Montserrat - Day 92 - Daily Content Challenge
Montserrat is written on the bell I am sharing with you today.
Where is Montserrat? How did this bell get to be on my shelf? Two questions I asked myself when I picked it up today to take a photo to share with you.
Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the chain of islands known as the Lesser Antilles.
The first settlers were from Ireland. In 1632 Irish Catholics were sent there by Sir Thomas Warner who was the first British governor of the neighbouring island of St. Kitts. Many Irish people emigrated to Montserrat. The island was nicknamed ‘The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean’.
Montserrat is very mountainous and the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted in the 1990’s. The eruption caused significant damage to the south of the island killing 19 people. The capital, Plymouth, was destroyed.
The north of the island was largely unaffected and has beaches, coral reefs, cliffs and shoreline caves. Montserrat beaches are mostly grey or black-sand beaches because of the volcanic eruption.
Since the eruption, Montserrat has been dependent on aid from the UK. The town of Brades with a population of about 1000 has been the de facto capital of Montserrat since 1998. A new airport called the John A. Osborne (MNI) is located near Brades. The only way to get to Montserrat by air is to fly from the island of Antigua.
I learned something new today. Did you? I now know more about the island of Montserrat and maybe after the pandemic it would be an interesting visit.
I still don’t recall how this bell ended up on my shelf. Was it a gift? If so, thank you.
Have any of you travelled to Montserrat?
