Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Motto: "Pax et Justitia" (Latin)
"Peace and Justice"
Anthem: "Saint Vincent, Land So beautiful"
and largest city
|Vernacular language||Vincentian Creole|
|Government||Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy|
|Sir Frederick Nathaniel Ballantyne|
|Dr Ralph Gonsalves|
|Legislature||House of Assembly|
|27 October 1969|
• from the United Kingdom
|27 October 1979|
|389 km2 (150 sq mi) (184th)|
• Water (%)
• 2016 estimate
• 2011 census
|307/km2 (795.1/sq mi) (39th)|
|GDP (PPP)||2016 estimate|
• Per capita
|GDP (nominal)||2016 estimate|
• Per capita
|HDI (2017)|| 0.723|
high · 99th
|Currency||East Caribbean dollar (XCD)|
|Calling code||+1 784|
|ISO 3166 code||VC|
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (// (listen)) is a country in the Lesser Antilles island arc, in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lies in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean. The sovereign state is also frequently known simply as Saint Vincent.
Its 389 km2 (150 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent Island to Grenada. Most of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies within the Hurricane Alley.
To the north of Saint Vincent lies Saint Lucia and to the east is Barbados. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a densely populated country for its size (over 300 inhabitants/km2) with approximately 109,643 inhabitants.
Kingstown is the capital and main port. Saint Vincent has a French and British colonial history, and is now part of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, CARICOM, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
- 1 Languages
- 2 History
- 3 Geography
- 4 Government and politics
- 5 Foreign relations
- 5.1 International and regional relationships
- 5.2 European nations
- 5.3 Venezuela
- 6 Economy
- 7 Demographics
- 8 Religion
- 9 Culture
- 10 Political Parties
- 11 See also
- 12 References
- 13 Further reading
- 14 External links
The main mother tongue is Vincentian Creole and the official language is English.
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The island now known as Saint Vincent was originally named Youloumain by the native Island Caribs who called themselves Kalina/Carina ("l" and "r" being pronounced the same in their language). The Caribs aggressively prevented European settlement on Saint Vincent until 1719. Prior to this, formerly enslaved Africans, who had either been shipwrecked or who had escaped from Barbados, Saint Lucia and Grenada and sought refuge in mainland Saint Vincent, intermarried with the Caribs and became known as Black Caribs or Garifuna.
French colony – First phase
The first Europeans to occupy St. Vincent were the French. Following a series of wars and peace treaties,[which?] the islands were eventually ceded to the British. While the English were the first to lay claim to St Vincent in 1627, the French centred on the island of Martinique would be the first European settlers on the island when they established their first colony at Barrouallie on the Leeward side of St Vincent in 1719. The French settlers cultivated coffee, tobacco, indigo, corn, and sugar on plantations worked by African slaves.
British colony – First phase
The British captured the island from the French during the Seven Years' War fought between 1754 and 1763. St Vincent was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris (1763), after which friction between the British and the Caribs led to the First Carib War, on taking control of the island in 1763, the British laid the foundations of Fort Charlotte.
French colony – Second phase
British colony – Second phase
Between 1783 and 1796, there was again conflict between the British and the Black Caribs, who were led by Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer. Between 1795 and 1796, with French support from Martinique, the Black Caribs fought a series of battles against the British, their uprising was eventually put down, resulting in almost 5,000 Black Caribs being exiled to the tiny island of Baliceaux off the coast of Bequia.
Conflict between the British and the Black Caribs continued until 1796; in 1797 British General Sir Ralph Abercromby put an end to the open conflict by crushing an uprising which had been supported by the French radical, Victor Hugues. The British deported more than 5,000 Black Caribs to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras.
In 1806 the building of Fort Charlotte was completed.
The La Soufriere volcano erupted in 1812.
Like the French before them, the British also used African slaves to work plantations of sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton and cocoa until full emancipation in 1838, the economy then went into a period of decline with many landowners abandoning their estates and leaving the land to be cultivated by liberated slaves.
Slavery was abolished in Saint Vincent (as well as in the other British colonies) in 1834, and an apprenticeship period followed which ended in 1838, after its end, labour shortages on the plantations resulted, and this was initially addressed by the immigration of indentured servants. In the late 1840s many Portuguese immigrants arrived from Madeira and between 1861 and 1888 shiploads of East Indian labourers arrived. 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.
20th and 21st centuries
In 1903, La Soufrière volcano erupted, killing 5,000 people. Much farmland was damaged, and the economy deteriorated.
From 1763 until its independence in 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines passed through various stages of colonial status under the British. A representative assembly was authorized in 1776, Crown Colony government was installed in 1877, a legislative council was created in 1925, and universal adult suffrage was granted in 1951.
