Lucia is a constituent republic of Kalina Region.
| Lucia Republic | |
|---|---|
| Island of Saint Lucia | |
| Constituent Republic of Vekllei | |
 |
|
| Part of the Kalina Region | |
| Lucia has the largest Kwéyòl-speaking population in the Commonwealth. | |
| Population | 402,781 |
| Demographics |
68% Afro-Kalinago 18% Kalina Carib 9% Caribbean mixed
5% other
|
| Economy | Textiles & crafts Plantations & spices, Orchards & fruit |
| Produces | Sugar, Rum, Beer, Bananas, Cacao |
| Working week | 19.2 hours |
| Specialisation | Science & Research |
| Accession | 1967, as part of West Indies Federation dissolution |
| Area | 617 km² |
| Capital | Castries |
| Languages | English, Lucian Creole, Kalina Carib |
The Republic of Lucia is a constituent republic in the Caribbean Sea, and the legislative seat of the Kalina Region, which is part of Vekllei. Its closest neighbour, Madiana, is just under 40km to its north.
Often called the “Helen of the West,” Lucia’s history and culture is heavily influenced by the fourteen occasions on which it changed hands between France and Britain, whose planters and slaves are the ancestors of most Lucians today. As in all Vekllei republics, English is the language of government and business, but Lucian households speak Kwéyòl primarily, a French creole shared with Madiana and Kabuli, and the Kalina of the interior valleys keep Kalina Carib. As such, Lucia has the largest Kwéyòl-speaking population in the Commonwealth. They are mostly Roman Catholic.
Lucia was held by the Kalina, who called it Iouanalao, at the time of its first settling by the French in the 17th Century. It was over the century and a half that followed that neither empire held it long enough to establish a plantation monoculture. Britain secured it permanently in 1814, and left the Kalina in possession of the interior. The island stayed under British rule in one form or another until the British Atlantic Territories took their independence, and joined Vekllei with them. Its economy is still mostly agricultural, though the Lucia Tropical School of CUWI teaches tropical medicine and culinary arts in the hills above the capital of Castries, and contributes to Lucia’s outsized culinary influence in Vekllei. Green fig and saltfish is the national dish.
The island is about 43km long by 23km wide and resembles a mango. It has rugged, volcanic mountains with deep river valleys that descend to both coasts. The mountains carry thick jungle of the kind common to the tropical Caribbean. Soufrière in the southwest is still volcanically active, and its sulphur springs steam beneath the Pitons and feed a district heating system laid to the capital in 2033.
Most Lucians live in Castries, rebuilt twice after fires in the 1920s and 1940s, but estates and villages ring the whole coast. The mainline of the Lucia Railway Company links them, along with small trams and the Piton Peaks Scenic Inclinator. The harbour at Castries is one of the deepest in the Caribbean and takes most of the inter-island shipping of the southern Kalina. Lucia is connected to the rest of the region by fast hydrofoils and flying boats, and its boarding schools take children from across the Commonwealth.
Climate
Tropical with a dry season from January to April and a wet season from June to November. The interior mountains receive significantly more rainfall than the coasts.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 29° 23° 29° 23° 29° 24° 30° 24° 31° 25° 31° 25° 31° 25° 31° 25° 31° 25° 31° 25° 30° 24° 29° 24°
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun 29° 23° 29° 23° 29° 24° 30° 24° 31° 25° 31° 25° Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 31° 25° 31° 25° 31° 25° 31° 25° 30° 24° 29° 24°
Public Holidays
- New Year’s Day 1 Jan
- Independence Day 22 Feb
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Commonwealth Day 1 May
- Whit Monday
- Corpus Christi
- Emancipation Day 1 Aug
- Kalina Heritage Day 19 Aug
- Republic Day 13 Dec
- Christmas Day 25 Dec
- Boxing Day 26 Dec
- Adhesives
- Barley
- Cacao
- Chemicals
- Electronic Components
- Fruit
- Glass
- Herbs
- Lubricants
- Milk
- Molasses
- Paper
- Pharmaceuticals
- Printing Ink
- Pulp
- Rare Earths
- Salt
- Sea Island Cotton
- Sugar
- Vegetables
- Vinegar
- Water
- Wheat
- The Pitons: Twin volcanic peaks rising from the sea, connected by hiking trails through the Gros Piton Nature Reserve.
- Sulphur Springs: Active geothermal area near Soufrière, claimed to be the world’s only “drive-in volcano.”
- Quilesse Forest Reserve: Protected mountain forest with Kalina settlements and traditional agricultural plots.
- Castries Market: Historic covered market selling local produce, spices and handicrafts.
- Pigeon Island National Park: Historic site with ruins of British and French fortifications, connected to the mainland by a causeway.
- Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens: Gardens surrounding mineral-rich waterfall, with geothermal baths.
- Agriculture, Land & Sea 14.3%
- Education 9.9%
- Healthcare 9.9%
- Domestic 9.3%
All 19 groups
Hide table
- Agriculture, Land & Sea 14.3%
- Education 9.9%
- Healthcare 9.9%
- Domestic 9.3%
| Occupation | Share | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Land & Sea | 14.3% | 70,100 |
| Education | 9.9% | 48,800 |
| Healthcare | 9.9% | 48,700 |
| Domestic | 9.3% | 45,900 |
| Skilled Trades & Construction | 8.6% | 42,400 |
| Science & Research | 6.7% | 32,900 |
| Industry | 5.5% | 27,200 |
| Government & Civil Administration | 4.9% | 24,100 |
| Security & Defence | 4.3% | 21,200 |
| Arts & Media | 4.3% | 21,000 |
| Retail, Distribution & Logistics | 4.1% | 20,200 |
| Transport | 4.0% | 19,600 |
| Economic Planning | 2.9% | 14,000 |
| Sport & Recreation | 2.8% | 14,000 |
| Hospitality & Participatory Trades | 2.8% | 13,600 |
| Information & Communications | 1.8% | 8,790 |
| Law & Justice | 1.8% | 8,660 |
| Energy & Resources | 1.2% | 5,990 |
| Religious & Ceremonial | 0.9% | 4,540 |
Register estimates of posts located in the republic, rounded; figures under 50 suppressed. Includes 230 posts held by non-residents.
-
2033
Geothermal district heating system is completed in Lucia
-
1940s
Lucia’s capital, Castries, is rebuilt after a fire, the second such rebuilding in two decades
-
1920s
Lucia’s capital, Castries, is destroyed by fire and rebuilt
-
1814
Britain secures permanent control of Lucia after changing hands 14 times