island and overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Located in the Lesser Antilles chain, this pear-shaped island is known as the “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean.” The de facto capital is St. John's, in the northern part of the island. Plymouth, on the southwestern coast, was the capital and only port of entry until 1997, when volcanic eruptions destroyed much of the town and the island's most spectacular vegetation. Sighted and named by Christopher Columbus in 1493, Montserrat is a rich admixture of African, North American, and European influences. Its physical and human landscapes have been battered but not obliterated by the series of natural disasters that beset the island. Area 40 square miles (103 square km). Pop. (2001 est.) 3,600.

Montserrat has a narrow coastal plain. Its few beaches have mainly gray or brown sand because of their volcanic origins; the single white-sand beach is at Rendezvous Bay in the north. Coral reefs line parts of the northern shore. Though Montserrat's most lush vegetation, in the southern highlands, was destroyed in the eruptions, the Centre Hills remain largely unaffected by the eruptions. Among the island's rare and endangered animals are Montserrat orioles, galliwasps (lizards), and “mountain chickens,” which are edible frogs found in the highlands.

The climate is tropical and mild, and there is little seasonal variation in temperature or rainfall. Average temperatures range from lows of 70–76 °F (21–24 °C) to highs of 80–86 °F (27–30 °C). The warmest period is from June to November. Annual precipitation averages about 57 inches (1,448 mm). The island is often in the path of hurricanes; Hurricane Hugo in 1989 was particularly devastating.

The population (Montserrat) is largely of black African ancestry, with a small number of white North American and European expatriates, mainly retirees with homes on the island. The official language is English, but most Montserratians also speak a Creole similar to that spoken in Jamaica. The main religious denominations are Anglican, Methodist, and Roman Catholic; Seventh-day Adventists and Pentecostalists are increasing in numbers. Some older Montserratians follow obeah, a traditional belief system based on superstitions.

Until the volcanic activity began, Montserrat's population remained relatively stable because of emigration and a low birth rate. Plymouth and its environs were the main centres of settlement. The island's population exceeded 10,000 in the early 1990s, but during the volcano crisis more than two-thirds of Montserratians departed for Britain, neighbouring Antigua, and other parts of the Caribbean region. Some had returned by the late 1990s; however, renewed eruptions have discouraged resettlement, and access to the southern two-thirds of the island has been restricted. Temporary or semipermanent housing has been built in the northern part of the island for many of the residents who lost homes in the south.

Volcanic activity caused the virtual collapse of the economy when Plymouth, the main commercial centre, was abandoned. Montserrat has since relied heavily on British aid to build a new transportation infrastructure and provide services. The largest sources of employment are now public services and construction. Montserrat's currency, the East Caribbean dollar, is issued by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (headquartered in Saint Kitts and Nevis), which also regulates rates of credit and foreign exchange.

The eruptions damaged or made inaccessible most of the island's agricultural land, but some potatoes, onions, and other vegetables are still produced for the domestic market. In the early 20th century Sea Island cotton was Montserrat's major export; however, production subsequently declined, and from the 1970s the government's attempts to revive the industry largely failed. Until the 1990s most workers in the Plymouth area were employed in services (notably tourism) and trade, light manufacturing (food processing, plastic bags, textiles, automotive and electronic components), and construction (mainly building tourist facilities and retirement housing). Tourism was the most important sector of the economy. Most of the island's tourists were long-term visitors such as North American retirees intent on escaping cold winters.

Montserrat's W.H. Bramble Airport, which was opened in 1956 on the central eastern coast, was closed because of volcanic activity in 1997. Since then the island has been linked with Antigua via helicopter service and a ferry terminal at Little Bay, in the northwestern part of the island. The network of open roads has been restricted to the northern third of the island. Montserrat is a member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

Montserrat is an internally self-governing overseas territory within the Commonwealth. The British monarch is the head of state. The constitution promulgated on January 1, 1960, provides for an appointed governor, an Executive Council, and a Legislative Council. The governor appoints as chief minister the leading member of the nine-seat Legislative Council. The governor also heads the Executive Council, which consists of four official members (the chief minister and three other ministers), the attorney general, and the financial secretary. The electoral system was based on constituencies until April 2001, when an at-large system of popular election was adopted for all members of the Legislative Council.

Primary education is free and compulsory for children aged 5–14. Nearly all Montserratians are literate. Eruptions destroyed the Technical Training College in Plymouth. Primary and secondary schools, a library, a hospital, and a branch of the University of the West Indies have all been relocated to the north.

Life expectancy is about 74 years for males and 77 for females. The leading causes of death are diabetes, heart diseases, and cancers. Ashfall and other emissions from the Soufrière Hills generally do not reach the northern part of the island.

