Misplaced Pages

Old Providence Island Isla de ProvidenciaOld Providence
Satellite view of Providencia
Seal
Coordinates: 13°20′56″N 81°22′29″W / 13.34889°N 81.37472°W / 13.34889; -81.37472
Country	Colombia
Department	San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina
Area
• Total	17.0 km (6.6 sq mi)
Elevation	360 m (1,180 ft)
Population
• Total	5,011
• Density	290/km (760/sq mi)
	Estimate
Time zone	Colombia Time (COT)
• Summer (DST)	none
Languages	San Andrés–Providencia Creole, Spanish

Isla de Providencia, historically Old Providence, and generally known as Providencia or Providence, is a mountainous Caribbean island that is part of the Colombian department of Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, or The Raizal Islands, and the municipality of Providencia and Santa Catalina Islands, lying midway between Costa Rica and Jamaica.

Providencia's maximum elevation is 360 metres (1,180 ft) above sea level. The smaller Santa Catalina Island to the northwest is connected by a 100-metre (330 ft) footbridge to its larger sister Providencia Island. Providencia Island has an area of 17 square kilometres (6.6 sq mi); the two islands cover an area of 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi) and form the municipality of Santa Isabel, which had a population of 4,927 at the Census of 2005. The island is served by El Embrujo Airport, which the Colombian Government plans to expand in order to take international flights.

The island was the site of an English Puritan colony established in 1629 by the Providence Island Company, and was taken by Spain in 1641. Forts and cannons dating back hundreds of years can be found scattered all over Santa Catalina Island.

In November 2020, Hurricane Iota directly impacted the island. An estimated 98% of all infrastructure was destroyed from the impact, making it one of the worst and strongest tropical cyclones to impact Colombia.

Early times of the colony

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The colony was hampered by poor planning, internal strife (seen in conflict among leadership) and economic woes. It was founded, in part, to create a profitable and Godly Puritan base. It was expected to be more profitable and successful than the Massachusetts Bay Colony that was founded in 1630. The colony is known for its involvement in the trade of slaves and was the beginning of the English use of Africans as life-long slaves instead of indentured servants.

Some of the more famous residents were the governors Nathaniel Butler and Philip Bell, Bell's father-in-law Daniel Elfrith, and William Rous. Philip Bell was the first governor and was replaced by Robert Hunt, due to conflict with another colonist. Nathaniel Butler later replaced Hunt. Many of these men had already had experience with England's colonizing and economic expeditions with the Virginia Company and the Somers Isles (Bermuda) Company.

It is possible to infer what life was like on the island based on the accounts of slaves. They reported that some of the Englishmen who wanted to leave said "this place is no way to live" as a complaint against eating turtles all the time. Life included church services, trade with English ships, and hopes for corsair raids against the Spanish. Tobacco was grown on the island by the African and Native American slaves. The island's freshwater streams and surrounding waters provided fish and turtles as additional food sources. They sometimes brought back Miskito Indians from their expeditions to the mainland of present day Nicaragua.

The principal trading port had several small forts around the harbor and at the bay's entrance. There were about fourteen forts in all.

Privateering

Due to the economic difficulties the colonists faced, some turned to privateering to make money. This is surprising to many because it seems in conflict with Puritan values. Though England and Spain were not at war, the desire to protect the respective countries' interests in the West Indies only increased tensions between the two nations. While Nathaniel Butler was governor, much of his time was spent looking after the needs of privateers. He was hoping to revitalize the colony's hurting economy, which in turn would improve the morale and hopes of the disgruntled colonists. In addition, he was worried that the English and Dutch activity in a heavily Spanish-controlled area would attract unwanted attention.

The island's focus turned to defense and by 1638 the colony expected a Spanish attack within a year. Several men were sent on privateering expeditions themselves and a council of war was created. This is one major difference between the Providence Island colony and other English colonies; as Karen Kupperman observes, in the New England colonies, "success was accompanied by lodging such issues firmly under civilian control. In the threatening world of the western Caribbean, such amateurism was not seen as possible." However, the privateering expeditions proved unsuccessful due to inexperience and lack of general sailing or West Indies knowledge.

The privateer Henry Morgan used Providencia as a base for raiding Panama, and rumors suggest that much of his treasure remains hidden on the island. Many parts of the island are named after Morgan.

