Saint Vincent And Grenadines
Spanning a land area of 369 km (142 sq mi), most of its territory consists of the northernmost island of Saint Vincent, which includes the capital and largest city, Kingstown. To the south lie two-thirds of the northern part of the Grenadines, a chain of 32 smaller islands; the remaining southern third make up Grenada. Seven of the islands are inhabited, of which the largest and most populous are Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, and Union Island.
With an estimated population of 110,872, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a population density of over 300 inhabitants/km (700 per sq mi). The majority of its people are descendants of African slaves brought by France and later Great Britain, which contested the islands during the 18th century. SVG remained a colony of the British Empire from 1783 until 1979, when it peacefully achieved independence; the country's culture, language, government, and legal system reflect the long legacy of British rule, and it is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, with the United Kingdom's monarch as its head of state.
Saint Vincent is a member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, CARICOM, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
In April 2021, the La Soufrière volcano erupted several times with "explosive events" continuing for two weeks, resulting in the evacuation of 16,000 residents. Assistance and emergency financial support was provided by several nearby islands, the United Kingdom, and agencies such as the United Nations. The first significant offer of long-term funding of US$20 million, was announced on 13 April 2021 by the World Bank.
Etymology
Christopher Columbus, the first European to reach the island, named it after St. Vincent of Saragossa (San Vicente de Zaragoza) whose feast day was on the day Columbus first saw it (22 January 1498). The name of the Grenadines refers to the Spanish city of Granada, but to differentiate it from the island of the same name, the diminutive was used. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Kalinago natives who inhabited the island of St. Vincent called it Youloumain, in honour of Youlouca, the spirit of the rainbows, who they believed inhabited the island.
History
Pre-colonial period
Before the arrival of Europeans and Africans in the 16th century, various Amerindian groups passed through or settled on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including the Ciboney, Arawak, and Kalinago people. The island now known as Saint Vincent was originally named Youloumain by the native Island Caribs who called themselves Kalina.
European arrival and early colonial period
It is thought that Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1498, giving it the name St Vincent. The Kalinago people aggressively opposed European settlement on Saint Vincent.
French and British colonisation and First Carib War
Various attempts by the English and Dutch to claim the island proved unsuccessful, and it was the French who were first able to colonise the island, settling in the town of Barrouallie on the leeward side of St Vincent in 1719. The French imported Black slaves to work on plantations producing sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton and cocoa.
The British captured the island and drove out the French from Barrouallie during the Seven Years' War, a claim confirmed by the Treaty of Paris (1763). On taking control of the island in 1763, the British laid the foundations of Fort Charlotte and also continued the importation of slaves to work on the island's plantations. The Garifuna, an Afro-Indigenous creole people on the island, were opposed to the British presence and entered into open conflict against the British, starting the First Carib War, which lasted from 1772 to 1773.
During the Anglo-French War (1778–1783), the French recaptured St Vincent in 1779. However, the British regained control under the Treaty of Versailles (1783).
British colonial period and Second Carib War
The uneasy peace between the British and the Garifuna led to the Second Carib War, which lasted from 1795 to 1797. The Garifuna were led by paramount chief Joseph Chatoyer and supported by the French, notably Victor Hugues who was based on the island of Martinique. They were eventually defeated in 1797 by British forces under the command Sir Ralph Abercromby; a peace treaty agreement was made which resulted in almost 5,000 Garifuna being deported to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras, and to Belize and Baliceaux in the Grenadines.
In 1806, the construction of Fort Charlotte was completed.
The La Soufrière volcano erupted in 1812, resulting in considerable destruction.
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The British abolished slavery in Saint Vincent (as well as in all other British West Indies colonies) in 1834, and an apprenticeship period followed which ended in 1838. After its end, labour shortages on the plantations resulted, and were initially addressed by the immigration of indentured servants; starting from 1845, many Portuguese Catholic settlers arrived from Madeira, with around 2,100 arrivals from Portugal recorded from 1845 to 1850. Between 1861 and 1888, a new wave of immigration occurred, with shiploads of Indian labourers arrived.
20th century
In 1902, the La Soufrière volcano erupted again, killing 1,500–2,000 people; much farmland was damaged, and the economy deteriorated.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines passed through various stages of colonial status under the British. A representative assembly was authorised in 1776, Crown Colony government was installed in 1877, a legislative council was created in 1925 with a limited franchise, and universal adult suffrage was granted in 1951. During the period of its control of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Britain made several attempts to unify the island with the other Windward Islands as a single entity, to simplify British control in the sub-region through a single unified administration. In the 1960s, the British again tried to unify all of its regional islands, including Saint Vincent, into a single politically unified entity under British control. The unification was to be called the West Indies Federation and was driven by a desire to gain independence from the British government. However, the attempt collapsed in 1962.
