Grenada... the spice isle!

Overview

Grenada is located in the southeastern Caribbean at the southernmost tip of the Winward Islands and just north of Trinidad and Venezuela. The small nation state of Grenada is made up three islands: Grenada itself and twenty miles to the North, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada is the largest of the three occupying 120 square miles. It has a population of about 90,000 people of which 75% are of African descent.

Grenada is known as the Isle of Spice and here you can find a wide variety of spices including nutmegs, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric just to name a few. Nutmeg is the country's biggest export; producing about one third of the world's supply.

History

Grenada has a history filled with upheavals, beginning with its volcanic eruptions. The first inhabitants were Arawak Indians, who canoed from the nearby continent all the way up the Caribbean island chain. They were followed by another, fiercer group the Caribs, who supplanted them.

In 1498 the Island of Grenada was spotted and named Concepcion by Christopher Columbus. No doubt the then-resident Carib Indians and their predecessors had their own name for this mountainous green island, but they have all perished. Reminded of Andalusia, passing Spanish sailors began calling it Granada, and in one form or another, the name stuck as the island subsequently changed hands. It was the eventually victorious British who gave it the current spelling and pronunciation (Gre-NAY-da.)

The British tried In 1609 to get a grip on Grenada, but were routed by the Caribs. In 1650, some Frenchmen from Martinique tried to "buy" land from them, but peace was not included in the purchase and running battles ensued. By 1651, only 40 Caribs were left. Man, woman and child all jumped to their death from a cliff at the northern end of Grenada rather than submit to European rule. The site is now named Morne des Sauteurs, or Leapers' Hill.

The French and British battled for possession of Grenada, for the next 90 years, leaving a legacy of forts, cannon,and bi-lingual place names. Overlooking St. George's Harbour are enduring relics of that struggle, Fort Frederick and Fort George. In die early 1700s, sugar and tobacco were Grenada's main products. Later, this was to include cocoa, coffee and cotton.

With the Treaty of Versailles in 1783, Grenada was ceded to Britain. The British proceeded to import large numbers of slaves from Africa and to extend their sugarcane plantations. Their rule was challenged again in 1795, when under the leadership of Julian Fedon, a black planter inspired by the French Revolution, the slaves rebelled and for a short time gained virtual control of Grenada. The rebellion was soon put down, and slavery continued as the mainstay of an agricultural economy until emancipation in 1834.

It is interesting to note another 19th century date: 1843. This was the year that nutmeg, clandestinely taken from Dutch-occupied Indonesia, was introduced into Grenada. In those days the commodity was nearly as precious as gold, due to its healing, preservative and flavouring qualities. Grenada's soil and climate proved so hospitable that the island is now the world's third largest supplier of nutmeg and mace, the lacy red covering on the shell. Its export is second only to tourism in generating foreign exchange. It is grown by many individuals and processed cooperatively, a far cry from the plantation system that dominated Grenada's early colonial days.

In 1877, Grenada became a Crown Colony, a status that lasted until 1967, when Grenada gained control of its internal affairs by becoming an associated state within the British Commonwealth. In 1974, full independence was achieved under the controversial leadership of Sir Eric Gairy.

A mere 5 years afterwards, Maurice Bishop and his radical New Jewel Movement seized power and established a socialist/communist government with ties to Cuba and the Soviet Union. In 1983, when Bishop and several aides were arrested and later executed by a faction within his party, the Governor-General called for military intervention. The US, Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean States responded with the now-famous "rescue mission" that restored order. In 1984 a general election was held, re-establishing a democratic government and a tranquility that befits the beauty of these little islands.

The last decade and a half has been one of development and to some extent stability.The tri-island nation has taken steps to presence its magnificent natural environment, developing national parks .and instituting protective measures for the rainforest and the coral reefs.