The shipwreck was "shown" to the mainland, Saint Lucia.

States mostly owe their names to tribes, ethnic groups, but also to some characteristics of the country, geographical position ...

Only about 25 countries were named after an important person, and on that short list there is only one country that owes its name to a woman - a saint!

Saint Lucia, sometimes called Santa Lucia, is a small island nation in the Caribbean, in Central America. It is located on the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of ​​617 km2 and is home to just over 165,000 inhabitants.

It was a British colony, and gained independence on February 22, 1979. Today she is a member of the British Commonwealth and Francophonie.

This country was named after a Roman Catholic saint - Saint Lucia of Syracuse, and there is an interesting legend about how it came about. Namely, before the arrival of the Europeans, the local tribes that inhabited the island called their country Jouanalao.

And then came the Europeans - the French. According to tradition, that happened on December 13, when, according to the Gregorian calendar, the feast of St. Lucia is celebrated.

Namely, it was about shipwrecked people floating in the ocean with no hope of salvation when, on December 13, 1502, they finally saw the land. They attributed their rescue from the clutches of certain death in the depths of the sea to the saint and named the land on which they landed after her.

The island first fell under French rule, but the British soon arrived. The two countries have clashed over Santa Lucia as many as 14 times. The British finally prevailed in 1814 and held the island under their rule for the next 165 years.

However, the name remained, and in the meantime, December 13 was turned into the most important national holiday on the island, and that is how it is still celebrated today.