Saint Vincent was granted "associate statehood" status by Britain on 27 October 1969. This gave Saint Vincent complete control over its internal affairs but fell short of full independence in law.
In April 1979, La Soufrière erupted once more. Although no one was killed, thousands were evacuated and extensive agricultural damage occurred.
On 27 October 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gained full independence; the date is now the country's Independence Day, a public holiday. The country opted to remain within the Commonwealth of Nations, retaining the then-Queen Elizabeth II as Monarch, represented locally by a Governor-General.
Post-independence era
Milton Cato of the centre-left Saint Vincent Labour Party (SVLP) was the country's first Prime Minister (he had been Premier since 1974), ruling until his defeat in the 1984 Vincentian general election by James Fitz-Allen Mitchell of the centre-right New Democratic Party (NDP). During Cato's time in office, there was a brief rebellion on Union Island in December 1979 led by Lennox 'Bumba' Charles. Inspired by the recent revolution on Grenada, Charles alleged neglect of the Union by the central government. However, the revolt was swiftly put down and Charles was arrested. There were also a series of strikes in the early 1980s. James Mitchell remained Prime Minister for 16 years until 2000, winning three consecutive elections. Mitchell was at the forefront of attempts to improve regional integration. In 1980 and 1987, hurricanes damaged many banana and coconut plantations. Hurricane seasons were also very active in 1998 and 1999, with Hurricane Lenny in 1999 causing extensive damage to the west coast of the island.
In 2000, Arnhim Eustace became Prime Minister after taking over the leadership of the NDP following Mitchell's retirement; he was defeated a year later by Ralph Gonsalves of the Unity Labour Party (successor party to the SVLP). Gonsalves—a left-winger known in the country as "Comrade Ralph"—argued that European nations owe Caribbean nations reparations for their role in the Atlantic slave trade. Gonsalves won a second term in 2005, a third in 2010, and a fourth in 2015.
In 2009, a referendum was held on a proposal to adopt a new constitution that would make the country a republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state with a non-executive President, a proposal supported by Prime Minister Gonsalves. A two-thirds majority was required, but the referendum was defeated 29,019 votes (55.64 per cent) to 22,493 (43.13 per cent).
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council 2020–21.
In November 2020, Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines since 2001, made history by securing the fifth consecutive victory of his Unity Labour Party (ULP) in general election.
In 2021, on 9 April, the La Soufrière volcano erupted, sending ash several miles into the atmosphere. Approximately 16,000 people were evacuated in the days leading up to the eruption.
Geography
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies to the west of Barbados, south of Saint Lucia and north of Grenada in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, an island arc of the Caribbean Sea. The islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines include the main island of Saint Vincent 344 km (133 sq mi) and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines 45 km (17 sq mi), which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent to Grenada. There are 32 islands and cays that make up St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Nine are inhabited, including the mainland St Vincent and the Grenadines islands: Young Island, Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Union Island, Mayreau, Petit St Vincent and Palm Island. Prominent uninhabited islands of the Grenadines include Petit Nevis, used by whalers, and Petit Mustique, which was the centre of a prominent real-estate scam in the early 2000s.
The capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Kingstown, Saint Vincent. The main island of Saint Vincent measures 26 km (16 mi) long, 15 km (9.3 mi) in width and 344 km (133 sq mi) in area. From the most northern to the most southern points, the Grenadine islands belonging to Saint Vincent span 60.4 km (37.5 mi), with a combined area of 45 km (17 sq mi).
The island of Saint Vincent is volcanic and heavily forested and includes little level ground. The windward side of the island is very rocky and steep, while the leeward side has more sandy beaches and bays. Saint Vincent's highest peak is La Soufrière volcano at 1,234 m (4,049 ft). Other major mountains on St Vincent are (from north to south) Richmond Peak, Mount Brisbane, Colonarie Mountain, Grand Bonhomme, Petit Bonhomme and Mount St Andrew.
The country is home to two terrestrial ecoregions: Windward Islands moist forests and the Lesser Antillean dry forests. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.95/10, ranking it 61st globally out of 172 countries.
Most of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies within the Main Development Region for Atlantic tropical cyclones. Recently, in 2023, the islands were directly impacted by Tropical Storm Bret.