Montserratian society is a mixture of African, Irish, and British traditions, although North American culture has become a major influence. Traditional rites, such as the jumbie dance, a manifestation of folk religion, had nearly disappeared by the late 20th century. The dance once took place following Christian rituals (e.g., baptisms or weddings) or in times of crisis. Jumbie music helped produce a trancelike state in the worshipers who sought cures for ills or the lifting of an obeah spell. Traditional instruments included flutes, triangles, and flat, goatskin-covered drums. Folk music has declined partly because of imported musical styles such as calypso, reggae, soca, and pop. Carnival, which was brought to Montserrat in 1962, is held between Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year's (Jump-up) Day (January 1). St. Patrick's Day (March 17) became an official holiday in 1985; locally, it commemorates a slave revolt and Montserratian heroes.

Prior to the economic upheaval caused by the eruptions, Montserratians enjoyed a relatively high standard of living, including dependable housing, imported consumer goods, and frozen foods; many also took holidays abroad, often to the United States. Older, rural residents still have more traditional lifestyles based on family, land, and church. Extended families and connections with family members overseas remain important for all Montserratians. The island's cuisine is best known for “mountain chicken” frog legs and “goat water,” a thick goat-meat stew.

An international recording studio was located on the island until it was badly damaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Montserratians watch U.S. and European television programs via satellite. Radio programming is also popular, particularly through ZJB, the government-owned radio station. The weekly Montserrat Reporter is the main newspaper.

The original Native American inhabitants of Montserrat began to arrive in the Lesser Antilles about 3000 BC. Carib Indians, who arrived later, are said to have named the island Alliouagana (“Land of the Prickly Bush”). However, Montserrat was uninhabited by the time Christopher Columbus (Columbus, Christopher) sighted it in November 1493, during his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus named the island for the abbey of Montserrat in Spain (Montserrat). It was colonized in 1632 by Irish Catholics from nearby Saint Kitts (Saint Christopher), who were sent there by Sir Thomas Warner, the first British (British Empire) governor of Saint Kitts. More Irish immigrants subsequently arrived from Virginia. Plantations were set up to grow tobacco and indigo, followed eventually by cotton and sugar. The early settlers were repeatedly attacked by French forces and Carib Indians. The French took possession of the island in 1664 and again in 1667, but it was restored to England by the Treaty of Breda (Breda, Treaty of). French forces sacked the island in 1712 and captured it for the last time in 1782, but the Treaty of Versailles (1783) again returned it to Britain.

Slaves (slavery) from Africa were probably first brought to Montserrat in large numbers in the 1660s. Their population grew to some 1,000 in 1678 and 7,000 in 1810, when they greatly outnumbered white settlers. Montserrat's plantation system declined after slavery was abolished in 1834 and the price of sugar fell on world markets. The Montserrat Company, formed in 1857 under the direction of Joseph Sturge (Sturge, Joseph), bought abandoned estates, encouraged the cultivation of limes, and sold plots of land to settlers. Because of those efforts, smallholdings still cover much of the island. A series of devastating earthquakes and hurricanes occurred between 1890 and 1936.

Between 1871 and 1956 Montserrat was part of the (British) Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands, which included the British Virgin Islands, Saint Kitts–Nevis–Anguilla, and Dominica. In 1951 universal suffrage was declared, and the following year Montserratian women voted for the first time. The federation was abolished on July 1, 1956, when Montserrat became a colony in its own right. During 1958–62 Montserrat was part of the short-lived Federation of the West Indies. Montserratians, unlike their counterparts in most other British Caribbean colonies, did not seek associated statehood, which would have been a step toward independence.

In the general election of November 1978, the People's Liberation Movement (PLM) won all seven seats to the Legislative Council. The party retained its control in 1983, but the opposition gained strength in the 1987 election. The PLM leadership favoured eventual independence after first achieving greater economic self-sufficiency. However, many merchants and other Montserratians opposed independence because they saw greater benefits in maintaining ties with Britain. Indeed, after Hurricane Hugo devastated the island in 1989, the British helped construct a new legislative building, a new wing to the hospital in Plymouth, housing, and roads.

The newly formed National Progressive Party took over the government in 1991, but in 1996, in the midst of the volcano crisis, it won only one legislative seat. A weak coalition was then formed, headed by an independent member, Bertrand Osborne, as chief minister. Osborne resigned in 1997 amid criticism of his handling of the volcano crisis, and he was replaced by David Brandt. The British government was also widely criticized for its handling of the crisis, although it helped evacuate and relocate the population and repair the transportation infrastructure. After the PLM decisively won the elections of April 2001, John Osborne became chief minister. Volcanic activity continued into the early 21st century.

Jagged, barren pinnacles of reddish sandstone and conglomerate, formed by erosion, rise from the mountain's huge base, and it is cloven by ravines; the monastery stands on the edge of the widest of these, the Malo valley, at 2,400 feet (730 metres). Remains indicate that the mountain was inhabited in prehistoric times. Christian hermits of Santa María were residing on Montserrat when in 888 the Benedictine monastery of Ripoll was granted jurisdiction over them. From the 11th to the early 15th century, a regular priory flourished there, and it obtained independence as an abbey in 1410, the status of which it has held almost continuously ever since. The present basilica was begun in 1560 and the monastery in 1755, though these were extensively rebuilt after their destruction by French troops during the Peninsular Campaign, in 1812.