Anguilla is a British overseas territory and an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It is located around 12 miles (19 km) north of the island of Saint Martin and 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Saint Kitts. It is the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. The Valley is the main settlement and the island’s administrative hub. Anguilla is a well-liked vacation spot known for its laid-back vibe and stunning beaches and waterways. A 35 square mile area (91 square km). Pop. (2006 est.) 14,254.
Land
Anguilla is a flat, desolate island surrounded by white sand beaches. The island’s name, “Anguille,” which translates to “eel” in French, is a result of its 16-mile (26-kilometer) length and maximum breadth of 3.5 miles (6 km). The Prickly Pear Cays, Dog, Scrub, and Sombrero islands are some of the larger offshore islands in the area. There are also a few smaller uninhabited offshore islands.
Coral and limestone were used in the formation of Anguilla. The terrain is undulating but mostly level. Crocus Hill, the area’s highest point, is 210 feet above sea level (64 metres). The southern shore has a longer, more gradual slope that softly descends to the sea, in contrast to the northern coast’s short slopes and sharp cliffs. Although the soil is thin, there are a few spots of red loam, mostly at the bottoms of the shallow valleys. Freshwater is in short supply, as it is on most coral islands. There are no rivers on the island, but there are a number of surface saltwater ponds, especially around the beaches, that supported Anguilla’s salt industry up until its demise in the 1980s.
People
Anguilla’s population is primarily of African heritage. The official tongue is English. The two largest religious groups are Methodist and Anglican, and the majority of the population identifies as Christian. Anguillans live relatively long lives, and the island has seen consistent population increase.
Economy
The importance of agriculture is negligible; just a small portion of the land is used for farming. Tourism and financial services are the two primary economic sectors. The constant rise in tourism has helped the building sector and sparked improvements to transportation infrastructure. There are hardly many unions on Anguilla. Offshore banking has grown in importance since the 1980s, but it has also generated claims that the island’s banks were being used for money laundering; in 2000, the government started developing laws to address the issue.
Anguilla’s official currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar, while the U.S. dollar is also widely recognised. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, which also serves as the bank of issue for numerous other Caribbean islands, is the island’s central bank. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico are the island’s top trading partners. Anguilla has no income or sales taxes. Instead, taxes on imports, fees for services, business registrations, and different licencing fees are used by the government. There are minimal indications of extreme poverty and no observable slum regions, and the distribution of earnings is reasonably equitable.
Cultural life
Despite Anguilla’s circumstances being somewhat out of the ordinary for the Caribbean, slavery and plantation sugar left their mark on the growth of the island nation’s civilization. Thin soil and insufficient rainfall on the island had a negative impact on the quantity and quality of its sugar crop, making production less profitable than on other Caribbean islands where fertile soil covered large areas and sufficient rainfall led to lucrative sugar plantations that eventually gave rise to societies with a sizable working class. The plantation continued to be the principal economic and social institution on those islands after emancipation was announced in the British and French colonies in the first half of the 19th century. The majority of the former slaves were left without any land and were mostly dependent on wage labour.
Anguilla’s modest size — both in terms of land area and population — helped to foster a tight-knit community. In fact, Anguillians are well known for their practise of extending greetings to strangers, whether or not they know them, whether orally or by at the very least lifting a hand in salutation.
