Anguilla << ang GWIHL uh >> is a coral island in the Caribbean Sea. It is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Anguilla covers an area of about 35 square miles (91 square kilometers) and has a population of about 18,000. It has a dry, hot climate and is covered by low-lying plant life. Tourism has replaced fishing and salt processing as Anguilla’s major industry. A community called The Valley is the island’s capital.
Christopher Columbus may have sighted the island in 1493 during his second voyage to the New World. Explorers named the island Anguilla (Latin for eel) because of its long, narrow shape. It became a colony of England in 1650. In 1883, the United Kingdom made Anguilla and the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis a single colony. The three islands became an associated state of the United Kingdom in 1967. But most Anguillans favored separation from St. Kitts and Nevis. In 1980, Anguilla officially became a separate British dependency (see Caribbean Islands (History) ).
In 2017, Hurricane Irma destroyed much of Anguilla, killing one person and causing nearly $200 million in property damage.
