Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3
British Negotiations with Black Caribs

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).

The uneasy peace between the British and the Black Caribs led to the Second Carib War, which lasted from 1795 to 1796. The Black Caribs were led by Garifuna Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer and supported by the French, notably the radical Victor Hugues from the island of Martinique. Their revolt and uprising was eventually put down in 1797 by British General Sir Ralph Abercromby; a peace treaty agreement was made which resulted in almost 5,000 Black Caribs being exiled to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras, and to Belize and Baliceaux in the Grenadines.

In 1806, construction of Fort Charlotte was completed.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4
Fort Charlotte

The La Soufrière volcano erupted in 1812, resulting in considerable destruction.

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, labor shortages on the plantations resulted, and were initially addressed by the immigration of indentured servants; in the late 1840s, many Portuguese immigrants arrived from Madeira, and between 1861 and 1888 shiploads of Indian laborer’s arrived. 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. The economy then went into a period of decline; many landowners abandoned their estates, leaving the land to be cultivated by liberated slaves.

20th Century:

In 1902, the La Soufrière volcano erupted, killing 1,500–2,000 people; much farmland was damaged, and the economy deteriorated.

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La Soufrière

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines passed through various stages of colonial status under the British. A representative assembly was authorized 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 other Windward Islands as a single entity, with the aim of simplifying 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 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 own internal affairs but fell short of full independence in law.

In April 1979, La Soufrière erupted again. Although no one was killed, thousands were evacuated and extensive agricultural damage occurred.

On 27 October 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain full independence; the date is now the country’s Independence Day, a public holiday. The country opted to remain within the British Commonwealth, retaining Queen Elizabeth as Monarch, represented locally by a Governor-General.

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 km2 (133 sq mi) and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines 45 km2 (17 sq mi), which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent to Grenada.

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