People

Although the island is part of Colombia, the 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants are reported to feel more Caribbean than Colombian, with many Rastafari. The inhabitants mostly speak English or San Andrés–Providencia Creole, an English-based creole similar to Belize Kriol and Jamaican Patwa, rather than the Spanish of Colombia, as well as Provisle, an indigenous sign language. So far, they have tried to preserve their heritage.

As of 2015, the island was not seriously affected by the drug trafficking of Colombia, but many islanders were recruited to work for traffickers due to their seafaring skills and knowledge of the waters of the area and to the scarcity of other employment opportunities on the island. It was estimated that about 800 young men out of the island's small population were in prisons abroad, or had disappeared.

Environment

The 995-hectare national park Old Providence McBean Lagoon is located on the island's northeast side, between Maracaibo and Rocky Point. This National Park consists of coral reefs, small cays, mangroves, lagoons and tropical dry forest. The National Park has a visitor centre on Crab cay, from where there are views towards the barrier reef and the surrounding waters.

A local population of black land crabs is noteworthy for its breeding migration, which occurs every April/May. These crabs live in the hills of the island and descend en-masse to the sea once a year to lay their eggs.

Providencia is the centre point of the UNESCO Marine Protected Area the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, which forms 10% of the entire Caribbean Sea. This ecologically important reserve contains some of the world's greatest marine biodiversity, and incorporates the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, in addition to the remote uninhabited cays at Roncador Bank, Serrana Bank, as well as distant reefs that include Quita Sueño Bank, Rosalind Bank and Alice Shoal.

Scuba diving

Most of the waters are in protected areas of the UNESCO Seaflower Biosphere Reserve and are warm, calm and clear most of the year, making them a popular scuba destination. The area is part of the world's third largest barrier reef.

Climate

References

1. Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (27 October 2012). "Providencia, el paraíso en 17 kilómetros cuadrados". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 November 2019.
2. A Report on the English-Based Creole of San Andres and Providence Islands, Colombia, Ken Decker and Andy Keener, SIL International, 2001. The section on Linguistics discusses Islander Creole in detail and finds it sufficiently similar to Belize Kriol and Jamaican Patwa that islanders can understand speech in the other dialects
3. ^ Taylor, Luke (29 July 2023). "A tiny island fears for its way of life as outside world encroaches: 'They wanna do away with us'". The Observer. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
4. BBC World Service:The island where men are disappearing, 12 October 2015
5. "Why land crabs in Colombia get military protection". BBC News. 17 June 2010.
6. Wormald, Sarah (26 October 2023). "4 Must-Dive Areas in Colombia". blog.padi.com. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
7. "Promedios Climatológicos 1981–2010" (in Spanish). Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2024.

Further reading

• "The Geology Of Providencia". Retrieved 12 May 2006.
• Kupperman, Karen Ordahl (1993). Providence Island, 1630-1641 : The Other Puritan Colony. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-35205-3.
• Wheat, David (2009). "A Spanish Caribbean Captivity Narrative: African Sailors and Puritan Slavers, 1635." Afro-Latino Voices: Narratives from the Early Modern Ibero-Atlantic World, 1550-1812. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. ISBN 978-0-87220-993-0.
• "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Privateering and Piracy".
• Joe Parkin Daniels (2017). "New film shines light on tiny Colombian island where English is the mother tongue". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
• Feiling, Tom (2017). The Island That Disappeared : Old Providence and the Making of the Western World. London: Explore Books. ISBN 9781911184041.

External links

• Providencia Island travel guide
• (in Spanish) Providencia y Santa Catalina islas Official Tourism Promotion Office in Colombia (Proexport)
• (in Spanish) La Divina Providencia y Santa Catalina Islas - Local government tourism website
• (in Spanish) Providencia Es Pasion - Tourism website

