Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Introduction
Saint Vincent island is mountainous, rising to 4,048 ft (1,234 m) at Soufrière, an active volcano whose eruptions in 1902 and 1979 caused considerable damage to the island. The people are mainly descendants of Africans who were brought as slaves during the colonial period; there are also people of European, Asian Indian, and Carib descent. English is the predominant language, and a French patois is also spoken. The main religions are Anglicanism, Methodism, and Roman Catholicism.
The climate is well-suited to agriculture, which is an important part of Saint Vincent's economy. Bananas, taro, and arrowroot are the chief agricultural exports. There is light industry and offshore banking. Tourism is also economically important. The main trading partners are the United States and France.
The country, a parliamentary democracy, is governed under the constitution of 1979. The unicameral legislature, the House of Assembly, has of 15 elected and 6 appointed members; the members all serve five-year terms. The government is headed by the prime minister. The monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by a governor-general, is the head of state. Administratively, the country is divided into six parishes.
Sections in this article:
History
Presumably visited by Columbus in 1498, Saint Vincent remained uncolonized by Europeans until a British settlement was made in 1762. The French captured it in 1779 but it was restored to Britain in 1783. Attempts at overwhelming the native Caribs and black Caribs (or Garifuna, persons of mixed Carib and African descent) failed for many years, but the British deported most of them in 1797. Portuguese and Asian Indian laborers were introduced there in the 19th cent. after the emancipation of African slaves. Saint Vincent was part of the British colony of the Windward Islands (1880–1958) and of the West Indies Federation (1958–62). In 1979 it gained full independence. The islands were governed by the centrist New Democratic party under prime ministers James Mitchell and Arnhim Eustace from 1984 to 2001, when the center-left United Labor party (ULP), led by Ralph Gonsalves, won control of parliament in the March elections. Gonsalves and the ULP were returned to office in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, with only a one-seat margin in 2010 and 2015. In 2009, voters rejected a new constitution that would have made the country a republic. Although the government and opposition agreed St. Vincent should cut its ties with the British monarch, they disagreed strongly over other aspects of the constitution.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2025, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Caribbean Political Geography
