Next up on our tour of the nations of the world is Anguilla, a British territory in the Caribbean Sea.
Anguilla Basics
Anguilla is mostly made up of one island that is about 16 miles long by 3 miles wide (or 26 by 5 kilometers) and several smaller islands that house no permanent population.
The island is the northernmost island in the Leeward Islands, which are part of the Lesser Antilles. It’s north of St. Martin and east of Puerto Rico.
The total territory of the island is 35 square miles (91 square kilometers) and it has about 15,000 people.
The capital of Anguilla and its largest city is The Valley, which has around 3,000 people living in it.
More than 90 percent of Anguillans are Black, and most of them are descendants of enslaved people who were brought to the Caribbean.
National Symbols
Anguilla is a British overseas territory so its flag incorporates the British flag as well as the coat of arms of the country, which is shield shaped and features three dolphins swimming in a circle (definitely the best coat of arms I’ve seen so far).
The dolphins are orange to represent “endurance, unity and strength” according to the government’s website about the flag, while the circle represents continuity. They are on a background that’s white (for peace and tranquillity) and blue (for the sea as well as “faith, youth and hope”).
“God Save the King” is the anthem of the nation (again, British), but they also have a national song called “God Bless Anguilla,” which you can listen to below:
It’s not exactly a national symbol, but the name Anguilla comes from the Italian word for eel and references the island’s shape. It’s said that Christopher Columbus named the island.
According to Uncommon Caribbean, the national bird is the scarlet ibis, the national flower is the white cedar and the national animal is the ground lizard. The national dish is peas and rice and fish, which we’ll get back to below.
Anguilla Activities for Kids
Learn more about the national animals and flowers at the links above, or do your own research about these beautiful flora and fauna.
Activity Village has printables its members can download that include a flag coloring page, bookmarks, a page for writing what you’ve learned about Anguilla and a flag puzzle.
Learn more about Wallblake House, a plantation house built in 1787 and believed to be the oldest structure on the island. Or learn about the indigenous people of Anguilla as you virtually explore Fountain Cavern, a place of great spiritual significance to the Amerindians who lived on the island before colonizers came.
Listen to some reggae music (Bankie Banx is a popular artist from Anguilla) while you make peas and rice with this recipe from Jirie Caribbean. (Fish is optional but delicious.)
Books about Anguilla for Kids
I’m finding many of the same series of books about Anguilla as I have found for other countries we’ve visited, so if you know of other resources, let me know and I’ll add them!
