Grenada
About 89% of Grenada's population is of African descent. An
additional 8.2% are of mixed East Indian, African, and/or Caucasian
ancestry, reflecting Grenada's history of African slaves, East
Indian indentured servants, and European settlers. An additional 2%
of the population considers itself East Indian, which includes some
descendents of the indentured servants brought to Grenada from 1857
to the 1890s, as well as immigrants arriving from Trinidad and
Tobago, Guyana, and Indians since the 1970s. A small community (less
than 1% of the population) of the descendants of early European
settlers resides in Grenada. About 50% of Grenada's population is
under the age of 30. English is the official language; few people
still speak French patois, though there has been a recent resurgence
of interest in re-learning the language. A wide range of Christian
denominations are present in Grenada, as well as growing number of
other religions.
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Before the arrival of Europeans, Carib Indians had driven the more
peaceful Arawaks from the island. Columbus landed on Grenada in 1498
during his third voyage to the new world. He named the island
"Concepcion." The origin of the name "Grenada" is obscure, but it is
likely that Spanish sailors renamed the island for the city of
Granada. By the beginning of the 18th century, the name "Grenada,"
or "la Grenade" in French, was in common use.
Partly because of the Caribs, Grenada remained un-colonized for more
than 100 years after its discovery; early English efforts to settle
the island were unsuccessful. In 1650, a French company founded by
Cardinal Richelieu purchased Grenada from the English and
established a small settlement. After several skirmishes with the
Caribs, the French brought in reinforcements from Martinique and
defeated the Caribs.
The island remained under French control until its capture by the
British in 1762, during the Seven Years' War. The Treaty of Paris
formally ceded Grenada to Great Britain in 1763. Although the French
regained control in 1779, the Treaty of Versailles restored the
island to Britain in 1783. Britain overcame a pro-French revolt in
1795, and Grenada remained British for the remainder of the colonial
period.
During the 18th century, Grenada's economy underwent an important
transition. Like much of the rest of the West Indies it was
originally settled to cultivate sugar, which was grown on estates
using slave labor. But natural disasters paved the way for the
introduction of other crops. In 1782, Sir Joseph Banks, the
botanical adviser to King George III, introduced nutmeg to Grenada.
The island's soil was ideal for growing the spice, and because
Grenada was a closer source of spices for Europe than the Dutch East
Indies the island assumed a new importance to European traders.
The collapse of the sugar estates and the introduction of nutmeg and
cocoa encouraged the development of smaller landholdings, and the
island developed a land-owning yeoman farmer class. Slavery was
outlawed in 1834. In 1833, Grenada became part of the British
Windward Islands Administration. The governor of the Windward
Islands administered the island for the rest of the colonial period.
In 1958, the Windward Islands Administration was dissolved, and
Grenada joined the Federation of the West Indies. After that
federation collapsed in 1962, the British Government tried to form a
small federation out of its remaining dependencies in the Eastern
Caribbean.
Following the failure of this second effort, the British and the
islands developed the concept of associated statehood. Under the
Associated Statehood Act of 1967, Grenada was granted full autonomy
over its internal affairs in March 1967. Full independence was
granted on February 7, 1974.
After obtaining independence, Grenada adopted a modified Westminster
parliamentary system based on the British model, with a governor
general appointed by and representing the British monarch (head of
state) and a prime minister who is both leader of the majority party
and the head of government. Sir Eric Gairy was Grenada's first Prime
Minister.
On March 13, 1979, the New Joint Endeavor for Welfare, Education,
and Liberation Movement (New Jewel Movement--NJM), ousted Gairy in a
coup and established a People's Revolutionary Government (PRG)
headed by Maurice Bishop, who became Prime Minister. His
Marxist-Leninist government established close ties with Cuba, the
Soviet Union, and other communist bloc countries.
In October 1983, a power struggle within the government resulted in
the arrest and execution of Bishop and several members of his
cabinet and the killing of dozens of his supporters by elements of
the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA).
A U.S.-Caribbean force landed on Grenada on October 25, 1983, in
response to an appeal from the Governor General and to a request for
assistance from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. U.S.
citizens were evacuated, and order was restored.
An advisory council named by the Governor General administered the
country until general elections were held in December 1984. The New
National Party (NNP) led by Herbert Blaize won 14 out of 15 seats in
free and fair elections and formed a democratic government.
Grenada's constitution had been suspended in 1979 by the PRG, but it
was restored after the 1984 elections.
The NNP continued in power until 1989 but with a reduced majority.
Five NNP parliamentary members, including two cabinet ministers,
left the party in 1986-87 and formed the National Democratic
Congress (NDC), which became the official opposition.
In August 1989, Prime Minister Blaize broke with the NNP to form
another new party, The National Party (TNP), from the ranks of the
NNP. This split in the NNP resulted in the formation of a minority
government until constitutionally scheduled elections in March 1990.
Prime Minister Blaize died in December 1989 and was succeeded as
Prime Minister by Ben Jones until the elections.
The NDC emerged from the 1990 elections as the strongest party,
winning seven of the 15 available seats. Nicholas Brathwaite added
two TNP members and one member of the Grenada United Labor Party
(GULP) to create a 10-seat majority coalition. The Governor General
appointed him to be Prime Minister.
In parliamentary elections on June 20, 1995, the NNP won eight seats
and formed a government headed by Keith Mitchell. The NNP continued
to hold power for the next 13 years, with varying levels of
representation in parliament, taking all 15 parliamentary seats in
the January 1999 elections and 8 of 15 seats in the November 2003
elections. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by Tillman
Thomas established itself as the official opposition.
Keith Mitchell lost his bid to win an unprecedented fourth term in
the July 2008 election. While he won his own seat by a huge margin,
only three other NNP candidates were voted in in a very close
election. Tillman Thomas led his NDC cohort to an 11 to 4 victory
over their longtime rivals. The winners began to organize their
government, and Mitchell became the leader of the official
opposition. |
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