Montserrat
 

to 1874   1874 - 1956  Leeward Islands   10 Apr 1909 - 25 Jan 1999   Adopted 25 Jan 1999 Map of Montserrat Hear National Anthem "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" 1837-1901, 1952-2022) Hear Local Anthem "Motherland" Adopted 29 Jul 2013 ------------------------------------ Unofficial Local Anthem "Montserrat My Country" (1992-2013) Constitution Order (27 Sep 2011) ------------------------------------ Former Constitution (19 Dec 1989-27 Sep 2011) Capital: Brades (interim) (Plymouth 1712 - 1997; Stapletown 1668-1712) Currency: East Caribbean Dollar (XCD) National Holiday: 2nd Sat in Jun. (1948) Birthday of King Charles III ---------------------------------------- Local Holiday: 3 Aug (1834) Emancipation Day Population: 5,315 (2018) note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the volcanic activity in Jul 1995, some have returned. GDP: $61 million (2018) Exports: $5 million (2018) Imports: $34 million (2018) Ethnic groups: African/black 88.4%, mixed 3.7%, hispanic/ Spanish 3%, caucasian/white 2.7%, East Indian/Indian 1.5%, other 0.7% (2011) Total Police Force: 80-90 plus 40 defense force (2003) Defense is the Responsibility of the U.K. Merchant marine: None (2018)  Religions: Protestant 67.1% (includes Anglican 21.8%, Methodist 17%, Pentecostal 14.1%, Seventh Day Adventist 10.5%, and Church of God 3.7%), Roman Catholic 11.6%, Rastafarian 1.4%, other 6.5%, none 2.6%, unspecified 10.8% (2001) International Organizations/Treaties: ACS (associate), Caricom, CDB, ECCB, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO Montserrat Chronology 11 Nov 1493                Discovered and claimed by Spain by Columbus,                              named Isla de Santa María de Montserrate.  2 Jul 1627                Granted to James, Earl of Carlisle by King Charles I                              of England (as part of the Islands of Carlisle                              Province, also called Carliola). 1632                       English settlement of Montserrat begins. 1636                       Montserrat an English colony (then spelled                              Mountserrat or Monserate), as part of Antigua.  9 Feb 1667 - Apr 1667     French occupation. Jul 1667 - Feb 1668        Peasants' (jacquerie) rebellion. 25 Jan 1671 - 1816         Part of Leeward Islands colony (see Antigua).  7-20 Jul 1712             French invasion force under Jacques Cassart repulsed                              (as were attacks on 28 Jan 1710 and 14 Jun 1711). 22 Feb 1782 - Jan 1784     French occupation. 1816 - 1832                Part of Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat colony                               (see Antigua). 19 Dec 1832 -  1 Jan 1960  Part of the Leeward Islands (see under Antigua).  1 Jul 1956                Separate colony.  3 Jan 1958 - 31 May 1962  Part of the Federation of the West Indies                              (see under Trinidad and Tobago). 18 Jul 1995                Eruptions by Soufriere Hills volcano begin,                              eventually making 2/3 of island uninhabitable.

Governors
1632 - 1649                Anthony Brisket                    (d. 1649)
1649 - 1662                Roger Osborne (acting to 1654)     (d. 1679)
1662 - 10 Feb 1667         Anthony Brisket II (1st time)
10 Feb 1667 - 19 Feb 1667  Joseph Antoine Lefebvre de         (b. 1662 - d. 1688)
                             la Barre -French commander
19 Feb 1666 - 1667         sieur de Praille -French governor
                             (interim)
1667 - 1668                Anthony Brisket II (2nd time)  
                             (French appointed governor)
Deputy governor
1668 - 1672                William Stapleton                  (b. 1641? - d. 1686)
Lieutenant governors
1672 - 1679                Edmund Stapleton                   (b. c.1650 - d. 1680)
1675                       John Carrol (Carroll, Carrill, Carryll)
                             (acting for Stapleton)
1679 - 1680                Peter Cove                
1680 - 1685                James Cotter (Cottar)
1685 - 1687                Redmond Stapleton                  (d. 1687)
1687 - 1695                Nathaniel Blackiston               (d. 1722)
1695 - 1702                Thomas Delavall
1702 - 1710                Anthony Hodges                     (d. 1710?)
1710 - 1713                John Pearney (John Pearne)
1713 - 1714                John Marshall
1714 - 1715                George Hay
1715 - 1722                Thomas Talmash (Talmach, Talmadge)
1722 - 1724                Charles Dilke (Dilkes)
1724 - 1728                Paul George                        (d. 1728)
13 Dec 1728 - 1728         Adam Pancier
1728 - 1729                John Osborne
1729 - 1734                Thomas Diggs (Digges)
1734 - 1738                William Forbes                     (d. 1738)
1738 - 1745                Robert Carpenter                   (d. 1745)
27 May 1745 - 1782         Benjamin Carpenter (1st time)      (b c.1714 - d. 1788)  
22 Feb 1782 - Mar 1782     Jacques-Melchior, comte de         (b. 1719 - d. 1792)
                             Barras (French commander)
1782 - 1784                Louis Joseph de Goullon            (b. 1729 - d. 1784)
                             (French commandant)
Jan 1784 - 1785            Michael White (acting)             (d. 1785)
1785 - 1788                Benjamin Carpenter (2nd time)      (s.a.)  
