Mustique

Mustique
Private Island

Location of Mustique

Map showing the location of Mustique within the Grenadines
Coordinates: 12°52′N 61°11′W / 12.867°N 61.183°W / 12.867; -61.183Coordinates: 12°52′N 61°11′W / 12.867°N 61.183°W / 12.867; -61.183
Country Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Island chain The Grenadines
Owner The Mustique Company
European Discovery 15th century by Spanish sailors
Area
 • Total 2.2 sq mi (6 km2)
Population
 • Total 500
 • Peak season 1,300
Website Mustique Island

Mustique /mʌˈstiːk/ is a small private island that is part of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The island is one of a group of islands called the Grenadines, most of which are part of St Vincent and the Grenadines, in the West Indies. The island is located within Grenadines Parish, an administrative area of the country.

The island covers 1,400 acres (5.7 km2; 2.2 sq mi) and it has several coral reefs. The land fauna includes tortoises, herons and many other species. Its year-round population of about 500 mostly live in the villages of Lovell, Britannia Bay, and Dover.

The island of Mustique is owned by the Mustique Company, which in turn is owned by the island's home owners. The island has approximately 100 private villas, many of which are rented out through the Mustique Company. In addition there is one hotel called the Cotton House, owned by the Mustique Company, and one privately owned seven-bedroom hotel called Firefly.

Residents and guests

Mustique has, over the years, attracted a number of celebrities such as Farida Khelfa and her husband Henri Seydoux (CEO of Parrot SA), Léa Seydoux who is Henri Seydoux's daughter and an actress, Amy Winehouse,[1] Jeremy Clarkson,[2][3] Sir Paul McCartney.[4][5] Queen Elizabeth II, the head of state of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Prince Philip have made private visits to Mustique in 1966, 1977 and 1985.[6][7] Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who is second-in-line to the Throne of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Duchess of Cambridge vacation in Mustique often.[8][9] On 7 July 2014, Cheryl Cole married Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in a private ceremony after 3 months of dating.[10] The artist Stefan Szczesny regularly works on the island. David Bowie once owned an Indonesian inspired multi pavilion villa on the island which he sold to the publisher Felix Dennis who died in 2014. The home is currently listed for sale for over 14 million pounds.[11][12]

Early history

The history of the island of Mustique, and of the Grenadines in general, dates back to the 15th century, when Spanish sailors first sighted this more or less linear group of small rocky islands and named them "Los Pájaros" or "the birds", because they resembled a small flock of birds scattered across the sea in flight. During the 17th century the islands were renamed the Grenadines by pirates, who used the sheltered bays to hide their ships and treasure. The islands were later used by European planters to grow sugar cane. This lucrative industry lasted until the 19th century, when the extraction of sugar from European-grown sugar beet dramatically lessened the worldwide demand for tropical sugar.

Mustique's sugar plantations were abandoned and eventually swallowed up by scrub, leaving remnants such as the sugar mill at "Endeavor" and its "Cotton House". The Plantation House was built in the 18th century.

Later history

Mustique was purchased in 1958 by Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, under whose guidance the island began to be developed. In 1960, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, accepted as a wedding present his gift of a 10-acre (40,000 m2) plot of land, where she built a residence called Les Jolies Eaux. In 1979, Mustique Island was transformed from a family estate into a private limited company with the homeowners as shareholders.

In 1971, the SS Antilles struck a reef not far off of the island, and sank.[13]

Mustique pictures

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "'Amy saved my life,' friend Alex Foden says Winehouse had £1000-a-day addiction, but spent £130,000 sending HIM to rehab". Mail Online. 26 July 2011.
  2. ↑ "Jeremy Clarkson is on holiday in Mustique, wondering at the lack of cars, when a piece of third-world farm machinery catches his eye". The Sunday Times. 27 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Alex Wynick (6 Feb 2013). "Mystique of Mustique: 10 facts about the island where Kate and Wills are on holiday". Daily Mirror.
  4. ↑ Nick Owens (16 Oct 2011). "Paul McCartney and bride Nancy Shevell honeymoon at Mick Jagger's private island retreat in Mustique". Daily Mirror.
  5. ↑ "Paul McCartney, Nancy Shevell Honeymoon In Mustique". The Huffington Post. 17 October 2011.
  6. ↑ Mark Johanson (23 January 2012). "Mustique Island: Kate Middleton’s Caribbean Retreat". International Business Times.
  7. ↑ Wendy Leigh (7 September 2009). "He's the king of Mustique, the barman who knows the secrets of everyone from Winehouse to Jagger - but now he's going to tell all...". Mail Online.
  8. ↑ Rebecca English (5 February 2013). "Kate's off for a babymoon: Duke and Duchess jet off to £19,000-a-week Caribbean villa on final holiday before baby arrives". Mail Online.
  9. ↑ Tom Sykes (5 February 2013). "Kate Feels Well Enough to Fly ... To Mustique!". The Daily Beast.
  10. ↑ "Cheryl Cole marries Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in shock wedding". Mail Online. 13 July 2014.
  11. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3405811/Bowie-breathtaking-reinvention-Turning-drug-addled-hedonist-financial-wizard-pulling-strings-135m-empire.html
  12. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11467486/Inside-David-Bowies-impossibly-glamorous-holiday-home.html
  13. ↑ Middleton, Ned. "The Antilles, Malta". Simply Scuba. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2014-11-07.

External links

Look up mustique in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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