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St Lucia

FIRST STAMPS Britain 1858-60 (oblit. A11 at Castries).
FIRST STAMPS ISSUED 18 December 1860.

CURRENCY
1860, sterling.
1949, 100 cents = 1 West Indian dollar.

Discovered by Columbus in 1502, this island was long disputed by Britain and France. It changed hands 16 times between 1605 and 1803, but was finally ceded to the occupying British in 1814.

Branch of the British GPO was established at Castries in 1844 and handstruck marks were introduced. St Lucia joined the UPU in 1881. Because of the long connection with France, the French Ligne C visited St Lucia between 1865 and 1887. From the 1880s an internal post operated with individual villages having index letters in the postmarks. Some of these were used up to the reign of King George V.

The island became a member of the British Caribbean Federation 1956-62, an associated state on 1 March 1967 and independent within the Commonwealth on 22 February 1979.