During the period of its control of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Britain made several unsuccessful attempts to affiliate the island with other Windward Islands, with the aim of simplifying British control in the region through a single unified administration; in the 1960s, several regional islands under British control, including Saint Vincent, also made an independent attempt to unify themselves politically. The unification was to be called the West Indies Federation and was driven by a desire to gain independence from British government, the attempt collapsed in 1962.
Saint Vincent was granted "associate statehood" status by Britain on 27 October 1969, this gave Saint Vincent complete control over its own internal affairs but was short of full independence in law. On 27 October 1979, under Milton Cato, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain full independence. Independence came on the 10th anniversary of Saint Vincent's associate statehood status.
In April 1979, La Soufrière volcano erupted again, although no one was killed, thousands were evacuated and again there was extensive agricultural damage. In 1980 and 1987, hurricanes damaged many banana and coconut plantations. Hurricane seasons were also very active in 1998 and 1999, with Hurricane Lenny in 1999 causing extensive damage to the west coast of the island.
On 25 November 2009, voters were asked to approve a new constitution in a referendum, the new constitution proposed to make the country a republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state with a non-executive President. A two-thirds majority was required, and it was defeated by 30,019 votes (55.64 per cent) to 12,493 (43.13 per cent).
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies to the west of Barbados, south of Saint Lucia and north of Grenada in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, an island arc of the Caribbean Sea. The islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines include the main island of Saint Vincent 344 km2 (133 sq mi) and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines 45 km2 (17 sq mi), which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent to Grenada. There are 32 islands and cays that make up St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). Nine are inhabited, including the mainland St Vincent and the Grenadines islands: Young Island, Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Union Island, Mayreau, Petit St Vincent and Palm Island. Prominent uninhabited islands of the Grenadines include Petit Nevis, used by whalers, and Petit Mustique, which was the center of a prominent real estate scam in the early 2000s.
The capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Kingstown, Saint Vincent, the main island of Saint Vincent measures 26 km (16 mi) long, 15 km (9.3 mi) in width and 344 km2 (133 sq mi) in area. From the most northern to the most southern points, the Grenadine islands belonging to Saint Vincent span 60.4 km (37.5 mi) with a combined area of 45 km2 (17 sq mi).
The island of Saint Vincent is volcanic and includes little level ground, the windward side of the island is very rocky and steep, while the leeward side has more sandy beaches and bays. Saint Vincent's highest peak is La Soufrière volcano at 1,234 m (4,049 ft).
Government and politics
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, bearing the title Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Queen does not reside in the islands and is represented in the country by the Governor General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, currently Sir Frederick Ballantyne.
The office of Governor General has mostly ceremonial functions including the opening of the islands' House of Assembly and the appointment of various government officials. Control of the government rests with the elected Prime Minister and his or her cabinet, the current Prime Minister is Ralph Gonsalves, elected in 2001 as head of the Unity Labour Party.
The legislative branch of government is the unicameral House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, seating 15 elected members representing single-member constituencies and six appointed members known as Senators. The parliamentary term of office is five years, although the Prime Minister may call elections at any time.
The two political parties with parliamentary representation are the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Unity Labour Party (ULP), the parliamentary opposition is made up of the largest minority stakeholder in the general elections, headed by the leader of the opposition. The current opposition leader is Dr. Godwin Friday.
Saint Vincent has no formal armed forces, although the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force includes a Special Service Unit as well as a militia that has a supporting role on the island.
Administratively, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is divided into six parishes. Five parishes are on Saint Vincent, while the sixth is made up of the Grenadine islands. Kingstown is located in the Parish of Saint George and is the capital city and central administrative centre of the country.
Homosexuality is illegal in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Section 148 of the Criminal Code states that "Any person, who in public or private, commits an act of gross indecency with another person of the same sex, or procures or attempts to procure another person of the same sex to commit an act of gross indecency with him or her, is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for five years".
International and regional relationships
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines maintains close ties to the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and cooperates with regional political and economic organisations such as the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and CARICOM.
The Double Taxation Relief (CARICOM) Treaty
On 6 July 1994 at Sherbourne Conference Centre, St. Michael, Barbados, as a representative of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, then (James Mitchell, who was subsequently knighted) signed the Double Taxation Relief (CARICOM) Treaties. There were seven other signatories to the agreement on that day, the countries which were represented were: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
An eighth country signed the agreement on 19 August 2016, Guyana.
This treaty covered taxes, residence, tax jurisdictions, capital gains, business profits, interest, dividends, royalties and other areas.
