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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 Hairoun as it was originally
named by the Caribs -- intermarried with the Caribs
and became known as Garifuna or Black Caribs. Beginning
in 1719, French settlers cultivated coffee, tobacco,
indigo, cotton, and sugar on plantations worked
by enslaved Africans. 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.
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.
Slavery was abolished in
1834. After the apprenticeship period, which ended
prematurely in 1838, labour shortages on the plantations
resulted in the immigration of indentured servants.
The Portuguese came from Madeira starting in the
1840s and shiploads of East Indian labourers arrived
between 1861-1880. 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.
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.
During this period, the
British made several unsuccessful attempts to
affiliate St. Vincent with 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 27th, 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 27th, 1979.
Natural disasters have featured
in the country's history. In 1902, La Soufrière
volcano erupted, killing 2,000 people. Much farmland
was damaged, and the economy deteriorated. In
April 1979, La Soufrière erupted again.
Although no one was killed, thousands had to be
evacuated, and there was extensive agricultural
damage. In 1980 and 1987, hurricanes compromised
banana and coconut plantations; 1998 and 1999
also saw very active hurricane seasons, with Hurricane
Lenny in 1999 causing extensive damage to the
west coast of the island.
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