MONTSERRAT  , an

island in the British West Indies, one of the five pxesidencies in. the colony of the Leeward Islands . Pop., mostly negroes (1901), 12,215 . It lies 27 M . S.W. of Antigua, in 16° 45' N. and 62° 7' W.; is 11 m. long and 7 M. broad, and has a total area of 322 sq. m . The island is a cluster of rugged volcanic peaks rising from the Caribbean Sea, their summits clothed with forests; the still active Soufriere (3000 ft.) in the south being the highest point . The average temperature is 81° F., the hottest weather being usually tempered by cool sea breezes; the rainfall averages 94 in. per annum . There is a plentiful supply of water, and the roads are macadamized and well drained . The principal products are sugar and raw and concentrated lime-juice . Minerals are also found . Montserrat has a local legislature of six members, nominated by the Crown, and sends representatives to the general legislative council of the colony . Education is compulsory, and the majority of the schools are managed by the Church of England, to which most of the islanders belong; but the Wesleyans and the Roman Catholics also support schools . Plymouth (pop .

1461), the

chief town, stands on an open roadstead on the south-west coast . The island was discovered by Columbus in 1493, who named it after Monserrado, a mountain in Spain . It was colonized by the British under Sir Thomas Warner in 1632, and was taken by the French in 1664 . Restored to the British in 1668, it capitulated to the French in 1782, but was again restored in 1784 .