Gros Islet Quarter

Gros Islet is the newest town in Saint Lucia, having been recently (August 5, 1985) promoted from a village to a town. It is the location of the Beausejour Cricket Grounds where both One Day International and Test Cricket is played. Parts of the 2007 Cricket World Cup and 2010 ICC World Twenty20 were played there. It is the administrative centre of the Gros Island Quarter, a region of Saint Lucia which includes the island's northernmost point, Cap Point and the notable Cap Estate, where the renowned St. Lucia Golf and Country Club is located.

It lies north of Castries, the capital of Saint Lucia, and features the Friday Night Street Party which is its major tourist attraction. Also known as the jump-up, the Friday Night Street Party encompasses several blocks, which have to be informally cordoned off with the stalls of street vendors. Steamed fish, barbecue chicken and St. Lucia's own Piton beer can be purchased from these vendors. Music can be heard through the old fishing village, and locals and tourist both dance in a central cross section in the small streets to the sounds of calypso, zouk, reggae and R&B.

Gros Islet

Gros Islet (English: Large Island) is a community located near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has gone on to become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country.

Originally settled by the Carib (and possibly Arawak), a French map from 1717 provides the first identification of the area as Gros Islet. The community has had a long history of being a Roman Catholic parish, as the first priests who arrived on the island settled in the village in 1749. Gros Islet was first settled by the French from Martinique.

In 1778, as a retaliation for the declaration of war on the British by the French, the British navy captured the island of Saint Lucia from the French, and built a naval base at Gros Islet Bay in 1782 - temporarily changing the name to Fort Rodney. The island as a whole has switched hands between the British and French throughout its existence.

In modern times, the community has continued to flourish. Between 1991 and 2001 the population rose 54%; the highest rise in the country. In 2001, the population was 19,409, making it the second most-populous community in Saint Lucia, up from 13,505 in the 1991 census and 10,164 in the 1980 edition. Of this number, 9,307 were male and 10,102 were female.