Caribbean Community Information

St. Vincent and the Grenadines:

The Grenadines consist of 32 islands, the largest of which are Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, and Union. Some of the smaller islands are privately owned.

The Arawaks were the original inhabitants of the island around 1000 AD, later the island was invaded by Carib warriors. The islands were first sighted by Christopher Columbus on the 22nd January 1498 they were later settled by the French in 1719. Recent studies revealed that Africans arrived before Columbus and settled on the islands. The Caribs on the islands were joined by other Caribs fleeing Europeans attacks on neighboring islands, as well as runaway African slaves and slaves who had survived shipwrecks in the area.

In 1635 two Spanish ships carrying African captives, believed to be Nigerian, were shipwrecked off St. Vincent. News of “free” Africans on St. Vincent spread throughout the other islands which lead to an increase in runaways trying to make it to the island. By 1676 it is estimated that 30% of the population on the island were former enslaved Africans who had escaped bondage. In the beginning, the Caribs and the runaway slaves fought each other but eventually intermarried giving “birth to a new tribe” called the “Black Caribs” or Garifuna which means cassava eating people. Eventually the Garifuna outnumbered the Caribs which created tensions with the minority Caribs. Around 1719 they negotiated with French sailors to settle on the islands hoping to shift power away from the Black Caribs.

In 1763, St. Vincent was ceded to Britain in 1779 it changed hands to French rule and in 1783 under the Treaty of Versailles the British regained control of the island. Conflicts between the British and the Garifuna (Black Caribs) continued until 1795, when, with the help of French from the island of Martinique they rebelled against the British in 1796. Following the rebellion, more than 5,000 Black Caribs were “deported” to Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras.

Following the emancipation of slavery in 1834 indentured labourers were brought in from Portugal in the 1840s and East Indians in the 1860s to alleviate the labor shortage. Conditions remained harsh for both former slaves and the newly arrived indentured immigrants. Compounding this, in the second half of the 19th century sugar slumped and a following depression lasted until the end of the century. A series of natural disasters occurred including the eruption of La Soufriere in 1902 which devastated the northern half of the island and killed some 2,000 people. Between 1980 and 1987 hurricanes destroyed banana and coconut plantations and in 1999 hurricane Lenny caused extensive damage to the west coast of the island.

During British rule several attempts were made to form an affiliation with other Windward Islands in order to govern the region through a unified administration. The most notable was the West Indies Federation, which collapsed in 1962. St. Vincent was granted associate statehood status in 1969, giving it complete control over its internal affairs. Following a referendum in 1979, St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence.

The island relies heavily on its banana industry which accounts for 50% of its exports and employs more than of 60% of the work force. The reliance on one crop makes the economy vulnerable to fluctuations in banana prices the situation was compounded by the erosion of the European Union trade preferences. To combat these instabilities the government has been focusing on diversifying its economy away from reliance on bananas. Although less prominent than other Eastern Caribbean countries, tourism has grown to become a very important part of the island’s economy, and is a major source of foreign currency earnings. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a beneficiary of the US Caribbean Basin Initiative which grants duty-free entry into the United States for a wide range of products from the region.

The island is probably best known as a hideaway for the rich and famous while also emerging as a well governed and regulated financial jurisdiction to rival the more prominent offshore finance centers in the region. The Western coast of St Vincent is no stranger to having its beauty portrayed on film. Portions of Disney’s 'Pirates of the Caribbean – the Curse of the Black Pearl' were shot close to the Buccament Bay on St. Vincent.

Transparency International which is a global coalition against corruption, in its 2007 Corruption Perception Index has ranked St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the number 30 spot among 179 countries surveyed (number 1 being the least corrupt and number 179 as the most corrupt). This ranking has placed the the WI islands and at number three among the 13 CARICOM member states surveyed.

Vincentians are very fun loving and easy-going people and their lifestyle is very relaxed. Despite this, in addition to a stable socio-political environment and very little corruption, the residents have been leaving in relatively large numbers especially for Canada. Statistics from the Visitor Review Enforcement branch of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for the first quarter of 2004 reveal that the number of Vincentians claiming refugee status in Canada has been increasing at an unacceptably high rate when compared to other Eastern Caribbean nationals. Since 2000 St. Vincent and the Grenadines recorded the highest number of claims numbering 1,121, followed by Grenada at 700 and St. Lucia at 630. Refugee claimants from the other states are less alarming. By March 31, 2004 the following claims were recorded - St. Vincent and the Grenadines 96, Grenada 57, St. Lucia 40, Dominica 12, Antigua and Barbuda 4 and St. Kitts and Nevis 1.

Basic facts and figures
Capital city: Kingstown
Ethnic groups: African descent (66%), mixed (19%), East Indian (6%), Carib Indian (2%), other (7%).
Official Language: English, with some French Patois spoken.
Population: 119,110
GDP (2006): $465.93 million.
GDP growth (2005): 4.9%.
Per capita GDP (2005): $3,594.
Inflation (2005): 4.6%.
Unemployment (2004): 12%
External debt (2005): US$248.29 million
Net Official Development Assistance (2006): US$4.73 million
Workers’ remittances (2006): US$5.0 million
Foreign direct investment (2005): US$56.6 million
Human Development Index Rank (1990): 79
Human Development Index Rank (2006): 93