Large and romantic white sandy beaches, some fashionable hotels, a sense of peace and calm and the hospitality of the people, are some of the charms of this little British colony (map)

Anguilla is at the north of the Leeward Islands. It’s a remote, quiet place, of white and smooth sandy beaches, surrounded by transparent blue waters and coral reefs. Life goes on without major upsets in this British territory, a haven of peace, far from the noise, and this is one of its main attractions. Since Anguilla decided to set apart from St. Kitts and Nevis in the 1960’s, the people here are delighted of having succeeded in the preservation of 19 km. of transparent waters and coral reefs, where a fascinating submarine world takes place. This coast has attracted lots of tourists searching sunshine, and this is also the perfect place to practice water sports.

With 25 km long and 5 km. of maximum width, Anguilla (derived from the Spanish word “anguila”) is covered by an entangle vegetation of low shrubs that goats use to eat. Trees are not abundant, and less even now, since the hurricane Luis uprooted hundreds of them in l995. But the islanders have long overcome the disaster left by the hurricane.

Currently many of them are dedicated to the reforestation of the island, to enhance its beauty even more. This is a limestone island covered by a subtle mantle of fertile land, allowing yucca, corn and some tropical fruit plantations, the use of modern irrigation systems has developed agriculture, introducing new vegetables plantations to supply the local markets and restaurants in St. Martin.

A Singular History
This scarcely fertile territory has given Anguilla a peculiar political and social history. Archaeological excavations gave proof of the presence of Amerindians in this island since 1300 BC., which means they settled down here much earlier than the first Arawak tribes, thought to have arrived sometime near Christ era. Rests of ancient Arawak settlements have been discovered at the harbor of Rendezvous, Sandy Ground and the Harbour Island. From the archaeological point of view, Anguilla is one of the most interesting places in the Caribbean. When the first British conquerors arrived in 1650, the Arawak civilization had already vanished.

The British tried to introduce sugar and tobacco plantations. However, the soil and dry weather, proved a major obstacle for success, thus, keeping the island free from the horrors of slavery. The few existing slaves were freed before 1834, when slavery was officially abolished. Landlords had enough problems to feed themselves. Thus, slavery left no scars in Anguilla, instead a democratic population, in which skin color is not important flourished. Everybody owned their land and helped each other in drought seasons or after the passing of hurricanes. The natives have always fought against the lack of water and fertile land. Besides, the strong personality of the people, the other great source has always been the sea. In contrast with other islands, full of plantations, in Anguilla inhabitants turned up into excellent ship builders and expert sailors and fishermen.

A United People
In 1967, the United Kingdom merged the island of Anguilla to those of St. Kitts and Nevis into an associated state. This event tested the strong unity feeling of its population, which brought the Anguilla revolution. However, at present they are delighted of being one of the few Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom. The local Administration takes care of some matters, though a British Governor handles public services, police, justice and foreign affairs.

Selected Tourism
The charm of Anguilla consists precisely on what is lacking, that is massive tourism. Only small planes, coming from the neighboring islands, land at the Wallblake airport. Usually people come by sea, on board of one of the ferries sailing from Marigot, in
St. Martin, to Blowing Point, in the south coast, in a trip of about 20 minutes. Everybody knows each other in this island of only 11,000 people. There are no casinos with neon lights, and crime ranks among the lowest in the region. Life in Anguilla centers around the church, being Methodist, Anglican, Baptist or whatever.

The island has developed a tourism industry trying to attract selected visitors. Resorts are small and expensive, as the exclusive Cap Juluca, in Maunday’s Bay or the Malliouhana (name given to the island by the Arawak Indians), in Meads Bay, two of the most expensive hotels in the Caribbean. People have always fought to preserve the frail ecological balance of the island; in fact, environment laws are very rigid.