Canaries (or Kanawe in Creole) is a populated place located on the West Coast of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

in the Canaries Quarter (also called district or region). It is a small fishing village and it is nestled along the West Coast road, between the towns of Anse La Raye and Soufriere, and there are scenic views from both the Northern and Southern approaches.

History

Until the 1960s there was no road transport to the village and it was only accessible by boat. Since the construction of the West Coast Road it is a stop on the road between Castries and Soufriere. The name Kanawe is derived from the Amerindian word for cooking pots, in the past Canaries had a large sugar plantation that ran inland up the valley that stretches in an easterly direction from the village. Records show that Canaries has existed since 1763 and the original settlers came from the neighbouring island of

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. In 1876 a Catholic School was established and after 1929 there was an infant school and a junior school in the village. When the price of sugar dropped in the middle of the 20th Century, the estate closed and many people left for England to look for work. Many sent money back to their families and since then many local businesses have appeared.

References

Towns in Saint Lucia {{SaintLucia-geo-stub

History

See also

References