MONTSERRAT
General
Montserrat is one of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean, lying some 27 miles South west of Antigua and some 40 miles north west of the French overseas Department of Guadeloupe. The island is 11 miles long and 7 miles wide and has an area of 40 square miles. It has a population of about 12,500. The capital is Plymouth. Montserrat was discovered by Columbus in 1493. It was first settled in 1632 by British and Irish colonists. During the 17th and 18th centuries Britain's control of the island was disputed by France and it came under brief periods of French rule on a number of occasions, the last being in 1782-83.
The island is entirely volcanic in origin, very mountainous and comprises three main mountain ranges: Silver Hills in the North (1,300 feet), Centre Hills (2,400 feet) and Soufriere Hills
(3,000 feet) in the south. The hills are covered with mixed evergreen/deciduous forest and give rise to numerous streams. limited volcanic activity in the form of warm sulphur springs is still present.
Political
Come
Universal adult suffrage was introduced in 1952 and Ministerial
Government was introduced in 1960. In the last General Election
held on 20 September 1973, five Progressive Democratic Party and two independent candidates, were elected. Mr P Austin Bramble, leader of the Progressive Democratic Party was reappointed Chief Minister. A General Election is due in 1978 and is likely to be contested by the Progressive Lemocratic Party and the recently formed Peoples Liberation Movement led by Mr J ▲ Osborne. Chief Minister Bramble has not yet requested the Governor to dissolve the legislature and issue a writ for the election.
Economic
Although the territory's economy made substantial progress in the 1960's, it expanded at a much slower pace from 1970 to 1972 and suffered a slight decline in 1973.