Colonized by
English settlers from
Saint Kitts in 1650,
Anguilla was administered by
Great Britain until the early 19th
century, when the island - against the wishes of the inhabitants - was
incorporated into a single British dependency along with Saint Kitts
and
Nevis. Several attempts at separation failed. In 1971, two years
after a revolt, Anguilla was finally allowed to secede; this
arrangement was formally recognized in 1980 with Anguilla becoming a
separate British dependency.