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1. The earliest inhabitants of St Lucia were probably Arawaks from South America who called it Iouanalao, meaning ‘land of the iguanas’. 2. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the island changed hands between the British and the French 14 times.

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3. The French were first to colonise St Lucia and they named it after St Lucy of Syracuse. 4. St Lucia is the only country in the world named after a woman.

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5. The British ruled St Lucia from 1815 to 1979. The Queen is still its head of state. 6. St Lucia has more Nobel prizewinners per head of population than any other country. 7. The island’s two Nobel laureates are Arthur Lewis (1979, Economics) and Derek Walcott (1992, Literature).

GETTY The island paradise