Saint Lucia

Coordinates: 13°53′N 60°58′W / 13.883°N 60.967°W / 13.883; -60.967

Saint Lucia (ⁱ/seɪnt ˈluːʃə/; French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km² (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries.

The French were the island's first European settlers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib Indians in 1660. England took control of the island from 1663 to 1667. In ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times, and rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".

Representative government came about in 1840 (with universal suffrage from 1953). From 1958 to 1962, the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. On 22 February 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations associated with the United Kingdom. Saint Lucia is a mixed jurisdiction, meaning that it has a legal system based in part on both the civil law and English common law. The Civil Code of St. Lucia of 1867 was based on the Quebec Civil Code of 1866, as supplemented by English common law-style legislation. It is also a member of La Francophonie.

St. Lucia (musician)

Jean-Philip Grobler, known by his stage name St. Lucia, is a South African-born, Brooklyn-based musician. He is signed to Neon Gold Records which released his self-titled EP and his debut album When the Night.

Early life

Grobler was born in Johannesburg and raised in South Africa. He spent much of his childhood singing in the Drakensberg Boys' Choir which travelled and performed internationally.

Grobler started making music when he was 12 years old. He was inspired by Boyz II Men, Michael Jackson, Sting and Phil Collins. He soon was experimenting with rock music; however, after 10 years, he got bored with it and got back to the 80s music influences from his childhood. In 2013, when asked about his main musical influences, he noted Phil Collins, Fleetwood Mac (especially Tango in the Night), Radiohead (OK Computer), Mew (And the Glass Handed Kites), and Paul Simon (Graceland). He has also cited Lionel Richie's album Dancing on the Ceiling as an influence.

Career

After studying for three years in Liverpool, he moved to Brooklyn. There he worked for The Lodge, which helps with music licensing for films and television shows, while continuing to work on his own music. When he was signed to Neon Gold Records in 2012, they re-released his self-titled EP he had previously released independently. Also, during the time, he featured vocals in The Knocks' single "Modern Hearts", which was released in 2013. His debut full-length album, When the Night, was released in October 2013.

Battle of St. Lucia

The Battle of St. Lucia or the Battle of the Cul de Sac was a naval battle fought off the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies during the Anglo-French War on 15 December 1778, between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.

Background

On 7 September 1778, the French governor of Martinique, the marquis de Bouillé, surprised and captured the British island of Dominica. On 4 November, French Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector. comte d'Estaing sailed for the West Indies from the port of Boston. On that same day, Commodore William Hotham was dispatched from Sandy Hook, New York, to reinforce the British fleet in the West Indies. Hotham sailed with "five men of war, a bomb vessel, some frigates, and a large convoy." The convoy Hotham was escorting consisted of 59 transports carrying 5,000 British soldiers under Major General Grant. The French fleet was blown off course by a violent storm, preventing it from arriving in the Caribbean ahead of the British. Admiral Samuel Barrington, the British naval commander stationed on the Leeward Islands, joined the newly arrived Commodore Hotham on 10 December at the island of Barbados. Grant's men were not permitted to disembark and spent the next several days aboard their transports. Barrington and Hotham sailed for the island of St. Lucia on the morning of 12 December.