Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Mayreau Mustique Bequia the Tobago Cays Union Island Carriacou and Grenada.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

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Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean, part of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and the Grenadines. It was disputed territory between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, but was ceded to the UK in 1783. It gained independence as late as 1979. Kingstown (population 19,300) is the chief port of the island.

It was also a filming location for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

The highest mountain is the active volcano Soufrière, 1,234m (4,048 ft) high which erupted violently in 1812 and 1902. The latter eruption killed 1,680 people.



 

History of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Carib Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St. Vincent until the 18th century.

Enslaved Africans -- whether shipwrecked or escaped from Barbados, Saint Lucia and Grenada and seeking refuge in mainland St. Vincent, or Hairoun as it was originally named by the Caribs -- intermarried with the Caribs and became known as Garifuna or Black Caribs.

Beginning in 1719, French settlers cultivated coffee, tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar on plantations worked by enslaved Africans.

In 1763, St. Vincent was ceded to Britain.

Restored to French rule in 1779

Ancillary treaties were also signed with France and Spain, known as the Treaties of Versailles of 1783, part of which put St. Vincent back under British control.

Conflict between the British and the Black Caribs, led by defiant Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer, continued until 1796, when General Sir Ralph Abercromby crushed a revolt fomented by the French radical Victor Hugues.

More than 5,000 Black Caribs were eventually deported to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras.

Slavery was abolished in 1834.

After the apprenticeship period, which ended prematurely in 1838, labour shortages on the plantations resulted in the immigration of indentured servants.

The Portuguese came from Madeira starting in the 1840s and shiploads of East Indian labourers arrived between 1861-1880. Conditions remained harsh for both former slaves and immigrant agricultural workers, as depressed world sugar prices kept the economy stagnant until the turn of the century.

From 1763 until independence, St. Vincent passed through various stages of colonial status under the British.

A representative assembly was authorized in 1776, Crown Colony government installed in 1877, a legislative council created in 1925, and universal adult suffrage granted in 1951.

During this period, the British made several unsuccessful attempts to affiliate St. Vincent with other Windward Islands in order to govern the region through a unified administration.

The colonies themselves, desirous of freedom from British rule, made a notable attempt at unification called West Indies Federation, which collapsed in 1962. St. Vincent was granted associate statehood status on October 27th, 1969, giving it complete control over its internal affairs.

Following a referendum in 1979, under Milton Cato St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence on the 10th anniversary of its associate statehood status, October 27th, 1979.

Natural disasters have featured in the country's history. In 1902, La Soufrière volcano erupted, killing 2,000 people. Much farmland was damaged, and the economy deteriorated.

In April 1979, La Soufrière erupted again.

Although no one was killed, thousands had to be evacuated, and there was extensive agricultural damage.

In 1980 and 1987, hurricanes compromised banana and coconut plantations; 1998 and 1999 also saw very active hurricane seasons, with Hurricane Lenny in 1999' causing extensive damage to the west coast of the island.

 

State Organization

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth of Nations.

Queen Elizabeth II is head of state and is represented on the island by a governor general, an office with mostly ceremonial functions. Control of the government rests with the prime minister and the cabinet.

There is a parliamentary opposition made of the largest minority stakeholder in general elections, headed by the leader of the opposition.

The country has no formal armed forces, though Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force includes a Special Service Unit.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are a full & participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

 

Division In Parishes

Administratively, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is divided into 6 parishes:

 

The geography of the main Island of Saint Vincent is mostly volcanic, and includes very little level ground. There is also a large difference between the coastlines on each side of the island. The windward side is very rocky, while the leeward side consists of many sandy beaches and has many more bays

Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is the most important sector of this lower-middle-income economy.

The services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important.

The government has been relatively unsuccessful at introducing new industries, and a high unemployment rate of 22% continues.

The continuing dependence on a single crop represents the biggest obstacle to the islands' development; tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in both 1994 and 1995.

The tourism sector has considerable potential for development over the next decade. Recent growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the construction sector and an improvement in tourism.

There is a small manufacturing sector and a small offshore financial sector whose particularly restrictive secrecy laws have caused some international concern.

Most Vincentians are the descendants of African slaves brought to the island to work on plantations.

There also are a few white descendants of English colonists, as well as some East Indians, Carib Indians, and a sizable minority of mixed race.

The country's official language is English. St. Vincent has a high rate of emigration. With extremely high unemployment and under-employment, population growth remains a major problem.

In 2005, St. Vincent and the Grenadines had 22,500 telephone land lines. Its land telephone system is fully automatic and covers the entire island and all of the inhabited Grenadine islands. In 2004, there were 57,000 mobile phones. There is mobile phone coverage for most of St. Vincent as well as the Grenadines.

In 2004 it had seven radio stations (1 AM, 6 FM). It has one television broadcast station.

The country has two ISP's: Cable and Wireless and Karib Kable. Internet penetration is low, with only 8,000 Internet users in 2005.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines maintains close ties to the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom, and cooperates with regional political and economic organizations such as the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and CARICOM. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of American States, and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

As a member of CARICOM, St. Vincent and the Grenadines strongly backed efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council Resolution 940, designed to facilitate the departure of Haiti's de facto authorities from power. The country agreed to contribute personnel to the multinational force, which restored the democratically elected government of Haiti in October 1994.

In May 1997, Prime Minister Mitchell joined 14 other Caribbean leaders and U.S. President Bill Clinton during the first-ever U.S.-regional summit in Bridgetown, Barbados. The summit strengthened the basis for regional cooperation on justice and counternarcotics issues, finance and development, and trade.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines maintains close relations with Cuba, which provides a number of scholarship and other exchange programs for Vincentians, particularly in the field of healthcare. It also has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) instead of the People's Republic of China.

Saint Vincent protests Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves (Bird) Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea.

Saint Vincent is a transshipment point for South American illicit drugs destined for the US and Europe.

Based on Wikipedia