On 30 June 2014, St. Vincent and the Grenadines signed a Model 1 agreement with the United States of America with respect to Foreign Account Tax Compliance (Act) or FATCA.
According to the updated site as of 16 January 2017, on 13 May 2016 the agreement went to "In Force" status.
International and regional bodies to which St. Vincent and the Grenadines belong
Organisation of American States
The Charter of the OAS was signed in Bogota in 1948 and was amended by several Protocols which were named after the city and the year in which the Protocol was signed, such as "Managua" in "1993" forming part of the name of the Protocol.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines entered the OAS system on 27 October 1981 according to the OAS website.
Summits of the Americas
The last Summits of the Americas, the seventh, was held in Panama City, Panama in 2015 with the eight summit being held in Lima, Peru in 2018 according to the website of the Summits of Americas.
Indigenous Leaders Summits of Americas (ILSA)
The position of the OAS with respect to indigenous persons appears to be developing over the years, the following statements appear to capture the position of the OAS with respect to the ILSA: "The OAS has supported and participated in the organisation of Indigenous Leaders Summits of Americas (ILSA)" according to the OAS's website. The most recent "statement made by the Heads of State of the hemisphere was in the Declaration of Commitments of Port of Spain in 2009 – Paragraph 86 according to the OAS's website."
The Draft American Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous Persons appear to be a working document, the last "Meeting for Negotiations in the Quest for Consensus on this area appeared to be Meeting Number (18) eighteen and is listed as being held in May 2015 according to the website."
In 2013, Saint Vincent called for European nations to pay reparations for the slave trade.
Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is the most important sector of this lower-middle-income economy, the services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important. The government has been relatively unsuccessful at introducing new industries, and the unemployment rate remains high at 19.8% in the 1991 census to 15% in 2001. The continuing dependence on a single crop represents the biggest obstacle to the islands' development as tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of bananas in many years.
There is a small manufacturing sector and a small offshore financial sector whose particularly restrictive secrecy laws have caused some international concern. In addition, the natives of Bequia are permitted to hunt up to four humpback whales per year under IWC subsistence quotas.
The tourism sector has considerable potential for development, the recent filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies on the island has helped to expose the country to more potential visitors and investors. Recent growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the construction sector and an improvement in tourism.
In 2010, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had 21,700 telephone land lines, its land telephone system is fully automatic and covers the entire island and all of the inhabited Grenadine islands. In 2002, there were 10,000 mobile phones. By 2010, this number had increased to 131,800. Mobile phone service is available in most areas of Saint Vincent as well as the Grenadines.
The population as estimated in 2016 was 109,643, the ethnic composition was 66% African descent, 19% of mixed descent, 6% East Indian, 4% Europeans (mainly Portuguese), 2% Island Carib and 3% others. Most Vincentians are the descendants of African people brought to the island to work on plantations. There are other ethnic groups such as Portuguese (from Madeira) and East Indians, both brought in to work on the plantations after the abolishing of slavery by the British living on the island. There is also a growing Chinese population.
English is the official language. Most Vincentians speak Vincentian Creole. English is used in education, government, religion, and other formal domains, while Creole (or 'dialect' as it is referred to locally) is used in informal situations such as in the home and among friends.
According to the 2001 census, 81.5% of the population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is considered Christian, 6.7% has another religion and 8.8% has no religion or did not state a religion (1.5%).
Anglicanism constitutes the largest religious category, with 17.8% of the population. Pentecostals are the second largest group (17.6%). The next largest group are Methodists (10.9% of the population), followed by Seventh-day Adventists (10.2%) and Baptists (10.0%). Other Christians include Jehovah's Witnesses (0.6%), Roman Catholics (7.5%), Evangelicals (2.8%), Church of God (2.5%), Brethren Christian (1.3%), and the Salvation Army (0.3%).
Between 1991 and 2001 the number of Anglicans, Brethren, Methodists and Roman Catholics decreased, while the number of Pentecostals, Evangelicals and Seventh-day Adventists increased.
The country's prime Football league is the NLA Premier League, which provides its national (association) football team with most players. A notable Vincentian footballer is Ezra Hendrickson, former national team captain who played at several Major League Soccer clubs in the United States and is now an assistant coach with the Seattle Sounders FC.
The country regularly participates at the Caribbean Basketball Championship where a men's team and a women's team compete. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also has its own national rugby union team which is ranked 84th in the world. Other notable sports played at the regional level include track and field.
Music popular in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines includes big drum, calypso, soca, chutney, steelpan and reggae. String band music, quadrille and bele music and traditional storytelling are also popular. One of the most successful St Vincent natives is Kevin Lyttle. He was named Cultural Ambassador for the Island 19 September 2013.
