Parishes of Montserrat

Buy data    Donate

Updates: 

The Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995. The southern half of the island of Montserrat, including the capital Plymouth, was evacuated in stages. Plymouth was finally abandoned on 1996-04-03. It apparently remains the legal capital of Montserrat. Currently, Brades is the interim capital, the site of the government. The tourist office informs me that the parishes still exist, but Saint Peter is the only one currently inhabited.

International standard ISO 3166-2 was published on December 15, 1998. It superseded ISO/DIS 3166-2 (draft international standard). For Montserrat, the draft standard showed three parishes with their codes. The final standard mentions that there are three parishes, but declines to specify names or codes. It says that these divisions are "not relevant".

Country overview: 

At the beginning of the 20th century, Montserrat was one of five presidencies of the Leeward Islands, a British colony. On 1956-06-30, each presidency became a separate colony. From 1958-01-03 to 1962-05-24, Montserrat was the smallest member (in area) of the Federation of the West Indies.

Other names of country: 

1. French: Montserrat
2. Italian: Montserrat
3. Portuguese: Monserrate
4. Spanish: Montserrat
5. Turkish: Monserat

Origin of name: 

named for a similarly-shaped mountain in northern Spain

Primary subdivisions: 

Montserrat is divided into three parishes.

Territorial extent: 

Montserrat includes the island of Montserrat and a neighboring islet, Little Redonda.