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| SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES |
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Government. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a constitutional monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (see COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS). A prime minister runs the government with the aid of a Cabinet. A one-house Parliament, which has 15 representatives and 6 senators, makes the country's laws. The people elect the representatives. The governor general, a symbolic official appointed by the British monarch, appoints the senators. The head of the political party with the most seats in Parliament serves as prime minister.
People. Most of the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines are descendants of black African slaves. British and French settlers brought the slaves to the islands. About a fourth of the people live in urban areas, and the rest live in rural localities. English is the official language of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. However, many people chiefly speak a patois (dialect) that is a mixture of African languages and French. About half of the people are Anglicans. Other religious groups include Methodists and Roman Catholics.
Land and climate. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a mountainous country that was formed by volcanic eruptions. Tropical vegetation covers much of the land. Mount Soufriere, an active volcano on the northern end of St. Vincent, is the country's highest point. It rises 4,048 feet (1,234 meters). Temperatures in the country seldom rise above 90? F (32? C) or fall below 65? F (18? C). The annual rainfall ranges from 60 inches (150 centimeters) on the southeast coast of St. Vincent to 150 inches (381 centimeters) in the island's central mountains.
Economy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is based on agriculture. Most of the people work on farms. The main export crops include bananas and coconuts. The country is the world's leading producer of arrowroot, a plant whose roots are made into starch. Fishing, manufacturing, and tourism are minor economic activities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
History. Arawak Indians were the first inhabitants of what became St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They were conquered about 1300 by the Carib Indians of South America. Britain took control of the islands in 1783. Until that time, the Carib, the British, and the French had fought one another for the islands. During the struggle, the British and French had imported slaves from Africa to work on the plantations. The Carib continued to fight the British until the mid-1790's, when their revolt was crushed. Slavery was abolished in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 1833.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines gradually gained freedom from Britain. It became independent on Oct. 27, 1979. In December 1979, police put down a minor revolt on Union Island by a group that wanted more power in the country's new government. In 1983, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and several other Caribbean nations joined the United States in an invasion of Grenada to overthrow a Marxist government there. See GRENADA (History and government) for details.
Contributor: Gerald R. Showalter, Ph.D., Associate Prof. of Geography, Ball State Univ. |
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