British Leeward Islands

Leeward Islands
British colony
1671–1816
1833–1958


Flag (1871–1956)

Anthem
"God Save the Queen/King"
Capital St. John's
Languages English (official)
Spanish, Jamaican Creole
Government Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
   1671–1702 William III (first)
  1952–1958 Elizabeth II (last)
Governor
  1683–1698 Colonel Christopher Codrington (first)
  1956–1958 Alexander Thomas Williams (last)
History
   Established 1671
  Divided 1816
  Reformed 1833
  Federal colony 1871
  Dominica joined 1871
  Dominica left 1940
   Joined West Indies Federation 1958
  Federation dissolved 31 May 1962
Area
   1958 1,047 km² (404 sq mi)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Anguilla
Antigua
Barbuda
Dominica
Montserrat
Nevis
Saint Christopher
Virgin Islands
West Indies Federation
British Virgin Islands
Today part of  Anguilla
 Antigua and Barbuda
 British Virgin Islands
 Dominica
 Montserrat
 Saint Kitts and Nevis

The British Leeward Islands now refers to the Leeward Islands as an English and later British colony from 1671 to 1958, except for the years from 1816 to 1833. The Leeward Islands was established as an English colony in 1671. In 1816, the islands were divided in two regions: Antigua, Barbuda, and Montserrat in one colony, and Saint Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the Virgin Islands in the other.

The Leeward Islands were united again in 1833, coming together until 1871 under the administration of the Governor of Antigua. The islands then became known as the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands from 1871 to 1956, with Dominica becoming part of the colony in 1871 but leaving it again in 1940, and in 1958 the remaining islands were absorbed into the West Indies Federation.

A representative Leeward Islands cricket team continues to participate in West Indian domestic cricket.

Postage stamps

The islands of the Leeward Islands all used postage stamps inscribed "LEEWARD ISLANDS" between 1890 and 1 July 1956, often concurrently with stamps inscribed with the colony's name; for more detail, see postage stamps and postal history of the Leeward Islands.

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.