Grenada (Sovereign Commonwealth Realm - The Spice Isle)

Grenada is a sovereign state in the southeastern Caribbean Sea consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada was the first of 6 Caribbean nations to attain membership in the United Nations. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 348.5 square kilometers (134.6 sq. miles), and had an estimated population of 107,317 in 2016. Its capital is St. George’s. Grenada is also known as the “Island of Spice” due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops, of which it is the world’s 2nd largest exporter. Grenada is also known for its sprawling cacoa plantations. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada dove.

Before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, Grenada was inhabited by the indigenous Arawaks and later by the Island Caribs. In 1498 Christopher Columbus sighted and named Grenada “La Concepción” during his third voyage to the Americas. Although it was deemed the property of the King of Spain, there are no records to suggest the Spanish ever landed or settled on the island. Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonize the island due to resistance from the Island Caribs, French settlement and colonization began in 1650 and continued for the next century. On 10 February 1763, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris. British rule continued, except for a period of French rule between 1779 and 1783, until 1974. From 1958 to 1962, Grenada was part of the Federation of the West Indies, a short-lived federation of British West Indian colonies. On 3 March 1967, Grenada was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs as an Associated State.

The capital, St. George’s, on the southwest coast, is also the main port, having a fine natural harbour, and its picturesque pastel-colored houses rise up the hillsides from the waterfront. The waterfront itself is known as the Carenage because island schooners were once careened (beached for cleaning or repair) there. St. George’s is the yachting and charter-boat center of the eastern Caribbean.