Leeward Islands (l

`ərd, ly

`–, lē`–), northern group of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies, extending SE from Puerto Rico to the Windward Islands. The principal islands are the American Virgin Islands Virgin Islands, group of about 100 small islands, West Indies, E of Puerto Rico. The islands are divided politically between the United States and Great Britain.
..... Click the link for more information. ; the French island and overseas dept. of Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (gwädəl
..... Click the link for more information. and its dependencies; the Dutch islands of St. Eustatius Saint Eustatius (sānt y

stā`shəs), island (1989 pop.
..... Click the link for more information. and Saba Saba (sä`bə), island (1990 est. pop. 1,100), 5 sq mi (13 sq km), Netherlands Antilles , one of the NW Leeward Islands.
..... Click the link for more information. ; the Dutch and French St. Martin Saint Martin (săN märtăN`), Du. Sint Maarten, island, 37 sq mi (96 sq km), West Indies, one of the Leeward Islands.
..... Click the link for more information. ; the islands of the independent states of St. Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis or Saint Kitts–Nevis (nē`vĭs, nĕv`ĭs)
..... Click the link for more information. and Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (ăntē`gə, –gwə, bärbu`də), independent Commonwealth nation (2005 est. pop.
..... Click the link for more information. ; and the islands of the British dependent territories of Anguilla Anguilla (ăng-gwĭl`ə), island and British dependency (2005 est. pop.
..... Click the link for more information. , Montserrat Montserrat (mŏntsərăt`), British dependency and island (2005 est. pop.
..... Click the link for more information. , and the British Virgin Islands. Largely volcanic in origin, the Leewards have lush, subtropical vegetation, rich soil, and abundant rainfall. The warm, delightful climate is tempered by the surrounding water so that there is little variation in temperature. Most of the islands are popular tourist destinations. Products are mostly agricultural—fruits, vegetables, sugar, cotton, coffee, and tobacco.

Columbus first sighted the Leeward Islands in 1493, but settlement began only after the British arrived in the 17th cent. Sir Thomas Warner, sent to St. Kitts in 1623, was made governor-general of the yet uncolonized neighboring islands (Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, and Barbuda), and in the same year the Frenchman Pierre Bélain d'Esnambuc also established a colony on St. Kitts. By 1632, when the English had settled the neighboring islands, the sharp, three-way colonial conflict of England, France, and Spain had begun. The Spanish were forced from the struggle, but for nearly two centuries the islands were pawns in the Anglo-French worldwide wars. They changed hands with each fresh attack by British or French forces and were reshuffled in ownership whenever a new treaty was signed. Their final disposition did not come until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.

Leeward Islands

Arc of West Indian islands that constitute the most westerly and northerly of the Lesser Antilles, northeastern Caribbean Sea. The major islands are, from north to south, the Virgin Islands of the U.S. and the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Martin, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, and Guadeloupe. Just south of this chain is Dominica, sometimes classified as part of the Leeward Islands but usually designated as part of the Windward Islands.