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 St. Vincent and the Grenadines| Facts & Figures |
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| Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II
(1952) Governor-General: Frederick
Ballantyne (2002) Prime Minister: Ralph Gonsalves
(2001) Total area: 150 sq mi (389 sq km) Population (2009 est.): 104,574 (growth
rate: -0.3%); birth rate: 15.2/1000; infant mortality rate:
15.1/1000; life expectancy: 73.6; density per sq mi: 903
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Kingstown, 17,600 Monetary unit: East Caribbean
dollar More Facts & Figures |
GeographySt. Vincent, chief island of the chain, is 18 mi (29 km) long and 11 mi
(18 km) wide and is located 100 mi (161 km) west of Barbados. The island
is mountainous and well forested. St. Vincent is dominated by the volcano
Mount Soufrière, which rises to 4,048 ft (1,234 m). The Grenadines, a
chain of nearly 600 islets with a total area of only 17 sq mi (27 sq km),
extend for 60 mi (96 km) between St. Vincent and Grenada. The main islands
in the Grenadines are Bequia, Balliceau, Canouan, Mayreau, Mustique, Isle
D'Quatre, Petit Saint Vincent, and Union Island.
GovernmentParliamentary democracy.
HistoryThe Carib Indians inhabited St. Vincent before the Europeans arrived,
and the island still sports a sizable number of Carib artifacts. Explored
by Columbus in 1498, and alternately claimed by Britain and France, St.
Vincent became a British colony by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. In 1773,
the island was divided between the Caribs and the British, but conflicts
between the groups persisted. In 1776, the Caribs revolted and were
subdued. Thereafter the British deported most of them to islands in the
Gulf of Honduras. Sugarcane cultivation brought thousands of African
slaves and, later, Portuguese and East Indian laborers.
The islands belonged to the West Indies Federation from 1958 until its
dissolution in 1962, won home rule in 1969 as part of the West Indies
Associated States, and achieved full independence Oct. 27, 1979. Prime
Minister Milton Cato's government quelled a brief rebellion on Dec. 8,
1979, attributed to economic problems following the eruption of Mount
Soufrière in April 1979 (which had caused the evacuation of the northern
two-thirds of the island). The eruption, followed by Hurricane Allen in
1980, seriously damaged the nation's economy, particularly the important
banana crop, in the 1980s. But by the 1990s the economy had begun to
rebound. With the 1999 decision by the European Union to end its
preferential treatment of bananas imported from former colonies, St.
Vincent sought to diversify its economy, primarily through expanding
tourism.
In 2001 elections, the Unity Labour Party (ULP) won a landslide upset,
and Ralph Gonsalves, a lawyer, became the new prime minister. In 2005, he
was reelected.
See also
Encyclopedia:
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
.
U.S. State
Dept. Country Notes: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
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