The official name is Grenada. An island nation located in the Lesser Antilles group in the Caribbean Sea. The area is 344 km2, the population is 94 thousand people. (2000). The official language is English. The capital is St. George’s (40 thousand people). Public holiday – Independence Day February 7 (since 1974). The monetary unit is the East Caribbean dollar.
Member of the Commonwealth, UN (since 1974), CARICOM (since 1974), OAS (since 1975), Leningrad NPP (since 1975), etc.
Geography of Grenada
Located on the island of the same name and the small islands of the South Grenadines in the Caribbean. The length of the coastline is 121 km. Grenada is an island of volcanic origin. Its coastal eastern part is low-lying, while the western part is mountainous. The interior of the island is occupied by mountains and hills (the highest point is Mount St. Catherine, 840 m). There are few rivers, but many streams and springs. In Grenada, evergreen forests with valuable tree species have been partially preserved. The animal world is represented mainly by birds. The sea waters near Grenada are rich in fish, crustaceans and mollusks. The main natural wealth of Grenada is fertile volcanic soils. There are deep-water ports: St. George’s, Grenville. The climate is tropical, trade winds with a clearly defined rainy period (May-October), average monthly temperatures +25-28°C, precipitation more than 1500 mm per year.
Population of Grenada
According to Countryaah, the population of Grenada is growing slowly (0.02%, 2002), which is due to emigration due to unemployment, fluctuations in the economic situation, and the ups and downs of the political struggle. In 1980, the population numbered 89 thousand people, in 1990 and 2000 – 91 and 94 thousand people, respectively. Birth rate 22.87% (2003), infant mortality 14.63 people. per 1000 newborns. The average life expectancy is 64.5 years. The male population prevails over the female – 1.08:1. The population aged 0-14 years is 35.9%. 38.3% of the population lives in cities. St. 95% of the adult population is literate.
Ethnic composition: Negroes – more than 50%, mulattoes – St. 40%, the white population are immigrants from Europe, a small group of Carib Indians. Along with official English, the Westindian dialect of French, Patois, is widespread. More than half of the population are Catholics, the rest adhere to Anglicanism or other varieties of Protestantism.
History of Grenada
The island of Grenada was discovered in 1498 by H. Columbus. In 1650 the first European settlement was founded by the French. In 1762 the island was captured by the British. The dispute between Great Britain and France over Grenada continued until 1783, when, under the Treaty of Versailles, he went to the British crown. Slavery on the island was abolished in 1838. In 1885–1956 Grenada was part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands, and in 1958–62 it was part of the West Indies Federation. In 1967, Grenada received the status of a “state associated with Great Britain” with the right of internal self-government. February 7, 1974 was proclaimed the independence of Grenada as part of the Commonwealth. The first prime minister of independent Grenada was the leader of the United Labor Party (ULP) E. Gairy.
In March 1979, as a result of a coup d’état, a revolutionary government headed by M. Bishop, the leader of the New Jewel (United Campaign for Welfare, Education, and Liberation) movement, headed for a socialist orientation, came to power. On October 25, 1983, the United States, taking advantage of the great disagreements within the leadership of Grenada, which led to the massacre of M. Bishop and his associates, carried out an armed invasion of the island with the support of a number of Caribbean states. The formed transitional government restored the Constitution of 1974. The New National Party (NNP) won the 1984 elections, winning 14 out of 15 seats in the lower house of parliament. The then leader of the party, G. Blaise, became prime minister. As a result of a split in this party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), formed in 1987 on the basis of the merger of the Democratic Labor Congress, the Grenada Labor Democratic Party and a group that left the NPP, won the 1990 elections. The leader of the PNC, N. Braswaite, was the prime minister of Grenada until 1995. In the 1995 elections, the renewed NPP again won the sympathy of voters, and its leader, C. Mitchell, became the prime minister of Grenada. In the 1999 early elections, the NPP won all 15 seats in the House of Representatives for the first time in the history of the country. In the regular elections in November 2003, the NPP won with 49.9% of the vote and won 8 seats in parliament, compared to 45.1% and 7 mandates received by the PNC.
