Which Caribbean island is home to the capital of Saint Lucia, Castries?

Castries, the capital of Saint Lucia, is located on the island of Saint Lucia.

Castries lies on the island’s northwestern coast beside a sheltered harbor. The settlement was founded by the French in 1650 and named after Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries, a French naval minister. Britain and France contested Saint Lucia repeatedly during the colonial period.

A devastating fire in 1948 destroyed much of Castries, after which the city was rebuilt with a more modern street plan. Today it remains Saint Lucia’s main administrative, commercial, and port center.

Castries should not be confused with Kingstown on Saint Vincent or Roseau on Dominica. Saint Lucia became independent from the United Kingdom on 22 February 1979, and Castries continued as its national capital.