Montserrat (redirected from Montserat)

Montserrat, island, West Indies

Montserrat (mŏntsərăt`), British dependency and island (2005 est. pop. 9,000), 38 sq mi (98 sq km), West Indies, one of the Leeward Islands. It is a rugged, scenic island of volcanic origin; Chance's Peak (3,000 ft/915 m) in the Soufrière Hills volcanic complex in S Montserrat is the highest point. Plymouth was the capital and chief port, but it was destroyed in the volcanic eruptions that began in 1995. An interim capital was constructed at Brades Estate in N Montserrat. Of African and European ancestry, the English-speaking inhabitants are predominantly Christian. Prior to 1995, tourism was the economic mainstay, and Montserrat's exports included electronic components and agricultural products. As a result, however, of the Soufrière Hills eruptions, the economy has been severly disrupted and is dependent on aid from Great Britain.

Montserrat was visited in 1493 by Columbus and colonized by the English and Irish in 1632. After changing hands several times between France and Britain, it was ceded to Great Britain in 1783. The island was a member of the former Leeward Islands colony and of the Federation of the West Indies. It has had internal self-government since 1960. In 1995 the Soufrière Hills Volcano, which had not erupted in historical times, began a series of devastating eruptions that destroyed most of S Montserrat, including the capital and the main port. The majority of the population was evacuated, and more than half the island's land area was rendered uninhabitable. Periodic hurricanes can cause extensive damage to the island.

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Montserrat, mountain, Spain

Montserrat or Monserrat (both: mŏn'sərăt`, mŏnt'–, Catalan mŏnsər-rät`, Span. mōnsārät`), mountain, 4,054 ft (1,236 m) high, NE Spain, rising abruptly from a plain in Catalonia, NW of Barcelona. On a narrow terrace, more than halfway up its precipitous cliffs, is a celebrated Benedictine monastery, one of the greatest religious shrines of Spain. Only ruins are left of the old monastery (11th cent.). The present monastery was built in the 18th cent. and restored after being destroyed by French troops in 1812. It has a valuable painting collection, library, and museum. The Renaissance church (16th cent.; largely restored in the 19th and 20th cent.) contains the black wooden image of the Virgin which, according to tradition, was carved by St. Luke, brought to Spain by St. Peter, and hidden in a cave near Montserrat during the Moorish occupation. In the Middle Ages the mountain, also called Monsalvat, was thought to have been the site of the castle of the Holy Grail. At Montserrat, St. Ignatius of Loyola devoted himself to his religious vocation just before the founding of the Society of Jesus.

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Montserrat

Island (pop., 2001 est.: 3,600) and British crown colony, West Indies. Situated in the eastern Caribbean Sea, it occupies an area of 40 sq mi (102 sq km); it is 11 mi (18 km) long and 7 mi (11 km) wide. It was visited and named by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and was colonized by the British and Irish in 1632. France later held it briefly, but from 1783 it remained British. Its colonial economy was based on cotton and sugar plantations that used African slave labour. It was part of the colony of Leeward Islands from 1871 to 1956 and then of the Federation of the West Indies from 1958 to 1962. It was rebuilt after a devastating hurricane in 1989. A major eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1996 led to the evacuation of the southern half of the island and the abandonment of its capital, Plymouth. By 1998 more than two-thirds of its mid-1990s population had left the island.

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Montserrat

1. a volcanic island in the Caribbean, in the Leeward Islands: a UK Overseas Territory: much of the island rendered uninhabitable by volcanic eruptions in 1997. Capital: Plymouth (effectively destroyed by the eruption). Pop.: 4000 (2003 est.). Area: 103 sq. km (40 sq. miles)

2. a mountain in NE Spain, northwest of Barcelona: famous Benedictine monastery. Height: 1235 m (4054 ft.)