Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Coat of arms of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Pax et justitia" (Latin) "Peace and justice"
Anthem: St Vincent Land So Beautiful
Capital	Kingstown 13°10′N 61°14′W
Largest city	capital
Official languages	English
Government	Parliamentary democracy (constitutional monarchy)
- Monarch	Queen Elizabeth II
- Governor-General	Sir Frederick Ballantyne
- Prime Minister	Ralph Gonsalves
Independence
- from the United Kingdom	27 October 1979
Area
- Total	389 km² (201st) 150 sq mi
- Water (%)	negligible
Population
- 2005 estimate	119,000
- Density	307/km² 792/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2002 estimate
- Total	$342 million
- Per capita	$7,493
HDI  (2004)	0.759 (medium)
Currency	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Internet TLD	.vc
Calling code	+1-784

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, an island arc of the Caribbean Sea in North America. The country consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, a chain of small islands stretching south from Saint Vincent to Grenada. It occupies a total area of about 150 square miles (389 square kilometers), of which the island of Saint Vincent constitutes 133 square miles (344 square kilometers). The country's capital is at Kingstown on Saint Vincent. The country has a British colonial history and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations and CARICOM.

Similar to most other Caribbean nations, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has an idyllic tropical climate with soothing clear waters. Also similar to other Caribbbean islands is its history of being ravaged by hurricanes. It is also home to active volcano. The islands' proximity to South America has influenced its culture, as well as has its native peoples, East Indians, Africans and the British who settled the islands.

Geography

The main island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Saint Vincent. Its geography is mostly volcanic and and mountainous and includes very little level ground. There is 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. The island's, as well as the country's, highest peak is the volcano Soufrière at 4,048 feet and its lowest point is at sea level. There are several tiny islets offshore of Saint Vincent including Young Island and the Cow And Calves Islands.

In addition to Saint Vincent, major islands in the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are the northern Grenadines including (from north to south) the islands of :

• Bequia
• Petite Nevis
• Quatre
• Bettowia
• Baliceaux
• Mustique
• Petite Mustique
• Savan
• Petite Canouan
• Canouan
• Mayreau
• The Tobago Cays
• Union Island
• Petit Saint Vincent
• Palm Island

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' Grenadines also include hundreds of smaller islets. The remainder of the Grenadines to the south are administered by Grenada.

Area and boundaries

Map of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are located in the Caribbean Sea just north of Trinidad and Tobago and east of Central America. Geographically it rests at 13°15′N 61°12′W and is twice the size of Washington, D.C., United States. The islands encompass 241 square miles of land area, and 52 miles of coastline. It maritime claims are 24 nautical miles in a contiguous zone, 200 nautical miles in continental shelf and exclusive economic zones, and 12 nautical miles of territorial sea. With a tropical climate and little seasonal temperature variation, and its rainy season from May to November, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an idealistic get-away.

Resources and land use

Natural resources of the islands include hydropower and cropland. Only 10 percent of the land is arable, 18 percent contains permanent crops, five percent is being used as permanent pastures, 36 percent is forest and woodland and the remaining 31 percent is used in various other activities (per of a 1993 estimate). Six sq miles are irrigated land, according to the same estimate.

Natural threats are hurricanes, while the Soufriere volcano is a constant natural hazard. Current environmental issues include the pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents. In some areas pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive.

History

Volcanic Soufrière (1,234 m), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines highest point

Port Elizabeth, Bequia.

Carib Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St. Vincent until the 18th century. EnslavedAfricans — whether shipwrecked or escaped from Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada and seeking refuge in mainland St. Vincent, or Hairouna 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 Great Britain. Restored to French rule in 1779, St. Vincent was regained by the British under the Treaty of Paris (1783) in which Great Britain officially recognized the end of the American Revolution. Ancillary treaties were also signed with France and Spain, known as the Treaties of Versailles of 1783, part of which returned St. Vincent to 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. The resulting labor shortages on the plantations attracted Portuguese from Madeira in the 1840s and shiploads of East Indian Indentured laborers 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 devastated. 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.

