Carib Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St.
Vincent until the 18th century. African slaves--whether shipwrecked
or escaped from St. Lucia and Grenada and seeking refuge in St.
Vincent--intermarried with the Caribs and became known as "black
Caribs." Beginning in 1719, French settlers cultivated coffee,
tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar on plantations worked by African
slaves. In 1763, St. Vincent was ceded to Britain. Restored to
French rule in 1779, St. Vincent was regained by the British under
the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. Conflict between the British and
the black Caribs continued until 1796, when General Abercrombie
crushed a revolt fomented by the French radical Victor Hugues. More
than 5,000 black Caribs were eventually deported to Roatan, an
island off the coast of Honduras.
Slavery was abolished in 1834; the resulting labor shortages on the
plantations attracted Portuguese immigrants in the 1840s and east
Indians in the 1860s. 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 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.
Natural disasters have plagued the country throughout the 20th
century. In 1902, the La Soufriere volcano erupted, killing 2,000
people. Much farmland was damaged, and the economy deteriorated. In
April 1979, La Soufriere erupted again. Although no one was killed,
thousands had to be evacuated, and there was extensive agricultural
damage. In 1980 and 1987, hurricanes devastated 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. |
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