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蒙塞拉特（英语：Montserrat）岛，英国海外领土，位于西印度群岛中背风群岛南部的火山岛，由哥伦布在1493年以西班牙内同名的山命名。该岛长18公里，宽11公里。岛上有三座主要的火山，年降雨量1525毫米。蒙塞拉特岛原本盛产海岛棉、香蕉、糖和蔬菜等。因为1995年7月18日开始的火山爆发，所以本岛多处被毁灭而三分之二人口逃往外国。火山爆发仍继续，使得岛上多处不可居住。

蒙特塞拉特位于加勒比海东北、小安的列斯群岛之中。东北、东南分别与安提瓜岛和瓜德罗普岛隔水相望。属热带气候，年平均气温30℃。 1493年哥伦布到达此岛。1632年沦为英国殖民地，后曾两次被法国占领。1783年再度沦为英国殖民地。1871年－1956年为背风群岛联邦殖民地的一部分。1958年－1962年为“西印度联邦”成员。1967年1月举行公民投票，仍继续为英属殖民地，由英国女王任命总督直接统治。

沙滩的火山岛，岛上有三个主要的火山，昌色斯峰（ChancesPeak）海拔915米，是全岛最高点。岛上的大阿普斯瀑布，原来是西印度群岛最壮观风景，已经被火山破坏了。GreatAlpsWaterfall地势崎岖。属热带草原气候，终年有海风调节，气温适宜，雨水充沛。3－6月为旱季，9－11月为雨季。年平均气温30℃，年均降水量约1500毫米。热带海洋性气候。种植棉花、水果、蔬菜。有小型农产品加工、建材、木船等工业部门。经济以旅游业、服务业和农业为主。同时大力发展轻工业，减少经济对旅游业和农业的依赖。断断续续的火山活动使经济基本停滞，一半人口撤离。1997年8月，英国政府宣布了自愿撤离计划，为愿意离开岛屿的人提供资助。1998年英国和蒙特塞拉特的官员就国家政策计划（Country Policy Plan）草案达成一致，三年将英财政援助计划中的7500万美元用于紧急事件、撤离或发展支出

Culture on the island of Montserrat can be most easily characterized through the examination of the many natural forces influencing the lifestyles and customs of its people. Montserrat’s physical features have played a crucial role in shaping the attire, diet, shelter, and crops of the island’s inhabitants. Volcanic rocks and native plants scattered throughout the island were the source of a number of customs that remain prevalent in contemporary Montserratian culture. 

Prior to colonization by the British, the island of Montserrat was occupied by a number of Amerindian groups from Venezuela who made their living through fishing and cultivation. There is evidence from a small artifact found in the soil from roughly 500 B.C.E. that the first inhabitants of Montserrat were the Ciboney, known as the ‘stone people.’ The Arawaks arrived on the island around 400 C.E. and built their villages near the coastline. These were a peaceful people who made their living fishing and gardening, and made ceramic vessels, stone tools, and conch shell adzes. 

While the Arawaks had a few centuries on the island, at the time of European contact the Caribs had gained dominance by driving them to the north. By 1500 the cannibalistic Caribs practiced both permanent and shifting cultivation and built their villages and gardens near the coast with a pole framework and leaf thatch. Caribs grew a mix of economic plants for cultivation, including many from South America and some from the Old World, which modified Montserrat’s vegetative cover in addition to some structures, composed of saplings, reeds, and foliage. The Carib name for Montserrat was Alliouagana, meaning “island of the prickly bush,” which most likely referred to the native species of Acacia. 

When Montserrat was first settled in 1632, British colonial officials believed the land and people of their island colonies to be profitable machines and this view greatly determined the way in which a culture based on agricultural production and slave labor emerged. The British had sent Irish Catholics from St. Kitts to colonize Montserrat and these people were growing tobacco and sugar by 1654. By the 1650s, English and Anglo-Irish landowners formed the wealthy ruling class, and Irish indentured servants formed the bulk of the population. 

Many of the first Irish Catholic settlers came from Virginia, New England, and the British Isles. Of the white population in 1678, 70% were Irish indentured servants. There were also several hundred本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。