The island nation of Saint Lucia is divided into 10 districts (formerly called Quarters). The name Quarters or Quartiers originally came from the French period in Saint Lucia (Sainte Lucie in French). The 2001 and 2010 Census of Saint Lucia refers to the first level administrative divisions as districts. The FIPS and ISO standards regularly called these divisions quarters or quartiers in French. The former district of Dauphin Quarter was merged into Gros Islet District and the former district of Praslin Quarter was merged into Micoud District. [1] [2] [3] [4]
After the French claimed title of Saint Lucia in 1744, commandant de Rougueville divided Saint Lucia into districts and parishes. Quarters were administrative districts for the control of settlors and slaves. The French Surveyor General of Saint Lucia, M. Raussaim, initially divided Saint Lucia into seven quarters. [5]
In 1844, Henry Breen describes how Saint Lucia was divided into two districts, the eastern district on the leeward side of Saint Lucia facing the Atlantic Ocean and the western district on the windward side facing the Caribbean Sea. It was further divided into eleven quarters or parishes, i.e. Castries, Anse Laraye, Soufriere, Choiseul, Laborie, Vieux Fort, Micoud, Praslin, Dennery, Dauphin, and Gros-ilet. Each quarter or parish had a town in the coastal bay within its territory that was named the same as the quarter. Breen further talks about stipendiary magistrates introduced during the period of the apprenticeship system. [6] These magistrates were as follows:
Still later the number of stipendiary magistrates was increased to five:
The magistrates did not survive. However, the quarters or parishes did survive, as such, with some mergers and changes in the names.
Since the 2001 Census of Saint Lucia there have been 10 districts in Saint Lucia. [3]
# | District | Population [1] | Households [4] | Land Area [1] | Population density [1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Anse la Raye | 6,060 | 2,171 | 37.6 km2 (14.52 sq mi) | 161 per km2, 417 per mi2 |
2 | Canaries | 2,044 | 789 | 24.3 km2 (9.38 sq mi) | 84 per km2, 218 per mi2 |
3 | Castries [7] | 65,656 | 23,296 | 102.7 km2 (39.65 sq mi) | 639 per km2, 1,656 per mi2 |
4 | Choiseul | 6,128 | 2,077 | 25.9 km2 (10.00 sq mi) | 237 per km2, 612 per mi2 |
5 | Dennery | 12,767 | 4,419 | 72.3 km2 (27.93 sq mi) | 177 per km2, 457 per mi2 |
6 | Gros Islet | 20,872 | 9,804 | 100.3 km2 (38.73 sq mi) | 208 per km2, 539 per mi2 |
7 | Laborie | 7,363 | 2,189 | 33.8 km2 (13.05 sq mi) | 218 per km2, 564 per mi2 |
8 | Micoud | 16,284 | 5,623 | 112.1 km2 (43.29 sq mi) | 145 per km2, 376 per mi2 |
9 | Soufrière | 7,657 | 2,886 | 58.4 km2 (22.55 sq mi) | 131 per km2, 340 per mi2 |
10 | Vieux Fort | 14,754 | 5,665 | 49.8 km2 (19.22 sq mi) | 296 per km2, 768 per mi2 |
Saint Lucia | 165,596 | 58,919 | 617.00 km2 (238.23 sq mi) | 268 per km2, 695 per mi2 |
Saint Lucia electoral boundaries are based, generally, on the districts. There are 17 constituencies in Saint Lucia that are represented in the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia. A study was done in 2014 to look into variations in census and boundaries and possible expansion of the number of constituencies. [9] [10]
District | Constituency Name | Population |
---|---|---|
Gros Islet | Gros Islet | 23242 |
Castries | Babonneau | 12,844 |
Castries | Castries East | 11782 |
Castries | Castries South | 9463 |
Castries | Castries Central | 7274 |
Castries | Castries South East | 14516 |
Castries | Castries North | 11463 |
Anse la Raye and Canaries | Anse la Raye and Canaries | 8363 |
Soufrière | Soufrière | 8424 |
Laborie | Laborie | 8588 [11] |
Vieux Fort | Vieux Fort North | 7201 |
Vieux Fort | Vieux Fort South | 9336 |
Micoud | Micoud North | 7173 |
Micoud | Micoud South | 7330 |
Dennery | Dennery South | 4896 |
Dennery | Dennery North | 7570 |
Choiseul | Choiseul | 6130 [11] |
Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra; these were names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs (respectively), two Amerindian peoples. Part of the Windward Islands 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 with an estimated population of over 180,000 people as of 2018. The nation's capital and largest city is Castries.
