colony · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean
Leeward Islands colony
Origins
In 1671 the crown separated the Leeward Caribee Islands from Barbados and gave them their own governor-in-chief, first Sir Charles Wheler and then Sir William Stapleton. The group comprised Antigua, Saint Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat, later joined by Barbuda, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. A general legislature met occasionally from the 1680s.
Rule and society
Each island kept its own assembly and lieutenant governor, while the governor-in-chief, usually based at St John's on Antigua, handled defence and relations with London. Between 1816 and 1833 the islands were split into two governments. In 1871 they became a formal federal colony with a single legislature, which included Dominica until 1940. Their economies rested on sugar, and later on cotton and small farming.
Decline and legacy
The federal colony was dissolved in 1956, and its members joined the West Indies Federation in 1958, though the shared governorship lingered briefly. Its former members became Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the territories of Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (8)
- Leeward Islands colony was a colony of British Empire1671 CE – 1958 CE
- Colony of Saint Christopher was part of Leeward Islands colony1671 CE – 1882 CE
- Colony of Nevis was part of Leeward Islands colony1671 CE – 1882 CE
- Colony of Antigua was part of Leeward Islands colony1671 CE – 1956 CE
- Montserrat was part of Leeward Islands colony1671 CE – 1956 CE
- British Virgin Islands was part of Leeward Islands colony1672 CE – 1956 CE
- Colony of Dominica was part of Leeward Islands colony1833 CE – 1940 CE
- Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla was part of Leeward Islands colony1882 CE – 1956 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Leeward Islands colony. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/leeward-islands-colony
- MLA
- “Leeward Islands colony.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/leeward-islands-colony. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Leeward Islands colony.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/leeward-islands-colony.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Leeward Islands colony’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/leeward-islands-colony (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