I | INTRODUCTION |
Grenada, independent country in the West Indies
consisting of the island of Grenada and several tiny islands in the southern
Grenadines. The largest of the attached Grenadines is the island of Carriacou,
to the northeast. The country has a total area of 344 sq km (133 sq mi), making
it the second smallest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Only Saint Kitts and
Nevis is smaller. Grenada island itself has an area of 311 sq km (120 sq mi).
Grenada and its dependent islands in the
southeastern Caribbean Sea are the southernmost of the Windward Islands. The
capital, largest town, and principal port is Saint George's, located on the
southwestern coast of Grenada. In the center of the island lie volcanic
mountains covered with dense rain forest. All the islands have a tropical
climate, with a rainy season from June to December. Spices, such as nutmeg and
cloves, thrive on the island and give Grenada its nickname “the spice island of
the Caribbean.”
Grenada was once divided into large
plantations owned by British colonists and worked by African slaves. The slaves’
descendants, who form the bulk of the present population, live mostly on small
farms and raise food crops, such as yams, sweet potatoes, and cassava. Nutmeg,
bananas, and cacao are grown for export. Grenada’s growing tourist trade is the
largest source of income.
Grenada has a parliamentary government. In
1979 a leftist government took power in a coup d’état. In 1983 the country’s
leader, Maurice Bishop, was killed by hardliners within his own political party.
United States forces invaded Grenada a week later, with troops from seven other
Caribbean countries. Parliamentary government was restored the next year.
II | LAND |
Grenada island measures about 34 km (21 mi) in
length by 19 km (12 mi) in width. The heavily wooded, mountainous island is of
volcanic origin. The highest peak is Mount Saint Catherine (840 m/2,756 ft).
Valleys interspersed between the mountains are picturesque and fertile, and many
contain swift-flowing streams. Lakes fill several volcano craters high in the
mountains. The island also has hot springs, several mountain lakes, and
excellent beaches. The beaches consist mainly of black volcanic sand. Coral
reefs fringe much of the coastline.
The climate of Grenada is tropical, with an
average annual temperature of 28° C (82° F) along the coast. A rainy season
lasts from June to December, with November the wettest month. Annual rainfall
ranges from 1,000 mm (40 in) in the southwest to 3,800 mm (150 in) in the
mountains. Grenada lies on the southern edge of the Caribbean hurricane belt and
was hit hard in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan.
Tropical rain forests in the interior of
Grenada contain teak and mahogany trees. Mangroves grow in swamps near the
coast. Wildlife is abundant. Animals include the nine-banded armadillo, mona
monkey, green iguana, and Indian mongoose. Many tropical birds and unusual
tropical flowers also thrive on the island.
III | PEOPLE |
The population of Grenada (2008 estimate) is
90,303. More than a third of the people live in Saint George’s, the only town on
the island. The population is quite young: A third of Grenadians are under the
age of 15. The people are predominantly black, and just over half are Roman
Catholic. The remainder are mostly Protestant or Anglican. English is the
official language, but most Grenadians speak an English-based Creole as their
first language. A French-based Creole is also spoken, mainly by older people.
The vast majority of Grenada’s people are
the descendants of Africans brought to the islands to work as slaves in the 18th
and 19th centuries. People of South Asian and European descent also form part of
the population. Many Grenadians have immigrated to the United Kingdom, to the
United States, and to other Caribbean islands in search of greater economic
opportunities.
Education is free and compulsory for
children between the ages of 5 and 16. Classes are taught in English, and
students at public schools wear uniforms. Grenada has a literacy rate of 98
percent. There are teacher training, technical, and agricultural colleges on the
island. St. George’s University was founded in 1977 as a medical school; many of
its medical students come from the United States.
IV | ECONOMY |
Agriculture and tourism provide the foundation
of Grenada’s economy. Grenada’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006 was $524.9
million, giving a per capita GDP of $4,060. (GDP is a measure of the value of
all the goods and services a country produces.) The principal export crops are
the spices nutmeg and mace. Grenada is the world’s second largest producer of
nutmeg after Indonesia. Other crops grown for export include cacao, citrus
fruits, bananas, cloves, and cinnamon. Most farms on Grenada are small. Cereal
grains and root vegetables, such as cassava and yams, are grown for local use.
Shrimp and fish also are part of the local diet.
Tourism is of growing importance to Grenada’s
economy. The island has a pleasant climate, sandy beaches, and lush tropical
forests. The expansion of the main airport and the improvement of hotel
accommodations during the 1990s turned tourism into the country’s main source of
revenues. Grenada uses the East Caribbean dollar of 100 cents
(2.70 East Caribbean dollars equal U.S.$1;).
Manufacturing industries in Grenada are
mostly on a small scale. They produce beverages, such as rum from sugarcane
grown on the island, and beer; foodstuffs, such as flour from locally grown
wheat; and textiles. Another industry is the assembly of electronic parts for
export.
V | GOVERNMENT |
Grenada is an independent state within the
Commonwealth of Nations. Grenada recognizes the British monarch as its own
monarch and head of state. The monarch is represented by a governor-general.
Grenada has a parliamentary system of government and a written constitution that
was adopted in 1973. The constitution was suspended and the parliament dissolved
after a coup d’état in 1979. Following a second coup and the United States-led
military intervention in 1983, an Interim Advisory Council ruled Grenada until
the constitution and parliamentary government were restored in December 1984.
