MUSTIQUE - GRENADINES OF ST.VINCENT

Mustique  is a small private island which is one of the Grenadines, a chain of islands in the West Indies, and like most of these it is administratively part of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The island is located within Grenadines Parish, and the closest island is the uninhabited Petite Mustique, located one mile to the south. Ferry service is provided to the island from St. Vincent on the M/V Endeavour. The island covers 1,400 acres (5.7 km²; 2.2 sq mi) and has several coral reefs. The land fauna includes tortoises, herons, iguanas and many other species. Its year-round population of about 500 mostly live in the villages of Lovell, Britannia Bay and Dover. The population rises to 1,200 in peak season. 

The island is owned by the Mustique Company, a private limited company which is in turn owned by the island's home owners. The island has around a hundred private villas, many of which are let through the Mustique Company. There are two hotels: The Cotton House (with twenty rooms) and Beach Café is owned by the Mustique Company, and the seven-room, privately owned guest house, Firefly, has a restaurant and a bar. A separate restaurant, the Veranda, is also in operation.

The Islands were originally inhabited by people who probably arrived from South America around 2500 BC, subsequently by the Arawaks from 250 BC to 1000 AD, and later by the Caribs, whose simple tools can still be found. They were ousted by European planters in the 1740s, who found they could grow sugar there in abundance, using slaves imported from Africa. Because Europe's only sources of sugar at that time were limited quantities from the Canaries and Cyprus, the West Indies became economically significant. The Grenadines passed from France to the British in 1763; farmers Alexander Campbell and John Aitcheson bought the island of Mustique that year. The British built three forts. Cotton and sugar continued to be grown until 1834.

The name Mustique comes from the French moustique, "mosquito". The sugar industry lasted until the 19th century, when the cultivation of European-grown sugar beet dramatically reduced the demand for tropical sugar. Mustique's seven 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. The island was mostly abandoned in the 1800s  but in 1835 (after the abolition of slavery), two plantations were reopened after ownership of the island passed to the Hazell family. They grew crops and raised sheep and goats on two plantations; they maintained a school for the island locals. In 1865 the two were merged into one estate by the family.

Mustique was purchased from the Hazell family in 1958 for £45,000 by The Hon. Colin Tennant, who became The 3rd Baron Glenconner in 1983. He initially planned to start farming, "sea island cotton, beef and mutton" but then decided to develop the island into a hideaway for the wealthy, after forming The Mustique Company in 1968. By that time, cotton production was failing. Significant improvements would be made over the subsequent years. According to a 2018 report, "since the 1960s, Mustique has been an exclusive sanctuary for royalty, rockstars, celebrities and heads of industry to relax in anonymity". When The Mustique Company was formed in 1968, its new manager Hugo Money-Coutts obtained import and other tax free status in return for an annual fee. Building and sales of the villas started soon afterwards.

The airport began operation in 1969. In that year, several new villas were built, and the Cotton House opened as a hotel. In the following years, roads were built (although golf carts and ATVs are the only powered mode of transport), electricity and communications became reliable, a desalination plant was built to provide potable water, and a medical clinic was opened. The costs of running the island school and medical facility are supported by an educational and medical trust. One report states that "since 1968, more than $100 million has been invested in Mustique". In 1971, the SS Antilles, referred to locally as the Antilles packboat, struck a reef not far off of the island and sank.

The cover posted on May 26, 2016 and I received on June 21, 2016.