Soufrière is a town on the West Coast of Saint Lucia, in the eastern

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. The town and the surrounding district has a population of 7,935. It was colonized by the French and was the original capital of the island.

History

French colonizers built large estates in Soufrière, and their descendants still live in the area. The

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

of 1789 resulted in many Royalists being executed and the enslaved Africans were released from enslavement. However, Napoleon reintroduced slavery when he came to power. The British invaded St Lucia shortly afterwards, but the enslaved Africans and French deserters fought them in a guerrilla campaign until 1803 when they were defeated and St Lucia became a British colony. Also, during that time, Castries became the capital of St Lucia. Over the years, Soufrière has had to deal with hurricanes in 1780, 1817, 1831, 1898 and 1980, a major fire in 1955 and an earthquake in 1991. Many of these events have resulted in the town being rebuilt. Soufrière inhabitants have included the future Empress of France

Joséphine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Count ...

(who spent much of her childhood in the area), and George Charles (the first Premier of St Lucia). When

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

visited St Lucia in 1966, she landed at Soufrière rather than Castries. Today, Soufrière is more dependent on tourism rather than agriculture. The Pitons are just south of the town and there are several attractions in the area. Many of the old estates are still there such as Soufrière Estate, Fond Doux Estate and Rabot Estate.

Tourism

* The Pitons – Gros Piton and Petit Piton are two giant volcanic plugs located south of Soufrière and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. *

Sulphur Springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...

– Soufrière is located within the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

of the dormant Qualibou volcano and the area is geothermally active. It is marketed as a drive-through volcano, and there are numerous hot springs and

fumaroles A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

. *

Soufrière Estate Soufrière Estate (jointly controlled with Diamond Estate), located on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, was originally established in 1713 as a estate granted to three Devaux brothers for services to King Louis XIV of France. Later on, miner ...

– also known as Diamond Estate, this is an old colonial estate that is home to a botanical garden, sulphur baths and Diamond Falls. * Fond Doux Estate – a working plantation where cacao is still processed. * St Lucia's Rainforest – there are several rainforest trails in the area with views, wildlife and waterfalls such as the Enbas Saut Falls. * Anse Chastanet – a resort with a beach and several trails along the coast. *Volga Nature Trail - a hiking trail with views of both pitons up close with views of Sugar beach.

In popular culture

Soufrière was the filming location for most of the 1985 film ''

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

'', set on the fictional British colony of Cascara.

Image gallery of the town of Soufrière

Image:Day248bdriveq.JPG, Soufrière Image:PitonValley.JPG, Piton Valley, part of the

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

near Soufrière Image:Malgretout_Beach,_Saint_Lucia.jpg, Malgretoute Beach, looking north towards Soufrière Image:Catholic Church Soufriere Saint Lucia.jpg, Catholic Church and Central square, Soufrière, April 2007 Image:The Pitons at Soufriere Saint Lucia.jpg, The Pitons at Soufrière Image:Soufriere6.jpg, Soufriere Image:Bays of Saint Lucia.jpg, Soufrière Bay Image:Soufrerie_rimlight.jpg, Soufrière at night

Notable people

* Emma Hippolyte, politician and government minister * Yasmin K. (born 1986), pop singer

Notes

External links

360degree Panorama, Soufriere Bay, St. Lucia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soufriere, Saint Lucia Populated coastal places in Saint Lucia Towns in Saint Lucia