Мустик аралы: Жеке меншік, тарих және түршіліктер

Island in St Vincent and the Grenadines

Mustique /m//ʌ/'/s//t//iː//k/ is a private island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is part of the Grenadines, a chain of islands in the West Indies. The island is located within Grenadines Parish, and the closest island is the uninhabited Petite Mustique, located 1 mile (2 km) to the south. Ferry service is provided to the island from St. Vincent on the M/V Endeavour. The island covers and has several coral reefs. The land fauna includes tortoises, herons, iguanas and many other species. Its year round population of about 500 mostly live in the villages of Lovell, Britannia Bay and Dovers. The population rises to 1,200 in peak season. The island is owned by the Mustique Company, a private limited company which is in turn owned by the island's home owners. The island has around 120 private villas, many of which are let through the Mustique Company. The company also owns a hotel and cafe on the island.

Mustique was purchased from the Hazell family in 1958 for £45,000 by Colin Tennant, who became the 3rd Baron Glenconner in 1983. He initially planned to start farming, "sea island cotton, beef and mutton" but then decided to develop the island into an exclusive hideaway, after forming The Mustique Company in 1968. By that time, cotton production was failing. In 1960, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, accepted as a wedding present Colin Tennant's gift of a plot of land, where she built a villa called Les Jolies Eaux. Before her death, the princess gave the property to her son David Armstrong Jones, Viscount Linley to avoid later payment of inheritance tax. He sold it in 1999 for a reported £2.4 million and Les Jolies Eaux was made available for rent. In 1964, a new settlement was built, Lovell Village. The original inhabitants of the island were each given a plot of land and a new home in this location. Most of the island locals, who work in Mustique, (roughly 500 people) live in Lovell and for years were served by a church, school, restaurant, a medical clinic, a store and a police station. Serving locals and some tourists, the View Restaurant and Bar is located in Lovell. When The Mustique Company was formed in 1968, its new manager Hugo Money Coutts obtained import and other tax free status in return for an annual fee. Building and sales of the villas started soon afterwards.

In 1976, due to financial problems, Tennant sold a controlling interest (60%) in The Mustique Company to a consortium led by Hans Neumann, a Venezuelan industrialist of Czech origin who had survived the Holocaust by hiding in plain sight in Berlin. Neumann took over control of the island and, in 1979, appointed Brian Alexander to take over its management. Alexander did not retire until August 2008. During Alexander's tenure, homes were built for workers on the island. Tennant remained the owner of a plot on the island until moving to St. Lucia in 1992. Until 2003, Hans Neumann followed by his daughter Ariana Neumann retained a seat on the board and a block of 30% of the shares, which continued to provide stability over the years as it prevented dramatic policy shifts or substantial deviations from the development plan. As of 2019, The Mustique Company is managed by Roger Pritchard, who replaced Brian Alexander. He leads a staff of 450 who oversee every aspect of island life, management of the villas and security. The security and fire services are provided by a team of officers led by a former Scotland Yard chief. Every visitor must be registered with the security force. The Mustique Charitable Foundation has been funding programmes for the island locals, such as scholarships, arranging for surgeons to visit the island and literacy programmes since 2018. The Mustique Charitable Trusts funds projects such as Disaster Management Education, refurbishment of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in Saint Vincent, school meal programmes, some literacy projects and after school programmes, diabetes and hypertension screening, a hospice and tree planting.

Mustique Island has many notable features. One of which is Basil's Bar in Britannia Bay. The Bar remains situated right on the water overlooking a striking blue bay that provides mooring for yachts. The business was owned by Basil Charles for over twenty years; he was previously the barman at Tennant's Cotton House Hotel. In 2017, however he had sold the operation to The Mustique Company. A jump up is held every Wednesday night (as of 2019) at this restaurant/bar and on Sundays, it hosts Sunset Jazz evenings, both with live music. The Mustique Blues Festival in late January and early February is held at Basil's Bar. but the official website describes the activities available, in addition to tennis and picnicking: scuba diving and sailing, to tennis club and exploring the island on horseback. Try the extreme sports of kite surfing or deep sea diving and fishing, or take a more gentle approach, with a snorkel in the many hidden coves around the island followed by a nurturing spa treatment. Children are indulged with a host of fun activities, with water sports galore, drive in cinemas for golf buggies, tennis, pony camp, beach picnics and treasure hunts, kite flying competitions and children’s menus everywhere. The primary beach is Macaroni on the Atlantic side; large waves make it more suitable for surfing than for swimming. Lagoon Beach on the west side is calmer "but too shallow and seaweedy for swimming" according to one review. Gelliceaux, a sheltered bay, is preferable for swimming. include the royals' Les Jolies Eaux, the Indonesian style Mandalay (built for David Bowie), Pangolin, a seven bedroom Balinese home, Toucan Hill with its Moroccan theme

The Mustique Medical Clinic is open daily and there is an island pharmacy. In case of serious medical issues, evacuation can be arranged to Martinique or Miami.

The island was historically home to fishermen. From the 1960s, its visitors began to include a group whose influence created its current cachet: Lord Glenconner, Oliver Messel, Princess Margaret, Tommy Hilfiger and Mick Jagger. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, made private visits to Mustique in 1966, 1977 and 1985. William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales, holiday in Mustique often. David Bowie once owned an Indonesian inspired multi pavilion villa on the island, which he called Britannia Bay. However, he stopped visiting it, saying that "the house was so tranquil and peaceful that he found it hard to get any work done." In 1994, Bowie sold the property for $5 million to business tycoon and poet Felix Dennis. After Dennis died in June 2014, the villa was renamed as the Mandalay Estate, and sold to entrepreneur Simon Dolan. In 1996, while on holiday at Mustique, Noel Gallagher wrote and demoed many of the songs that would later be released on the Oasis album Be Here Now (1997). UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds spent Christmas 2019 on Mustique with the Bismarck family. Other people who have holidayed on Mustique over the years include Liam Gallagher, Johnny Depp, Kate Moss, Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Peter Lynch, Denzel Washington, Pierre Lagrange, Tom Ford, John Travolta and Bryan Adams.