Montserratians in the United Kingdom including

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, 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, wit ...

ian-born immigrants to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and their British-born descendants constitute the second largest number of overseas British citizens living in the UK (behind

Gibraltarians Gibraltarians (Spanish language, Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: ''Llanito#Demonym, llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territories, British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip o ...

History and settlement

The

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island of

has experienced British rule for centuries. British control was established in 1632 and to this day it remains an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. This in itself makes it easy for the overseas British citizens to migrate to the UK with few problems. In 1995, the island's Soufrière Hills volcano erupted, destroying a large percentage of the island, including its capital city,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. The volcano later continued to erupt over the following years, and ultimately two thirds of Montserrat's population left the island. The UK immediately offered assistance, and began to welcome large numbers of refugees from the island. The people of Montserrat were granted full residency rights in the UK in 1998, and citizenship was granted four years later.

Demographics

According to the 2001 UK Census 7,983 Montserratian-born people were residing in the UK (almost twice the population of Montserrat itself). According to the 2011 UK Census, there were 7,250 Montserratian-born residents in England, 20 in Wales, and 14 in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Notable individuals

* Notable British people of Montserratian descent

References

Caribbean diaspora in the United Kingdom Immigration to the United Kingdom by country of origin {{Europe-ethno-group-stub