On the lookout for Pigeon Island.

• Author: Murphy-Larronde, Suzanne
• Position: !Ojo!

A prime parcel of oceanfront real estate never seems to lose its appeal and forty-acre Pigeon Island, a stone's throw from St. Lucia's northwest coast, is no exception. This Caribbean islet off a Caribbean island has attracted more than a fair amount of attention across the centuries, not only for its verdant, semi-tropical vegetation and marine-rich waters, but for its strategic location punctuated by two lookout peaks. In fact, its historical significance is such that in 1979 it was designated a national park and in 1992, St. Lucia's first and only national landmark.

Amerindians, who made their way up the Caribbean chain from South America around A.D. 1000, were the first to discover the attractions of Pigeon Island, settling into its sheltering caves and foraging for food on land and sea. Next to come along was Francois Leclerc, a.k.a. "Jambe de Bois" or Wooden Leg, a sixteenth-century pirate who was quick to make use of the panoramic views his hilly enclave afforded onto surrounding sea lanes navigated by treasure-filled Spanish galleons.

But historians remember Pigeon Island primarily for its role in the 1782 Battle of the Saints, the last important naval engagement in the ongoing colonial wars between France and England for control of strategic Caribbean outposts. "History says we were seven times British and seven times French," notes park guide Astrid Montoute as she shows a visitor through the compact interpretation center, a restored former officers' mess, where a sprawling diorama depicts the famous encounter.

For months prior to the clash, British Admiral Rodney kept a close watch on the Comte de Grasse's fleet at nearby Martinique from atop his Pigeon Island observation post, and when the French sailed forth to join Spanish forces for an attack on British-held Jamaica, Rodney and his forces took to their ships...