History of St. Vincent

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles nestled in the Caribbean Sea. Its 389-square-kilometre (150 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines. The estimated population of Saint Vincent is around 120,000 and many reside near the capital Kingstown. The country has a French and British colonial history and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations and CARICOM. While it is doubtful that Christopher Columbus ever set foot on the island, he may have sighted it on his third voyage to the New World (1498-1500).

Known by the Carib indians as Hairoun (“Land of the Blessed”), St. Vincent was first inhabited by the Ciboney Meso-Indians. The Ciboney were pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of the Lesser and Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The economy of these hunter-gatherers depended heavily on marine resources as well as the land.

Another indigenous group, the Arawak, who entered the West Indies from Venezuela and moved gradually north and west along the islands, gradually displaced the Ciboney. They practiced a highly productive form of agriculture and had a more advanced social structure and material culture. The peace-loving Arawak fished and collectively farmed plots of land. The bountiful harvests and abundant fish, combined with the compact and stable island population, permitted the development of an elaborate political and social structure.

The Caribs, arriving in St. Vincent perhaps no more than 100 years before the Europeans eventually conquered the Arawak. More warlike than their predecessors, the Caribs were extremely efficient at keeping unwanted settlers from their shores. Heavy Carib resistance prevented St. Vincent from being colonized long after most other Caribbean islands had well-established European settlements. In 1627 Charles I of England granted the island to Lord Carlisle and then, in 1672 Charles II granted it to Lord Willoughby. While the British, French and Spanish disputed possession, the Caribs resisted all these claims.

The first permanent settlers arrived on the shores of St. Vincent in 1635. These new inhabitants were African slaves who survived the sinking of the Dutch slave ship on which they were being transported. The escaped Africans merged with the Caribs and gradually adopted their language. Referred to as "Black Caribs", to differentiate them from the original "Yellow Caribs", the progeny of this group became the foundation of the Garifuna (which means“cassava eating people”) who today populate Belize and Honduras. After several skirmishes both groups had agreed in 1700 to subdivide the island between themselves, the Yellow Caribs occupying the Leeward and the Black Caribs the Windward.

The British, who claimed Carib land by royal grants, were more despised by the Caribs than the French who were permitted to set up settlements in the early 1700’s. The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle officially ended the War of the Austrian Succession. This treaty included the proviso that St. Vincent remain officially “neutral.” The 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded St. Vincent to the British. During the period 1772-1773 (referred to as the First Carib War), the Caribs engaged in guerrilla warfare and destroyed plantations by setting them on fire. With Carib aid, the French forcibly seized the island in 1779, but restored it to Britain in 1783, under the Treaty of Versailles.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles nestled in the Caribbean Sea. Its 389-square-kilometre (150 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines. The estimated population of Saint Vincent is around 120,000 and many reside near the capital Kingstown. The country has a French and British colonial history and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations and CARICOM. While it is doubtful that Christopher Columbus ever set foot on the island, he may have sighted it on his third voyage to the New World (1498-1500).

Known by the Carib indians as Hairoun (“Land of the Blessed”), St. Vincent was first inhabited by the Ciboney Meso-Indians. The Ciboney were pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of the Lesser and Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The economy of these hunter-gatherers depended heavily on marine resources as well as the land.

Another indigenous group, the Arawak, who entered the West Indies from Venezuela and moved gradually north and west along the islands, gradually displaced the Ciboney. They practiced a highly productive form of agriculture and had a more advanced social structure and material culture. The peace-loving Arawak fished and collectively farmed plots of land. The bountiful harvests and abundant fish, combined with the compact and stable island population, permitted the development of an elaborate political and social structure.

The Caribs, arriving in St. Vincent perhaps no more than 100 years before the Europeans eventually conquered the Arawak. More warlike than their predecessors, the Caribs were extremely efficient at keeping unwanted settlers from their shores. Heavy Carib resistance prevented St. Vincent from being colonized long after most other Caribbean islands had well-established European settlements. In 1627 Charles I of England granted the island to Lord Carlisle and then, in 1672 Charles II granted it to Lord Willoughby. While the British, French and Spanish disputed possession, the Caribs resisted all these claims.

The first permanent settlers arrived on the shores of St. Vincent in 1635. These new inhabitants were African slaves who survived the sinking of the Dutch slave ship on which they were being transported. The escaped Africans merged with the Caribs and gradually adopted their language. Referred to as "Black Caribs", to differentiate them from the original "Yellow Caribs", the progeny of this group became the foundation of the Garifuna (which means“cassava eating people”) who today populate Belize and Honduras. After several skirmishes both groups had agreed in 1700 to subdivide the island between themselves, the Yellow Caribs occupying the Leeward and the Black Caribs the Windward.

The British, who claimed Carib land by royal grants, were more despised by the Caribs than the French who were permitted to set up settlements in the early 1700’s. The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle officially ended the War of the Austrian Succession. This treaty included the proviso that St. Vincent remain officially “neutral.” The 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded St. Vincent to the British. During the period 1772-1773 (referred to as the First Carib War), the Caribs engaged in guerrilla warfare and destroyed plantations by setting them on fire. With Carib aid, the French forcibly seized the island in 1779, but restored it to Britain in 1783, under the Treaty of Versailles.

For more on the history of St. Vincent please go here.