HISTORY
Carib Indians aggressively prevented
European settlement on St. Vincent until the 18th century. African
slaves--whether shipwrecked or escaped from St. Lucia and Grenada
and seeking refuge in St. Vincent--intermarried with the Caribs
and became known as "black Caribs." Beginning in 1719, French
settlers cultivated coffee, tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar
on plantations worked by African slaves. 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 Versailles in
1783. Conflict between the British and the black Caribs continued
until 1796, when General Abercrombie crushed a revolt fomented
by the French radical Victor Hugues. More than 5,000 black Caribs
were eventually deported to Roatan, an island off the coast of
Honduras.
Slavery was abolished in 1834; the
resulting labor shortages on the plantations attracted Portuguese
immigrants in the 1840s and east Indians in the 1860s. 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 most notable was the West Indies Federation, which collapsed in 1962. St. Vincent was granted associate statehood status in 1969, giving it complete control over its internal affairs. Following a referendum in 1979, St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence.
Natural disasters have plagued the country throughout the 20th century. In 1902, the La Soufriere volcano erupted, killing 2,000 people. Much farmland was damaged, and the economy deteriorated. In April 1979, La Soufriere erupted again. Although no one was killed, thousands had to be evacuated, and there was extensive agricultural damage. In 1980 and 1987, hurricanes devastated 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.
