Anguilla was first settled by Amerindian tribes who migrated from South America. The earliest Amerindian artifacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300 BC, and remains of settlements date from 600 AD. The date of European discovery is uncertain: some sources claim that Columbus sighted the island in 1493, while others state that the island was first discovered by the French in 1564 or 1565.
Anguilla was first colonised by English settlers from Saint Kitts, beginning in 1650. The French temporarily took over the island in 1666 but under the Treaty of Breda it was returned to English control. In this early colonial period Anguilla sometimes served as a place of refuge. A Major John Scott who visited in September 1667 wrote of leaving the island "in good condition" and noted that in July 1668 "200 or 300 people fled thither in time of war." Other early arrivals included Europeans from Antigua and Barbados.
It is likely that some of these early Europeans brought enslaved Africans with them. Historians confirm that African slaves lived in the region in the early 17th century. For example, Africans from Senegal lived in St. Christopher (today St. Kitts) in 1626. By 1672 a slave depot existed on the island of Nevis, serving the Leeward Islands. While the time of African arrival in Anguilla is difficult to place precisely, archival evidence indicates a substantial African presence (at least 100) on the island by 1683.
While traditional histories of the region assume that "the English" were the first settlers of Anguilla under British rule, recent scholarship focused on Anguilla offers a more nuanced view. It emphasizes the significance of early sociocultural diversity. This research suggests that St. Christopher, Barbados, Nevis and Antigua are all significant points of origin. Regarding African origins, West Africa as well as Central Africa are both posited as the ancestral homelands of some of Anguilla's early African population
