British Leeward Islands
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The British Leeward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960, and consisting of Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and (to 1940) Dominica.
The previous colony of the Leeward Islands had existed since 1671, but in 1816 it was divided in two with: Antigua, Barbuda and Montserrat in one colony and Saint Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, and the Virgin Islands in another.
The colony was known as the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands from 1871 to 1956 and the Territory of the Leeward Islands from 1956 to 1960.
The "Leeward Islands" is still the title of one of the Caribbean First-class cricket sides.
[edit] Postage stamps
The British Leeward Islands - Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Christopher (St. Kitts), and the Virgin Islands all used postage stamps inscribed "LEEWARD ISLANDS" between 1890 and 1 July 1956, often concurrently with stamps inscribed with the colony's name.
The issue of 1890 was a key plate design with the usual profile of Queen Victoria, eight values ranging from 1/2d to 5 shillings. In 1897 they were overprinted with a logo commemorating Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, and in 1902 the 4, 6, and 7d were surcharged with a value of 1d.
The 1890 issue design was also used for stamps of King Edward VII, as well as for King George V and George VI, with several changes of watermark and colors. In 1928 a large one-pound stamp was introduced, and updated for the new monarch when George VI took the throne.
The common design commemorative stamps of the Commonwealth between 1946 and 1949 included stamps inscribed "LEEWARD ISLANDS". In 1951 the West Indies University issue reflected the changeover to cents and dollars, as did the Queen Elizabeth II definitive series of 1954.
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources and references
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- WorldStatesmen- see each present country
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