The History of Anguilla reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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History of Anguilla

Helping orphans the way you would do it
This is the history of Anguilla. See also the history of the Caribbean, history of the Americas, and history of present-day nations and states.

Colonized by English settlers from Saint Kitts in 1650, the island of Anguilla was administered by Great Britain until the early 19th century, when the island - against the wishes of the inhabitants - was incorporated into a single British dependency along with Saint Kitts and Nevis. Several attempts at separation failed, including a referendum on 11 July 1967 with 1813 votes for secession and 5 against. In 1971, two years after a revolt which prompted a British military intervention, Anguilla was finally allowed to secede from Saint Kitts and Nevis; this arrangement was formally recognized in 1980 with Anguilla becoming a separate British dependency, which it remains.