HISTORY OF ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES

Carib Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St. Vincent until the 18th century. Enslaved Africans – whether shipwrecked or escaped from Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada and seeking refuge in mainland St. Vincent, or Hairouna as it was originally named by the Caribs – intermarried with the Caribs and became known as Garifuna or Black Caribs.

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 Paris (1783) in which Great Britain officially recognized the end of the American Revolution. Ancillary treaties were also signed with France and Spain, known as the Treaties of Versailles of 1783, part of which put St. Vincent back under British control.

The conflict between the British and the Black Caribs, led by defiant Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer, continued until 1796 when General Sir Ralph Abercromby crushed a revolt fomented by the French radical Victor Hugues. More than 5,000 Black Caribs were eventually deported to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras. Joseph Chatoyer is a national hero of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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.

Fort Charlotte

During this period, the British made several unsuccessful attempts to affiliate St. Vincent with the other Windward Islands in order to govern the region through a unified administration. The colonies themselves, desirous of freedom from British rule, made a notable attempt at unification called West Indies Federation, which collapsed in 1962. St. Vincent was granted associate statehood status on October 27, 1969, giving it complete control over its internal affairs.

Following a referendum in 1979, under Milton Cato St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence on the 10th anniversary of its associate statehood status, October 27, 1979.