The national anthem of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is "Saint Vincent, Land so beautiful", adopted upon independence in 1979.
Saint Vincent has twelve FM radio stations including 88.9 Adoration Fm, 89.1 Jem Radio, 89.7 NBC Radio, 95.7 and 105.7 Praise FM, 96.7 Nice Radio, 97.1 Hot 97, 98.3 Star FM, 99.9 We FM, 103.7 Hitz, 102.7 EZee radio, 104.3 Xtreme FM and 106.9 Boom FM. Several Internet radio stations including Chronicles Christian Radio, it has one television broadcast station ZBG-TV (SVGTV) and one cable television provider.
St Vincent and the Grenadines Broadcasting Co-operation is the parent company for SVGTV, Magic 103.7.
- Unity Labour Party – In office
- New Democratic Party (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) – In opposition
- Democratic Republican Party (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Green Party
- Outline of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Index of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines-related articles
- "World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision". ESA.UN.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- "St. Vincent and the Grenadines". International Monetary Fund. 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- "- Human Development Reports". hdr.undp.org.
- Frere. Adrien Le Breton SJ. (1662–1736). Historic Account of Saint Vincent, the Indian Youroumayn, the island of the Karaÿbes. Paris: Museum of Natural History, Fonds Jussieu.
- "St Vincent Genealogy Resources". svgancestry.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012.
- "Constitutional reform referendum defeated in St Vincent & the Grenadines". Antillean. 26 November 2009. Archived from the original on 18 February 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Situation and treatment of homosexuals; legislation; availability of state protection and support services (2007 – September 2009)". Refworld. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011.
- "The Double Taxation Relief (Caricom) Order" (PDF). Legal Supplement. 33 (273). 28 December 1994.
- "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)". Treasury.gov. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Charter of the Organization of American States". Organization of American States. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Member State: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". Organization of American States. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Home". Summits of the Americas. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – St Vincent and the Grenadines". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Indigenous Peoples". Organization of American States. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Indigenous Peoples". Summits of The Americas. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Events OAS Indigenous Special Events". Organization of American States. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Caribbean leaders make case for reparations at U.N." The Miami Herald. 29 September 2013.
- "Statement of St Vincent & the Grenadines". United Nations Population Information Network. 9 September 1994. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- "The World Fact Book". Central Intelligence Agency. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- Culzac-Wilson, Lystra (October 2003). "Report to the Regional Consultation on SIDS Specific Issues" (PDF). United Nations Environment Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- "Argyle International Airport, St Vincent & the Grenadines". caribbeanconstruction.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- "Argyle International Airport to open February 14". Antigua Observer Newspaper. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". About.com. 1 November 2005. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- "About SVG: Essentials". SVG Tourism Authority. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- Central Intelligence Agency. "St Vincent and the Grenadines". The World Factbook.
- "Vincentian Creole English". Ethnologue. 19 February 1999. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- "The Classification of the English-Lexifier Creole Languages Spoken in Grenada, Guyana, St Vincent, and Tobago Using a Comparison of the Markers of Some Key Grammatical Features". SIL International. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- "Population and housing census report 2001". stats.gov.vc. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "Visit St Vincent & the Grenadines – Sport". visitsvg.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- "Ezra Hendrickson, Assistant Coach". Seattle Sounders FC. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- "Kevin Lyttle, "Skinny Fabulous," n "Fireman Hooper" Are Named Cultural Ambassadors". Islandmix.com. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- "Contemporary Christian Radio Station". Adoration FM SVG. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "About Caribbean Christian Radio Online". Chronicles Christian Radio. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "SVGTV". St Vincent and the Grenadines Broadcasting Corporation Ltd. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- Bobrow, Jill & Jinkins, Dana. 1985. St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 4th Edition Revised and Updated, Concepts Publishing Co., Waitsfield, Vermont, 1993.
- Cosover, Mary Jo. 1989. "St. Vincent and the Grenadines." In Islands of the Commonwealth Caribbean: A Regional Study, edited by Sandra W. Meditz and Dennis M. Hanratty. US Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
- CIA Factbook entry
- Gonsalves, Ralph E. 1994. History and the Future: A Caribbean Perspective. Quik-Print, Kingstown, St Vincent.
- US Dept of State Profile
- Williams, Eric. 1964. British Historians and the West Indies, Port-of-Spain.
- Official website
- Website of the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members
- General information
- "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at Curlie
- St Vincent and the Grenadines from the BBC News
- Wikimedia Atlas of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Key Development Forecasts for St Vincent and the Grenadines from International Futures