- Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is made up of more than 30 islands in the Caribbean Sea. Formerly a British colony, it became an independent nation in 1979. The capital and chief port is Kingstown. GeographySaint Vincent and the Grenadines are part of the Windward Islands, which in turn form a part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies. The island of Saint Vincent lies about 21 miles (34 kilometers) southwest of Saint Lucia and 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Barbados. The small Grenadine Islands stretch southward from Saint Vincent toward Grenada. The northern part of the chain is part of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. (The southernmost of the Grenadines belong to Grenada.) Altogether the country covers a land area of about 150 square miles (390 square kilometers). Saint Vincent makes up 134 square miles (347 square kilometers) of the total. Saint Vincent is a mountainous island. Thickly wooded volcanic mountains run north to south and are cut by many short, swift streams. The highest point on the island, at 4,048 feet (1,234 meters), is an active volcano called Mount Soufrière. An eruption of Soufrière (one of several Caribbean peaks with that name) killed 2,000 people in 1902. Another eruption in 1979 forced thousands of people to leave their homes. The Grenadines are noted for their coral reefs and white sand beaches. Some of the larger Grenadines have hills. Of the Grenadines that belong to Saint Vincent, the largest are Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, and Union Island. Saint Vincent has a tropical climate, with an average temperature of about 80° F (27° C) all year. The first five months of the year are dry. The rest of the year is rainy. Damaging hurricanes sometimes strike the islands. Plants and animalsVolcanic activity on Saint Vincent has given the island rich soil. The vegetation is therefore lush and green. Tropical rain forests cover much of the mountainous interior. Low-lying areas have palm and fruit trees. The forests are home to tropical birds such as the endangered Saint Vincent parrot, which is the national bird. The country's mammals include the opossum and a large rabbitlike rodent called the agouti. Local waters are home to endangered hawksbill turtles and many kinds of fish. People and cultureBlacks make up about two thirds of the population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Their ancestors were African slaves who were brought in to work on sugar plantations during the period of European rule. Much of the rest of the population is mulatto, or of mixed African and European ancestry. The country also has small groups of Europeans, Asians, Carib Indians, and Garifuna (or Black Caribs), who have both African and Carib descendants. English is the official language, but some people speak a form of French. Protestant Christians are the largest religious group. Most of the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines live along the coast of Saint Vincent. The main population center is Kingstown, but even it is a small city. Few people live on the Grenadines. EconomyAgriculture is key to the country's economy, employing about 20 percent of the workforce. Bananas are the leading cash crop and most valuable export. The country is also a major producer of arrowroot, which is ground into powder and used to thicken foods such as soups and sauces. Other crops include coconuts, yams, sweet potatoes, cassavas, and carrots. Food processing is the chief manufacturing activity. Tourism is a growing part of the country's economy. Saint Vincent is the site of several resorts. The Grenadines are popular for yachting and sport fishing. HistoryAmerican Indians lived on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines long before Europeans reached the islands. The first Indians were the Ciboney. The Arawak arrived later. In the 15th century the warlike Carib drove the Arawak from the islands. The first European to arrive was Christopher Columbus. It is thought that he visited and named the island of Saint Vincent on January 22, 1498, which is Saint Vincent's Day. Settlement and colonizationFaced with fierce resistance from the Carib, Europeans did not settle on the islands in large numbers until the mid-1700s. Before that, however, shipwrecked and escaped African slaves took shelter on Saint Vincent and intermarried with the Carib. Their descendants are known as the Garifuna. In the 18th century the French and the British competed for possession of Saint Vincent. In 1763 the Treaty of Paris gave the island to the British, but conflict continued. The Carib, aided by the French, rose in revolt against the British in 1795. A year later the British put down the revolt and took firm control of the island. British rule and independenceThe British colonists imported African slaves to work on their sugarcane plantations. After the slaves were freed in 1834, laborers were brought in from Portugal and South Asia. A drop in sugar prices late in the 19th century hurt the island's economy for many years. In response, people began growing other crops. In the 20th century bananas replaced sugarcane as the chief crop in the colony. Britain tried several times to combine Saint Vincent with other colonies. By the 1950s, however, Britain had begun to give the island some rights to self-rule. In 1979 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became a fully independent country. It is a member of the Commonwealth. Population (2001 estimate), 113,000. |