good news
SAINT LUCIANS 67
• •
Living on Saint Lucia For men or women Getting married
• Time for school
LIFESTYLE 77
•
The market Dressing on Saint Lucia
RELIGION 81
•
Catholicism Seventh-Day Adventists
3
l
LANGUAGE 85
Saint Lucian writers • The Central Library • Time for a story
ARTS 93
Tloe voice of artists • Tloe sound of music • A little folk
• All that jazz • Tloe queen of culture • Modern sounds
LEISURE 107
Going cricket barmy
FESTIVALS 117
Celebrating throughout the year • Welcome summer
• Tloe arrival of winter
FOOD
125
Fruits, vegetables, and protein • Island favorites
MAP OF SAINT LUCIA
132
The waters of Saint Lucia ABOUT THE ECONOMY 135
teem with marine life such
as this hawksbill turtle.
ABOUT THE CULTURE
137
TIME LINE
138
GLOSSARY
140
FURTHER INFORMATION
141
BIBLIOGRAPHY
142
INDEX
143
4
INTRODUCTION
ONE OF THE LARGEST ISLANDS IN the Windward Island group, Saint Lucia (Saint LOO-sha)
looks like it popped right out of a book about paradise. It has lush green trees, bright black and
gold sandy beaches, and a huge variety of colorful plants and flowers. From its mountains to its
rain forests, Saint Lucia is a place that invites people to stop by and stay for a while—or forever.
Saint Lucia was fiercely fought over by several European countries. Its location was perfect for
pirates to hide out and strategically right for both France and England to use for settlements and
plantations. The island actually changed hands 14 times and earned the title “Helen of the West
Indies” in reference to Helen of Troy, one of the most sought after women in Greek history.
Home to more than 168,000 people, Saint Lucia struggles with high rates of unemployment
and poverty. However, despite its problems, Saint Lucia truly lives up to its motto,
“The Land, The People, The Light.”
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