Brades (also Brades Estate) is a town and the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with roughly of coastline. It is n ...

since 1998 with an approximate population of 1,000.

History

The still ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

'' capital of Montserrat at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

in the south of the island was abandoned in 1997 after it was buried by the eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano in 1995. Interim government buildings have since been built at Brades, becoming the new

temporary capital A temporary capital or a provisional capital is a city or town chosen by a government as an interim base of operations due to some difficulty in retaining or establishing control of a different metropolitan area. The most common circumstances leadin ...

in 1998. The move is intended to be temporary, but it has remained the island's ''de facto'' capital ever since. Several names have been suggested for the new official capital now being constructed in the

Little Bay Little Bay is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Little Bay is located 14 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Randwic ...

area. These include Port Diana, in memory of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, ⁣ and St Patrick's, ⁣ to commemorate the 17 March Uprising and to attract

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

tourists.

Geography

Brades is located at the northwest end of Montserrat. It lies to the north of St Peter's and Bunkum Bay, in the vicinity of Carr's Bay and Little Bay. The main road of the island reaches its furthest north at Carr's Bay and then heads southeast, past the airport in the centre of the island. The village of Davy Hill lies off the main road in proximity to the northeast; The Collins River passes between the settlements and flows into Little Bay. To the northeast of Brades, in the centre, the island becomes hilly, reaching an elevation of 403 m at the peak of Silver Hill.

Economy

Brades contains several small shops, a bank, a branch of the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000 ...

on the Brades Main Road, government offices, a post office, a library, and a pharmacy. Runaway Travel, the largest and most comprehensive travel agency on Montserrat, is based in Brades. The firm Gas Grant Enterprises and Trading has its offices in Brades, as does

Montserrat Airways Montserrat Airways Ltd (MA LTD), trading as FlyMontserrat, is an airline with its headquarters at John A. Osborne Airport in Gerald's, Montserrat, British West Indies. The airline flies from Montserrat to and from Antigua, with their Britten N ...

and the Montserrat Tourist Board. The Attorney-General's Chambers are situated at 3 Farara Plaza in Brades. Eateries of note in the area include ''Soca Cabana'', a beach shack on Little Bay which sells chicken and fish dishes with live

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

music on Friday nights, and ''Tina's'' on Brades Main Road which serves

lobster Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...

burgers,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are ref ...

, coconut cream pie and

ginger beer Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar. Current ginger beers are often manufactured rather than ...

Education

Schools in Brades include: * Brades Nursery (government)Statistical Digest 2014
" Ministry of Education Montserrat. p. 2-3 (PDF p. 7-8/27). Retrieved on 28 November 2017. * Brades Primary School (government) ** The

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

built the school in 1966. Further additions and renovation were done by the Montserrat government.Development Proposals for: Lookout Primary School Brades Primary School Montserrat Secondary School 2008 MNT 09
" Department for International Development UK. p. 4 (PDF p. 7/73). Retrieved on 24 November 2017. In 2009 the school was overpopulated;Development proposals for: Lookout Primary School, Brades Primary School, Montserrat Secondary School, 2008 MNT 09.
it had 151 students that year. * St. Augustine Catholic Primary School (private) Secondary students attend

Montserrat Secondary School The Montserrat Secondary School, often referred to for short as MSS, is the only pre-16 years of age secondary school on the island of Montserrat. The school's campus is currently located in Salem. Prior to 2004 it was responsible for Montserrat ...

in Salem and sixth formers attend Montserrat Community College in Salem.

Demographics

Montserrat 2011 Housing and Population Census

Source:

References

External links

* {{List of British Territories capitals Populated places in Montserrat Capitals in the Caribbean Capitals of British Overseas Territories