Saint Lucia is one of many small land masses composing the insular group known as the Windward Islands. Unlike large limestone areas such as Florida, Cuba, and the Yucatan Peninsula, or the Bahamas, which is a small island group composed of coral and sand, Saint Lucia is a typical Windward Island formation of volcanic rock that came into existence long after much of the region had already been formed.
Gros Islet District, one of 10 first order subdivision of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia which includes the island's northernmost point, Cap Point and the notable Cap Estate, where the renowned St. Lucia Golf and Country Club is located. Whilst the town of Gros Islet is an important administrative centre, Rodney Bay is the main financial center of the district.
Soufrière is a district on the Southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Soufrière was the former capital of Saint Lucia during times of French rule. It is now a small fishing port with an emerging tourism industry. It has several tourist sites, including a "drive-in" volcano, the Diamond Botanical Gardens with waterfall and historic mineral baths, plus the nearby beaches of Anse Chastanet to the north and Malgretout to the south.
Dennery District is one of 10 districts of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia. The seat of Dennery District is the Dennery Village. The main economic activities are fishing, and the cultivation of lima beans, bananas, and other tropical fruit. The population of the quarter was estimated at 12,876 in 2002 and fell to 12,767 in 2010.
Choiseul District is one of the 10 districts of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia. Located on the southwestern side of the island, the district is home to 6,130 people, according to the 2019 census. The seat of Choiseul District is the town of Choiseul.
Micoud District is one of 10 districts of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia The seat of this district is the town of Micoud inside this district. According to the 2002 census, the population of the district was 16,143 people. The final 2010 Census recorded a population of 16,284 in Micoud District. A former quarter, Praslin Quarter, was merged into Micoud Quarter. It was not enumerated separately in the 2010 Census. The 2001 Census shows Praslin as part of Micoud District.
Laborie District is one of 10 districts of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia. According to the 2002 census, the population of the Quarter was 7,414 people. The village of Laborie is located about 27 km (17 mi) south of Castries, the nation's capital.
Praslin Quarter was a former quarter on the island nation of Saint Lucia. Since at least 2001, it has been a second-order subdivision of the Micoud District. The 2001 and 2010 Census show Praslin as part of the Micoud District. The population of Praslin is 341.
Bank of Saint Lucia is a subsidiary of Eastern Caribbean Financial Holding Company. It was formed in July 2001 as a result of the merger between National Commercial Bank and the Saint Lucia Development Bank.
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Castries is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Caribbean. The archdiocese consists of the entirety of the former British dependency of Saint Lucia and is a metropolitan see, the suffragans of the Castries Province being the Dioceses of Roseau, Saint George's in Grenada, St. John's-Basseterre and Kingstown. The archdiocese is a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference.
The Saint Lucia FA Cup is the top knockout tournament of the Saint Lucia football.
Saint Lucia, an island nation in the Caribbean islands, has a relatively large tourism industry. Due to the relatively small land area of the country, most of the governmental promotion is performed by the state-operated Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, led by Executive Chairperson Agnes.
Canaries is a populated place located on the West Coast of Saint Lucia in the Canaries Quarter. It is a small fishing village and it is nestled along the West Coast road, between the towns of Anse La Raye and Soufriere, and there are scenic views from both the Northern and Southern approaches.
Soufrière is a town on the West Coast of Saint Lucia, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The town and the surrounding district has a population of 7,935. It was colonized by the French and was the original capital of the island.
The 2019 SLFA Island Cup was an association football cup competition for the island of Saint Lucia. The tournament began on 2 July 2019 and concluded on 21 December 2019.
Additional bibliographic references: