Anguilla is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean, the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. It consists of the main island of Anguilla itself, approximately 16 miles long by 3 miles wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The island's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 102 square kilometres (39.4 square miles), with a population of approximately 13,500 (2006 estimate). It is located near ► Saint Martin and the ► British Virgin Islands.
Short name
Anguilla
Official name
Anguilla
Status
► British overseas territory, British (English) since 1650
This section holds a short summary of the history of the area of present-day Anguilla, illustrated with maps, including historical maps of former countries and empires that included present-day Anguilla.
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Anguilla, discovered in 1493 by Christopher Columbus, is British since 1650. In 1882 the island becomes part of the British colony of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla and shares its history. This entity later became a province to the short lived West Indies Federation in 1958 (see the map}. In 1967 Anguilla under Ronald Webster and his People's Progressive Party (PPP) proclaims independence, which is not recognized by the United Kingdom. The country is renamed Republic of Anguilla in 1969. That year British security forces invade the island to restore order. The dispute between Anguilla and the United Kingdom is solved in 1976. This leads in 1980 to Anguilla becoming a separate parliamentary democratic British dependency de jure.
Notes and references
General remarks:
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