Why it's the capital
French settlers built a fort here in 1650 beside the deep harbour. In 1769 the governor moved the capital to the south side of the harbour, and the town grew into Saint Lucia's main sea port and its seat of government.
Castries
Capital of Saint LuciaCastries surrounds a deep, sheltered harbour on the Caribbean Sea side of Saint Lucia, in the north of the island. Much of the city is built on a flood plain and on reclaimed land.
Fun facts
- It was first called Carénage, French for 'safe anchorage', and was later renamed after the Marquis de Castries, a French Minister of the Navy and Colonies.
- Two Nobel Prize winners were born in Castries: the economist Arthur Lewis, who won in 1979, and the poet Derek Walcott, who won in 1992. A square in the city is named after Walcott.
- The city has been rebuilt many times after big fires, in 1805, in 1813 and, worst of all, on 19 June 1948.
Finding it on the globe
Saint Lucia lies between Martinique to the north and Saint Vincent to the south. Castries is on its north-west coast, facing the Caribbean Sea.
Sources: Wikipedia: Castries, Wikipedia: Saint Lucia, Wikipedia: Geography of Saint Lucia