On 18 July 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano in the southern end of the island became active and its eruptions destroyed Plymouth, Montserrat's Georgian era capital city situated on the west coast.

Visitors are generally not permitted to enter the exclusion zone, but a view of destroyed Plymouth can be seen from the top of Garibaldi Hill in Isles Bay.

[12][13] In 2015, it was announced that planning would begin on a new town and port at Little Bay on the northwest coast of the island, and the centre of government and businesses was moved temporarily to Brades.

[28] The Anglo-Irish colonists began to transport both Sub-Saharan African slaves and Irish indentured servants for labour, as was common to most Caribbean islands.

[33][30][27] During the nineteenth century, falling sugar prices had an adverse effect on the island's economy, as Brazil and other nations competed in the trade.

[36] In 1857, the British philanthropist Joseph Sturge bought a sugar estate to prove that it was economically viable to employ paid labour rather than use slaves.

[41] The period 1978 to 1991 was dominated politically by Chief Minister John Osborne and his People's Liberation Movement A brief flirtation with possibly declaring independence never materialised.

[42] Corruption allegations within the PLM party resulted in the collapse of the Osborne government in 1991, with Reuben Meade becoming the new chief minister,[43] and early elections were called.

[43] In 1995–1999, Montserrat was devastated by catastrophic volcanic eruptions in the Soufrière Hills, which destroyed the capital city of Plymouth, and necessitated the evacuation of a large part of the island.

The eruptions rendered the entire southern half of the island uninhabitable, and it is currently designated an Exclusion Zone with restricted access.

Criticism of the Montserratian government's response to the disaster led to the resignation of Chief Minister Bertrand Osborne in 1997 after only a year in office.

In October 2023, the destroyer HMS Dauntless (which had temporarily replaced Medway on her Caribbean tasking), visited the territory in order to assist local authorities in preparing for the climax of the hurricane season.

Raised in 1899, the unit is today a reduced force of about forty volunteer soldiers, primarily concerned with civil defence and ceremonial duties.

The island is served by landline telephones, fully digitalised, with 3000 subscribers and by mobile cellular, with an estimated number of 5000 handsets in use.

Montserrat comprises 104 km2 (40 sq mi) and is gradually increasing owing to the buildup of volcanic deposits on the southeast coast.

The island is 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide and consists of a mountainous interior surrounded by a flatter littoral region, with rock cliffs rising 15 to 30 m (49 to 98 ft) above the sea and a number of smooth bottomed sandy beaches scattered among coves on the western (Caribbean Sea) side of the island.

This pyroclastic surge could not be restrained by the ghaut (a steep revine leading to the sea) and spilled out of it, killing 19 people who were in the (officially evacuated) Streatham village area.

In recognition of the disaster, in 1998, the people of Montserrat were granted full residency rights in the United Kingdom, allowing them to migrate if they chose.

In the most recent period of increased activity at the Soufrière Hills volcano, from November 2009 through February 2010, ash vented and there was a vulcanian explosion that sent pyroclastic flows down several sides of the mountain.

Montserrat's economy was devastated by the 1995 eruption and its aftermath;[30] currently the island's operating budget is largely supplied by the British government and administered through the Department for International Development (DFID) amounting to approximately £25 million per year.

[citation needed] Additional amounts are secured through income and property taxes, licence and other fees as well as customs duties levied on imported goods.

), consisting primarily of electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, limes, live plants and cattle.

"[93] African slaves and Irish indentured servants of all classes were in constant contact, with sexual relationships being common and a population of mixed descent appearing as a consequence.

"[98] A letter by W. F. Butler in The Atheneum (15 July 1905) quotes an account by a Cork civil servant, C. Cremen, of what he had heard from a retired sailor called John O'Donovan, a fluent Irish speaker: He frequently told me that in the year 1852, when mate of the brig Kaloolah, he went ashore on the island of Montserrat which was then out of the usual track of shipping.

He said he was much surprised to hear the negroes actually talking Irish among themselves, and that he joined in the conversation...[96]The British phonetician John C. Wells conducted research into speech in Montserrat in 1977–78 (which included also Montserratians resident in London).

[99] In 2001, the CIA estimated the primary religion as Protestant (67.1%, including Anglican 21.8%, Methodist 17%, Pentecostal 14.1%, Seventh-day Adventist 10.5%, and Church of God 3.7%), with Catholics constituting 11.6%, Rastafarian 1.4%, other 6.5%, none 2.6%, unspecified 10.8%.

Other musicians and bands who recorded there included Dire Straits, Elton John, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Jimmy Buffet, Michael Jackson, the Police, the Rolling Stones, and Rush.

The first event, Music for Montserrat, was held at London's Royal Albert Hall in September 1997, and featured many artists who had previously recorded on the island including Paul McCartney, Mark Knopfler, Elton John, Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, and Midge Ure.

[119][120] The league contains six teams, which are the Look-Out Shooters, Davy Hill Ras Valley, Cudjoe Head Renegades, St. Peters Hilltop, Salem Jammers and MSS School Warriors.

[125] Montserrat has its own FIFA affiliated football team, and has competed in the World Cup qualifiers five times but failed to advance to the finals from 2002 to 2018.