Politics

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a full member of the OECS..

Politics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic Commonwealth Realm with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented by a Governor General, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the house, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The Governor General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual powers, under the constitution, can be used at the Governor General's discretion.

The House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a unicameral parliament with fifteen elected members and six appointed senators. The governor general appoints senators, four on the advice of the prime minister and two on the advice of the leader of the opposition. The parliamentary term of office is five years, although the prime minister may call elections at any time.

As in other English-speaking Caribbean countries, the judiciary in St. Vincent is rooted in English common law. There are eleven courts in three magisterial districts. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, comprising a high court and a court of appeals, is known in St. Vincent as the St. Vincent and the Grenadines supreme court. The court of last resort is the judicial committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council in London. Moves are currently being made to establish a Caribbean Court of Justice and replace the Privy Council as the country's highest court of appeal.

There is no local government in St. Vincent, and all six parishes are administered by the central government. The country has no formal armed forces, though Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force includes a Special Service Unit.

Administrative divisions

Administratively, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is divided into six parishes, with five on Saint Vincent, and the combined Grenadines forming the sixth. Kingstown is located in the Parish of St. George and is the capital city and central administrative center of the nation.

The six parishes are as follows:

• Charlotte
• Grenadines
• Saint Andrew
• Saint David
• Saint George
• Saint Patrick

Foreign relations

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines maintains close ties to the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom, and are a full & participating member of the Organization 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 multi-national 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 counter-narcotics 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 continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea.

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

Economy

The St. Vincent economy is heavily dependent on agriculture. Crops include carrots, cassavas, coconuts, sweet potatoes and yams. It is also the world's largest producer of arrowroot. However, the largest crop is the banana, which accounts for nearly 60 percent of the work force and 50 percent of merchandise exports. Such strong reliance on a single crop makes the economy vulnerable to external factors. St. Vincent's banana growers have benefited from preferential access to the European market. In view of the European Union's announced phase-out of this preferred access, economic diversification is a priority.

Tourism has grown to become a very important part of the economy. In 1993, tourism supplanted banana exports as the chief source of foreign exchange. The Grenadines have become a favorite of the yachting crowd. The trend toward increasing tourism revenues will likely continue. In 1996, new cruise ship and ferry berths came on-line, sharply increasing the number of passenger arrivals. In 1998, total visitor arrivals stood at 202,109 with United States visitors constituting 2.7 percent, as most of the nation's tourists are from other countries in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative. The country belongs to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has signed a framework agreement with the United States to promote trade and investment in the region.

Demographics

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 and Portuguese migrants, as well as some East Indians, Carib Indians, and a sizable minority of mixed race.

The country's official language is English. French Creole was once widely spoken, but has been in sharp decline. A French patois may be heard on some of the Grenadine Islands.

St. Vincent has a high rate of emigration. With extremely high unemployment and under-employment, population growth remains a major problem.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• CIA World Factbook. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
• US Dept of State Country Profiles. Background Note: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
• Gonsalves, Ralph E. 1994. History and the future a Caribbean perspective. St. Vincent. s.n.
• Jinkins, Dana, Jill Bobrow, Margaret Eleanor Atwood, Graeme Gibson, and Raquel Welch. 1985. St. Vincent and the Grenadines Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Tobago Cays, Palm, Union, PSV : a plural country. Stockbridge, Mass: Concepts Pub. ISBN 0393033090
• Williams, Eric Eustace. 1972. British historians and the West Indies. New York: Africana Pub. Corp. ISBN 0841900884

External links

• St. Vincent Paper Money. NumisMondo. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
• St. Vincent Property Owners in 1797. St Vincent and the Grenadines Genealogy Research. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
• Official website of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Official website of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
• SVG Indian Heritage Foundation. Official website of the SVG Indian Heritage Foundation. Retrieved November 19, 2007.

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