22 Mar 1788 - 1807         Henry Charles Selwyn               (b. 1751 - d. 1807) 
1807 - 1809                Vacant?
28 Sep 1809 - 1833         Samuel Edward Steward
Presidents
1723 - 17 May 1736         William Frye                       (d. 1736)
                             (suspended Mar 1723 - Apr 1725)
Mar 1723 - Apr 1725        .... (acting)
1736 - 17..                George Wyke
c.1739                     Wiske
1750? - 1754               George Frye                        (d. 1754)
1755 - 1764                George Wyke                        (b. 1682 - d. 1764)
30 May 1764 - 1782         Michael White                      (s.a.)
1787 - Jun 1790            Alexander Gordon                   (b. 1732 - d. 1790)
1792 - 1798                Richard Iles                       (b. 17.. - d. 1812)
1798 - 1818                Joseph Herbert (1st time)          (b. 1758 - d. 1836)
1818 - 1819                ....
1819 - 1836                Joseph Herbert (2nd time)          (s.a.)
1836 - Mar 1840            Henry Hamilton                     (d. 1840)
Mar 1840 - Aug 1841        William Shiell (1st time)(acting)  (b. 1758 - d. 1853)
Aug 1841 - Aug 1846        Edward Dacres Baynes (1st time)    (b. 1790 - d. 1863)
Aug 1846 - 1847            William Shiell (2nd time)(acting)  (s.a.)
1847 - 1854                Edward Dacres Baynes (2nd time)    (s.a.)
1854 - 1855                Hercules George Robert Robinson    (b. 1824 - d. 1897)
1855 - 1860                Edward Everard Rushworth           (b. 1818 - d. 1877)
1860 - 1862                Samuel Cockburn                    (b. 1810 - d. 18..)
1862 - 1866                William Cleaver Francis Robinson   (b. 1834 - d. 1897)
1866 - 1867                Robert Saunders (acting)
Feb 1867 - 1869            William Rowland Pyne (1st time)    (b. 1838 - d. 1885)
May 1869 - Jul 1870        Robert French Sheriff (acting)     (b. 1833? - d. 1894)
1870                       William Rowland Pyne (2nd time)    (s.a.)
1870 - 1872                W.S.S. Odlum (acting)
13 Jun 1872 - 1883         Neale Porter                       (b. 1826? - d. 1905)
1883 - 1888                James Meade
Commissioners
1888 - 1889                John Kemys Spencer-Churchill       (b. 1835 - d. 1913)
Mar 1889 - 1900            Edward Baynes
 1 Jan 1900 - 1906         Frederick Henry Watkins            (b. 1859 - d. 1928)
Mar 1906 - 1918            Wilfred Bennett Davidson-Houston   (b. 1870 - d. 1960)
3 May 1913 -  1 Jan 1914   Thomas Leslie Hardtman Jarvis      (b. 1868 - d. 1916)
                             (1st time)(acting for Davidson-Houston)
Jul 1915 - Nov 1915        Richard Henry Kortright Dyett      (b. 1862 - d. 1938)
                             (1st time)(acting for Davidson-Houston)
1915 - 15 Dec 1916         Thomas Leslie Hardtman Jarvis      (s.a.)
                             (2nd time)(acting for Davidson-Houston)     
 1 Jan 1917 - 1918         Richard Henry Kortright Dyett      (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) (acting for Davidson-Houston)
Oct 1918 - 1922            Claude Forlong Condell             (b. 1865 - d. 1922)
 4 Mar 1922 - 1929         Herbert Walter Peebles             (b. 1877 - d. 1955)
18 May 1927 - 14 Aug 1927  Arthur Charles Kent Tibbits        (b. 1877 - d. 1940)  
                             (acting for Peebles)
Nov 1927 - Jan 1928        Elwood D'Arcy Tibbits              (b. 1880 - d. 19..)
                             (acting for Peebles)
Jun 1929 - Sep 1929        Thomas Edwin Percival Baynes       (b. 1885 - d. 1955)
                             (1st time)(acting)
Sep 1929 - 1931            Hugh Houston Hutchings             (b. 1869 - d. 1937)
Feb 1932 - 1946            Thomas Edwin Percival Baynes       (s.a.)
                             (2nd time)
Jan 1946 - 1949            Hugh Burrowes                      (b. 1909 - d. 1998)
1949 - 1956                Charlesworth Ross                  (b. 1910 - d. 19..)