v t e Treasures of Colombia
Archaeological sites Colombia magia salvaje National monuments National parks World Heritage sites
Heritage of humanity Bolívar Cartagena Mompox
National heritage Antioquia Puente de Occidente Atlántico Complejo Cultural de la Antigua Aduana Boyacá Estación de Chiquinquirá Tunja Vargas Swamp Lancers Villa de Leyva Caldas Palacio de la Gobernación de Caldas Salamina Cauca Popayán Tierradentro Cundinamarca Plaza Bolívar Casa de Moneda de Colombia Estación de la Sabana Museo del Oro Museo Nacional San Francisco Church San Francisco Palace Santa Clara Church and Museum Santamaría Bullring Teatro Colón Huila San Agustín Quindío Parque del Café Santander San Juan de Girón Valle del Cauca San Francisco Church
Architectural, artistic and archaeological treasures Antioquia Botero Collection Haciendas cafeteras Boyacá Ráquira Caldas Haciendas cafeteras Manizales Cathedral Cundinamarca Haciendas cafeteras Monserrate Sanctuary Quinta de Bolívar Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá Magdalena Ciudad Perdida Haciendas cafeteras Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino Nariño Las Lajas Shrine Norte de Santander Haciendas cafeteras Quindío Haciendas cafeteras Risaralda Haciendas cafeteras Santander Barichara Haciendas cafeteras Tolima Haciendas cafeteras Valle del Cauca La Ermita Church Hacienda El Paraíso Haciendas cafeteras
National natural parks and treasures Amazonas Amacayacu Amazon River Angostura del Caquetá Araracuara Canyon La Chorrera Putumayo River Raudal de Jirijirimo Antioquia Los Katíos Piedra del Peñol Arauca Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Bolívar Rosario Islands Boyacá Lake Iguaque Páramo de Ocetá Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Siscuinsí Lake Lake Tota Caldas Los Nevados Caquetá Angostura del Caquetá Araracuara Canyon Caño Paujil Chiribiquete Claro River Mirití River Casanare Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Cauca Gorgona Island Lagunas de la Magdalena y de Santiago Nevado del Huila Puracé Volcano Cesar Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Chocó Cabo Marzo Ensenada de Utría Los Katíos Cundinamarca Chingaza Lake Guatavita Rocas de Suesca Guainía Atabapo River Cerros de Mavecure La Guajira Alta Guajira Cabo de la Vela Los Flamencos Sanctuary Salinas de Manaure Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Guaviare Cerro Pintado Chiribiquete Ciudades de Piedra Inírida River Raudales Huila Claro River Estrecho del Magdalena Lagunas de la Magdalena y de Santiago Nevado del Huila Tatacoa Desert Magdalena Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Meta Caño Cristales Chingaza Nariño Cumbal Volcano Galeras Volcano Laguna de la Cocha Laguna Verde del Azufral Putumayo River Sanquianga Norte de Santander Los Estoraques Putumayo Cascada del Indio La Paya Putumayo River Quindío Cocora Valley Los Nevados Risaralda Los Nevados San Andrés y Providencia Providencia Island Santander Chicamocha Canyon El Gallineral Tolima Cerro Bravo Nevado del Huila Los Nevados Valle del Cauca Farallones de Cali Malpelo Island Vaupés Apaporis River Tunnel Raudal de Jirijirimo Raudal de Yuruparí Vichada El Tuparro
Source: Wills, Fernando; et al. (2001). Nuestro patrimonio – 100 tesoros de Colombia [Our heritage – 100 treasures of Colombia] (in Spanish). El Tiempo. pp. 1–311. ISBN 958-8089-16-6.

v t e Recreational dive sites in Colombia
Caribbean coast	Capurganá Rosario Islands San Bernardo Islands Múcura Tintipán Sapzurro Taganga Tayrona
Caribbean insular	Providencia San Andrés
Pacific	Gorgona Malpelo Nuquí
Andean	Lake Tota
Biodiversity Natural regions Protected areas

v t e Volcanoes of Colombia
Western Ranges	Azufral Cerro Negro de Mayasquer Chiles Cumbal
Central Ranges	Alto Mellizos Las Ánimas Bordoncillo Cerro Bravo Cerro Machín Doña Juana El Escondido Galeras Morasurco Nevado El Cisne Nevado del Huila Nevado del Quindío Nevado del Ruiz Armero tragedy Nevado de Santa Isabel Nevado del Tolima Patascoy Petacas Puracé Romeral San Diego Sotará
Eastern Ranges	Paipa-Iza volcanic complex
Other	Providencia El Totumo (mud volcano)
Source	• "Observatorios Vulcanológicos". Servicio Geológico de Colombia.
Category • Images

• Colombia
• Caribbean
• Islands

• Providencia Island, Colombia
• Underwater diving sites in the Caribbean
• Underwater diving sites in Colombia