Grenada’s parliament consists of an elected
15-member House of Representatives and a 13-member Senate appointed by the
governor-general. The leader of the majority party in the House of
Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor-general. The prime
minister wields executive authority. The cabinet is appointed by the
governor-general on the recommendation of the prime minister. The main political
parties in Grenada are the conservative New National Party (NNP), the liberal
National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the right-wing Grenada United Labour
Party (GULP).
Grenada is a member of the Organization of
American States and the United Nations. From 1958 to 1962, it was a member of
the West Indies Federation, and in the early 1960s it participated in
unsuccessful attempts to form a federation linking the Leeward Islands and
Windward Islands. Grenada is tied with other Caribbean countries through
membership in the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM).
VI | HISTORY |
Grenada was originally inhabited by Arawak
Indians, who were killed or driven away by the warlike Caribs before the 15th
century. Christopher Columbus was the first European to land on the island
during his third voyage in 1498, and he named it Concepción. Later Spanish
sailors called the lushly forested island Granada, after the city in southern
Spain. The Caribs resisted all attempts at settlement by European nations, and
the island remained uncolonized for more than 150 years.
A | Colonization |
The French founded a settlement at the
site of Saint George’s in 1650, and the Carib defenders were defeated the
following year. The French built fortifications around the harbor at Saint
George’s and resisted British efforts to seize the island for the next century.
The British successfully invaded the island in 1762 during the Seven Years’ War
and acquired Grenada by the treaties of Paris in 1763 and 1783, after the French
recaptured it in 1779.
During the 18th century the British
established sugar plantations on Grenada and brought Africans to work them as
slaves (see Atlantic Slave Trade). In 1795 Julien Fédon, a black planter
inspired by the French Revolution, led a violent slave rebellion that the
British crushed only with great difficulty. Natural disasters in the late 18th
century destroyed the sugar fields and led to the planting of nutmeg and other
valuable spices. The slaves were freed in 1834, and many indentured servants
from the Indian subcontinent were brought to Grenada as agricultural workers.
Grenada was part of the British Windward
Island colony from 1833 to 1958, when it joined the Federation of the West
Indies. When that federation collapsed in 1963, the island attempted to form
another ill-fated federation among the British dependencies of the eastern
Caribbean. Grenada became an associated British state with autonomy in its
internal affairs in March 1967.
A1 | Grenada’s Independence and U.S. Invasion |
Grenada gained full independence from
Great Britain on February 7, 1974. In March 1979 an uprising overthrew the
elected, but corrupt and dictatorial, government headed by Eric M. Gairy,
Grenada’s first prime minister. The coup d’état was headed by Maurice Bishop,
founder of the leftist New Jewel Movement, with Jewel standing for Joint
Endeavor for Welfare, Education, and Liberation). Bishop likewise ruled
dictatorially but also, with Cuban support, tried to introduce populist social
reforms. In October 1983 Bishop was killed by hardliners within his movement,
who objected to his efforts to improve ties to the United States.
A week after Bishop’s murder—on October
25, 1983—U.S. troops, accompanied by those of seven Caribbean countries, invaded
Grenada. About 300 people were killed before an interim government, led by
Nicholas Brathwaite, was installed. It remained in office until elections were
held in December 1984. The U.S. combat troops were withdrawn by the end of 1983,
but contingents of U.S. and Caribbean technical and security advisers remained.
U.S. aid of about $90 million helped to repair some of the war damage and to
promote tourism.
Parliamentary elections in December 1984
established Herbert A. Blaize, head of the center-left coalition New National
Party (NNP), as prime minister. Blaize died in office in 1989, and national
elections were held in March 1990. The centrist National Democratic Congress
(NDC) emerged as the strongest party and formed a coalition government headed by
Nicholas Brathwaite. An economic slowdown prompted by labor unrest led to a
decline in Brathwaite’s popularity in 1992 and 1993. In July 1994 Brathwaite
announced that he would step down as the head of the NDC and that he would
resign as prime minister in 1995.
A2 | Mitchell as Prime Minister |
Agriculture Minister George Brizan was
elected as the head of the NDC in September 1994, and in February 1995 he
replaced Brathwaite as prime minister. In June 1995 the NNP won 8 out of 15
parliamentary seats in national elections and replaced the NDC as the ruling
party. NNP leader Keith Mitchell, a former university professor and minister of
public works and communications, was sworn in as the prime minister of Grenada
on June 22, 1995. Mitchell called for increased political and economic
integration with the nearby Caribbean countries of Dominica, Saint Lucia, and
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with a view to eventual political federation.
During 1996 Grenada’s politics were
dominated by problems in the agricultural sector, notably a deterioration in
banana quality that led to a temporary suspension of exports, and an infestation
of pink mealybugs that threatened the entire cocoa bean crop. Losses as a result
of decreased exports were estimated at $10 million. Grenada’s relations with
Cuba improved in early 1997, leading to plans for Cuban assistance in education,
health, and agriculture. The NNP retained power in 1999 elections, taking all 15
parliamentary seats and returning Mitchell for a second term as prime
minister.
The November 2003 election was closely
fought, with the NNP gaining a one-seat advantage over the National Democratic
Congress. Keith Mitchell began his third term as prime minister.
A3 | Devastation from Hurricane Ivan |
In 2004 Grenada was devastated by a
Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane Ivan destroyed or damaged about 90 percent of
Grenada’s residential housing, including the home of Prime Minister Mitchell.
About three dozen people were killed in the hurricane.
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