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Saint Lucia (French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean.


The island was formerly called Iyonola, the name was given to the island by the native Amerindians and later,Hewanorra the name given by the native Caribs.


Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238 square miles) and reported a population of 165,595 in the 2010 census. Its capital is Castries.


The island was ruled by the French and British seven (7) times each. The French were the first set of people to settle on the island.


From 1958 to 1962 the island was a member of the West Indies Federation.


On 22 February 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.