1493      Sighted by Columbus who changed island’s Amerindian name `Alliouagana’ (land of the prickly bush) to Montserrat, after abbey of same name in Spain 1632      Colonised by Britain (settled by Anglo-Irish who arrived from St. Kitts) 1783      Finally ceded to Britain by France following numerous exchanges between the two countries which began in the seventeenth century 1871      Incorporated into Leeward Islands Administration 1958      Incorporated into the West Indies Federation 1967      Elected to retain colonial status instead of associated status within the West Indies Associated States (WISA) 1982 Montserrat-born, Alphonsus ‘Arrow’ Cassell released his first Pan-Caribbean hit called ‘Hot Hot Hot’ which became the biggest soca hit of all time 1989      Hurricane Hugo destroys more than  90 per cent of the island’s homes and other infrastructure. Island rebuilt in less than five years 1995      Eruption of Langs Soufriere Volcano 2002      Monsterratians regain full British citizenship 2009 Locally-based airline, FlyMontserrat commenced scheduled flights from Montserrat to Antigua. Permanent fast ferry services resume.