Soufrière, Saint Lucia Soufrière, Saint Lucia Soufrière is a town on the West Coast of Saint Lucia, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The town and the surrounding district has a population of 7,935. It was founded by the French and was the original capital of the island. There were large estates run by plantation owners of French origin and their descendants still live in the area. The French Revolution of 1789 resulted in many Royalists being executed and the slaves freed. However, Napoleon reintroduced slavery when he came to power. The British invaded St Lucia shortly after, but the slaves and French deserters
Saint Lucia account for about 2% of the population. The official language is English. Saint Lucian Creole French (Kwéyòl), which is colloquially referred to as "Patois" ("Patwa"), is spoken by 95% of the population. This Antillean Creole is used in literature and music, and is gaining official acknowledgement. As it developed during the early period of French colonisation, the creole is derived chiefly from French and West African languages, with some vocabulary from the Island Carib language and other sources. Saint Lucia is a member of "La Francophonie". About 61.5% of the population is Roman Catholic. Another 25.5% belong to Protestant denominations,