Historical Sketch

Christopher Columbus discovered the island for the Europeans in 1493 and named it Isla de Santa Maria de Montserrat (after a monastery near Barcelona). In 1632, it came under British rule, always subordinate to neighboring Antigua until it became a separate dependency in 1956. Unlike the other Caribbean islands under British rule, Montserrat did not seek independence after the disintegration of the West Indian Federation in 1962. A volcanic eruption in 1995 made the southern part of the island, including the capital, uninhabitable and forced more than half of the population to leave the island.

Monetary History Overview

The Caribbean had always been an important station on the trade routes between the Spanish American possessions and Europe. Thus, Spanish trade coins got introduced and dominated the payment transactions, predominantly the so-called "Spanish Dollar", the eight Reals in silver. The isolation of the islands brought scarcity of specie and thus caused an overvaluation of the trade coins compared with the European markets. In the English possessions, various "accounting Shillings" emerged which were determined by the local valuation of the Spanish trade coins, differing considerably from the metropolitan rating of 50 Pence Sterling per Spanish Dollar. In 1825, the Pound Sterling became the sole currency for all British possessions. The dominance of Spanish trade coins in payments did not change for the time being. In the mid-19th century, however, the local accounting currencies were abolished everywhere, which corresponded to a massive devaluation of the local money. In remote Montserrat this was done only in 1864, and as the Spanish Dollar had been traded at 112½ Pence, it amounted to almost 56%. The foreign coinage was tolerated in payments until the late 19th century, and the name "Dollar" remained in customary use for an amount of 50 Pence Sterling, the former rate of the Spanish Dollar. In the 1930s, Montserrat came under the authority of the Barbados Currency Board. Since 1951, the monetary affairs are handled by the British West Indian and, later, Eastern Caribbean institutions.

Montserrat has always been using the Eastern Caribbean Dollar instead of a national currency.

Currency Units Timeline

Currency Institutes Timeline

Monetary History Sources