FACT #22

Saint Lucia is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. The island was previously called Iyonola, the name given to the island by the native Amerindians and later, Hewanorra, the name given by the native Caribs. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238 square miles) and reported a population of 165,595 in the 2010 census Its capital is Castries.

The French were the island's first European settlers. They signed a treaty with the native Island Caribs in 1660. England took control of the island from 1663 to 1667. In ensuing years, it was at war with France fourteen times, and the rule of the island changed frequently (it was ruled seven times each by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive 

One of the Windward Islands, Saint Lucia was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse (AD 283 – 304). It is the only country in the world named after a historical woman (Ireland is named after the Celtic goddess of fertility Eire).[11] Legend states French sailors were shipwrecked here on 13 December, the feast day of St. Lucy, thus naming the island in honour of Sainte Lucie.