Category: Anguilla

Anguilla is located in the Caribbean, it is the overseas territory of United Kingdom. Anguilla is the main island situated in the north of Leeward Islands which consists of cays and smaller islands without any permanent population. The Valley is the capital of the island and the island is bordered by Virgin Island, Puerto Rico and Saint Martin. Amerindian tribes were the first settled human beings at this Island who are originally from South America. Anguilla is a coral island with limestone and some of the uninhabited islands and cays of Anguilla are Sandy Island, Scrub Island, Dog Island, Anguillita, Prickly Pear Cays, Scilly Cay, Sombrero and Seal Island.

Anguilla is considered as a self-governing territory of UK and head of the government is the Chief Minister with a multi-party system. Anguilla is recognized as one of the Non-Self-Governing territories by United Nations Committee on Decolonization. Government is the executive power and the legislative power is on both government and house of assembly. Judiciary system of Anguilla is independent from the executive power and legislative power. Anguilla is depending up on UK for its defense and because of this armed forces are not present.

The economy of Anguilla mainly depends up on fishing, offshore banking, offshore incorporation and management and tourism. Anguilla is the headquarters of several financial and insurance companies. About 90% of the population consists of black who are the descendants of African slaves. Population consists of 72% of native people and 28% of non-natives and among the non-natives includes citizens from United Kingdom, United States, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Nigeria and St Kitts & Nevis. Predominant religion of Anguilla is Christianity and among them Anglicanism is practiced by 29% of the population and 23.9% are of Methodist. Others are Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Baptist.

The common spoken language of the island is the “Standard” English influenced by the British English. Other spoken languages include Chinese, Spanish and other languages of immigrants. Anguilla is one of the major tourist destinations among the Caribbean. Beaches are the main attractions of Anguilla. The island is flat with short and clean beaches. There are about thirty three beaches in Anguilla and most of the beaches are good for various water sports like sailing, parasailing, boat racing and windsurfing, diving, fishing and snorkeling. Some of the sites that are best for diving and snorkeling are Forest Bay, Dropsey Bay, Scrub Island and Little Bay.

You can also find many caves there as the island is made up of limestone. Some of the caves are Fountain in Shoal Bay and Big Springs in Island Harbor. Nightlife of Anguilla gives you several options of live dancing and music. You can also enjoy the rich marine life with turtles, stingrays, barracudas etc. St. Martin Zoological Park is another attraction for the tourists. The salt ponds of Anguilla are serving as sanctuaries for birds with 136 species such as gulls, falcons, herons and pigtails. Old Salt Factory, Pumphouse, Manse Building, Heritage Collection Museum are the historical and cultural sites. You can also find art galleries that displayed handcrafts, paintings, sculpture, woodcrafts, photography and pottery. The art galleries that are worth visiting are Cheddies Carving Studio, Estate Hope Art Studio, Lynne Bernbaum Art Studio, Devonish Art Gallery, Savannah Art Gallery and Art Café.