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Grenada
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Grenada
is an island nation in the
southeastern Caribbean Sea including the
southern Grenadines. Grenada is the
second-smallest independent country in the
Western Hemisphere (after Saint Kitts and
Nevis). It is located north of Trinidad and
Tobago, and south of Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines.
Grenadines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Grenadines are a Caribbean island chain of
over 600 islands in the Windward Islands. They
are divided between the island nations of Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. Islands
of the Grenadines include:
Young Island
Bequia
Petite Nevis
Quatre
Bettowia
Baliceaux
Mustique
Petite Mustique
Savan
Petite Canouan
Canouan
Mayreau
The Tobago Cays
Union Island
Petit Saint Vincent
Palm Island
Carriacou (Grenada) 27.5 km², 7,400, Capital
Hillsborough
Saline (Grenada) 0.3 km², Uninhabited
Frigate (Grenada) 0.4 km², Uninhabited
Ronde (Grenada) 3.2 km², Uninhabited
Large (Grenada), 0.5 km², Uninhabited
Petite Martinique (Grenada) 3.7 km², 550,
Capital North Village
History
Main article: History of Grenada
The recorded history of Grenada begins in 1498,
when Christopher Columbus first sighted the
island and named it Conception. At the time of
settlement, the island was occupied either by
Island Caribs (Kalinago) or by their mainland
cousins, the Kariña. After a failed English
settlement attempt, the French 'purchased' the
island from the indigenous people in 1650, which
resulted in warfare with the Caribs of Dominica
and St. Vincent who feared losing their trade
routes to the mainland. The island was ceded to
the United Kingdom in 1763 by the Treaty of
Paris. Grenada was made a Crown Colony in 1877.
The island was a province of the short-lived
West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. In
1967 Grenada attained the position of
"Associated State of the United Kingdom", which
meant that Grenada was now responsible for her
own internal affairs, and the UK was responsible
for her defence and foreign affairs.
Independence was granted in 1974 under the
leadership of the then Premier Sir Eric Matthew
Gairy, who became the first Prime Minister of
Grenada. Eric Gairy's government became
increasingly authoritarian and dictatorial,
prompting a coup d'état in March 1979 by the
charismatic and popular left-wing leader of the
New Jewel Movement, Maurice Bishop. Bishop's
failure to allow elections, coupled with his
Marxist-Leninist socialism and cooperation with
communist Cuba did not sit well with the
country's neighbours, including Trinidad and
Tobago, Barbados, Dominica and the United
States. A power struggle developed between
Bishop and a Stalinist sect within the ruling
People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), loyal
to the more hardline communist ideologue and
co-founder of the NJM, Bernard Coard. This led
to Bishop's house arrest; he and many others
were eventually executed at Fort George on
October 19, 1983.
Six days later, the island was invaded by forces
from the United States at the behest of Dame
Eugenia Charles, of Dominica. Five other
Caribbean nations participated with Dominica and
the USA in the campaign, called Operation Urgent
Fury. Although the Governor-General, Sir Paul
Scoon later stated that he had requested the
invasion, the governments of the United Kingdom
and Trinidad and Tobago expressed anger at
having not been consulted. The forces quickly
captured the ringleaders and hundreds of Cuban
"advisors" (most of whom were labourers working
on the construction of a major airport for the
island, which the British completed a year
later). A publicised tactical concern of the
United States was the safe recovery of U.S.
nationals enrolled at St. George's University.
However, it should be noted that the island of
Grenada could have become a corner of a triangle
comprised also of Cuba and Nicaragua, both also
declared enemies of US interests at that time.
These three countries could have militarily
controlled the deep water passages, thereby
controlling the movement of oil from Venezuela
and Trinidad (supplies then considered vital by
US military planners).
In 2000-2002 much of the controversy of the late
1970s and early 1980s was once again brought
into the public consciousness with the opening
of the truth and reconciliation commission. The
commission was chaired by a Catholic priest,
Friar Mark Haynes, and was tasked with
uncovering injustices arising from the PRA,
Bishop's regime, and before. It held a number of
hearings around the country. The commission was
formed, bizarrely, because of a school project.
Brother Robert Fanovich, head of Presentation
Brothers' College (PBC) in St. George's tasked
some of his senior students with conducting a
research project into the era and specifically
into the fact that Maurice Bishop's body was
never discovered. Their project attracted a
great deal of attention, including from the
Miami Herald and the final report was published
in a book written by the boys called Big Sky,
Little Bullet. It also uncovered that there was
still a lot of resentment in Grenadian society
resulting from the era, and a feeling that there
were many injustices still unaddressed. The
commission began shortly after the boys
concluded their project.
In 2004, the island after being hurricane free
for 49 years, was directly hit by Hurricane Ivan
(September 7). The category 4 hurricane caused
90 percent of the homes to be damaged or
destroyed. The following year, 2005, Hurricane
Emily (July 14) struck the island, causing an
estimated USD $110 million (EC$ 297 million)
worth of damage. This was much less damage than
Ivan had caused.
Grenada has recovered with remarkable speed, due
to her climate and the resilience of her people
combined with much needed help from her
neighbours, and financing from the world at
large. By December 2005, 96% of all hotel rooms
were to be open for business and to have been
upgraded in facilities and strengthened to an
improved building code. The agricultural
industry and in particular the nutmeg industry
suffered serious losses, but that event has
begun changes in crop management and the nutmeg
industry may be returning to its pre-Ivan
position as a major supplier in the western
world.
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Background:
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One
of the smallest independent countries in the western
hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military
council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the
island was invaded by US forces and those of six
other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the
ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers.
Free elections were reinstituted the following year.
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Location:
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Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and
Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
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Geographic coordinates:
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12 07
N, 61 40 W
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Map references:
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Central America and the Caribbean |
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Area:
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total: 344 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 344 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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twice
the size of Washington, DC |
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Climate:
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tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds |
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Terrain:
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volcanic in origin with central mountains |
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Ethnic groups:
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black
82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East
Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian
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Religions:
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Roman
Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2%
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Languages:
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English (official), French patois |
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Currency:
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East
Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
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Currency code:
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XCD
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Exchange rates:
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East
Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate
since 1976) |
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