Module 7: Culture and Events

Module 7: Culture and Events

Culture and Events: Difficulty rating 6

In this module you will learn about key events in St Lucia’s calender and why they are important to the island. You will also discover how St Lucia has come to have such a rich and vibrant culture.

You can find details of St Lucia events calender online at: www.stlucia.org/activity/calendar.asp 

Study it well, you never know what you might be asked in the test!

• The Amerindians were well established in St Lucia long before the first European ever set foot on the island. At that time, the island bore the Ameridian name ‘Iouanalou’ and ‘Hewanorra’ meaning “there where the iguana is found.
  
• The first European to settle on the island was Francois Le Clerc, known as Jambe de bois or Wooden Leg. He was a pirate who set himself on Pigeon Island from where he attacked passing Spanish vessels
  
• The English first landed on St Lucia in 1605, having been blown off course on thier way to Guyana aboard their vessel, The Olive Branch.
  
• The Arawaks, who were adept potters, weavers, builders, agriculturists and ship wrights enjoyed nearly 800 years of peace before new warriors, the Caribs, came to St. Lucia.
  
• St. Lucia’s rich cultural heritage is its cuisine. The fertile, volcanic soil of the island yields an enormous supply of produce, and the island is one of the leading banana exporters in the Caribbean, with six different varieties available. In addition to bananas, St Lucia’s abundant tropical fruits include mangoes, papayas, pineapples, soursops, passionfruit, guavas and coconuts.
  
• St. Lucia’s culture extends far beyond cuisine. The island has a reputation for its intellectual and artistic talents. St. Lucia has produced two Nobel Prizewinners: the late Sir W. Arthur Lewis, who won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1979, and poet Derek Walcott, who won the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature.

You can find about more about culture and history at www.stlucia.org/tour/history.asp

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