British Leeward Islands
| Leeward Islands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British colony | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Anthem "God Save the Queen/King" |
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| Capital | St. John's | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Languages |
English (official) Spanish, Jamaican Creole |
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| Government | Constitutional monarchy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1671–1702 | William III (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1952–1958 | Elizabeth II (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Governor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1683–1698 | Colonel Christopher Codrington (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1956–1958 | Alexander Thomas Williams (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Established | 1671 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Divided | 1816 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Reformed | 1833 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Federal colony | 1871 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Dominica joined | 1871 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Dominica left | 1940 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Joined West Indies Federation | 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Federation dissolved | 31 May 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | 1958 | 1,047 km² (404 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda British Virgin Islands Dominica Montserrat Saint Kitts and Nevis
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The British Leeward Islands now refers to the Leeward Islands as an English and later British colony from 1671 to 1958, except for the years from 1816 to 1833. The Leeward Islands was established as an English colony in 1671. In 1816, the islands were divided in two regions: Antigua, Barbuda, and Montserrat in one colony, and Saint Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the Virgin Islands in the other.
The Leeward Islands were united again in 1833, coming together until 1871 under the administration of the Governor of Antigua. The islands then became known as the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands from 1871 to 1956, with Dominica becoming part of the colony in 1871 but leaving it again in 1940, and in 1958 the remaining islands were absorbed into the West Indies Federation.
A representative Leeward Islands cricket team continues to participate in West Indian domestic cricket.
The islands of the Leeward Islands all used postage stamps inscribed "LEEWARD ISLANDS" between 1890 and 1 July 1956, often concurrently with stamps inscribed with the colony's name; for more detail, see postage stamps and postal history of the Leeward Islands.
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Wikipedia