Administrators
1956 - 1960                Arthur Francis Dawkins             (b. 1916 - d. 2009)
Mar 1960 - 1964            Donald Alonzo Wiles                (b. 1912 - d. 1999)
30 Sep 1964 - Jun 1971     Dennis Raleigh Gibbs               (b. 1922 - d. 1985)
 1 Jul 1971 -  1 Nov 1971  Willoughby Harry Thompson          (b. 1919 - d. 2018)
Governors
 2 Nov 1971 - Jul 1974     Willoughby Harry Thompson          (s.a.)
28 Jun 1974 - 21 Jul 1976  Norman Derek Matthews              (b. 1922 - d. 1976)
Jul 1976 - Jan 1977        Geoffrey Owen Whittaker (acting)   (b. 1932 - d. 2015)
13 Jan 1977 - 1980         Gwilym Wyn Jones                   (b. 1926 - d. 1993)
12 Apr 1980 - 18 Dec 1984  David Kenneth Hay Dale             (b. 1927 - d. 2001)
1985 - 1987                Arthur Christopher Watson          (b. 1927 - d. 2001)
1987 - 1990                Christopher John Turner            (b. 1933 - d. 2014)
23 May 1990 - 1993         David George Pendleton Taylor      (b. 1933 - d. 2007)
16 Jul 1993 - Sep 1997     Frank Savage                       (b. 1943)
17 Sep 1997 - 28 Apr 2001  Tony Abbott                        (b. 1941)
28 Apr 2001 - 11 May 2001  Howard Archibald Fergus (1st time) (b. 1937 - d. 2023)
                             (acting)
11 May 2001 -  2 Apr 2004  Anthony "Tony" James Longrigg      (b. 1944)
 2 Apr 2004 - 10 May 2004  Sir Howard Archibald Fergus        (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) (acting)
10 May 2004 -  6 Jul 2007  Deborah Vavasseur Barnes Jones (f) (b. 1956)
 6 Jul 2007 - 13 Jul 2007  John Skerritt (acting)
13 Jul 2007 - 27 Jul 2007  Sir Howard Archibald Fergus        (s.a.)
                             (3rd time) (acting)
27 Jul 2007 -  3 Mar 2011  Peter Andrew Waterworth            (b. 1957)
 3 Mar 2011 -  8 Apr 2011  Sarita Francis (f) (acting)        (b. 1953)
 8 Apr 2011 -  7 Jul 2015  Adrian Derek Davis                 (b. 1950)
 7 Jul 2015 -  5 Aug 2015  Alric Taylor (acting)
 5 Aug 2015 -  2 Jan 2018  Elizabeth Anne Carriere (f)
 2 Jan 2018 -  1 Feb 2018  Lyndell Simpson (f) (acting)
                             (1st time)
 1 Feb 2018 -  7 Mar 2022  Andrew John Pearce                 (b. 1960)
 7 Mar 2022 -  6 Apr 2022  Lyndell Simpson (f) (2nd time)
                             (acting)
 6 Apr 2022 -              Sarah Georgina Tucker (f)          (b. 1968)

Chief ministers
 1 Jan 1960 - Dec 1970     William Henry Bramble              (b. 1901 - d. 1988)  MLP
Dec 1970 - Nov 1978        Percival Austin Bramble            (b. 1931)            PDP
Nov 1978 - 11 Oct 1991     John Osborne (1st time)            (b. 1936 - d. 2011)  PLM
11 Oct 1991 - 13 Nov 1996  Reuben Theodore Meade (1st time)   (b. 1952)            NPP 
13 Nov 1996 - 22 Aug 1997  Bertrand Osborne                   (b. 1935 - d. 2018)  Non-party
22 Aug 1997 -  5 Apr 2001  David Samuel Brandt                (b. 1943?)           Non-party
 5 Apr 2001 -  2 Jun 2006  John Osborne (2nd time)            (s.a.)               NPLM 
 2 Jun 2006 - 10 Sep 2009  Lowell Lewis                       (b. 1952)            MDP
10 Sep 2009 - 27 Sep 2011  Reuben Theodore Meade (2nd time)   (s.a.)               MCAP
Premiers
27 Sep 2011 - 12 Sep 2014  Reuben Theodore Meade              (s.a.)               MCAP
12 Sep 2014 - 19 Nov 2019  Donaldson Romeo                    (b. 1962)            PDM
19 Nov 2019 -              Joseph Easton Taylor-Farrell                            MCAP

Party abbreviations: MCAP = Movement for Change and Prosperity (NPP successor, est.2005); MDP = Montserrat Democratic Party (social democratic, est.2006); MLP = Montserrat Labour Party (est.1952); NPLM = New People's Liberation Movement (former PLM, est.2001); PDM = People's Democratic Movement (est.2014);
- Former parties: NPP = National Progressive Party (1991-2005, then part of MCAP); PDP = Progressive Democratic Party (est.1970); PLM = People's Liberation Movement (center-right, predecessor of PPA, 1973-1996, then NPLM); PPA = People's Progressive Alliance (1996-2001, merged into NPLM)