HISTORY
Before the arrival of Europeans,
Grenada was inhabited by Carib Indians who had driven the more
peaceful Arawaks from the island. Columbus landed on Grenada in
1498 during his third voyage to the new world. He named the island
"Concepcion." The origin of the name "Grenada" is obscure, but
it is likely that Spanish sailors renamed the island for the city
of Granada. By the beginning of the 18th century, the name "Grenada,"
or "la Grenade" in French, was in common use.
Partly because of the Caribs, Grenada remained un-colonized for more than 100 years after its discovery; early English efforts to settle the island were unsuccessful. In 1650, a French company founded by Cardinal Richelieu purchased Grenada from the English and established a small settlement. After several skirmishes with the Caribs, the French brought in reinforcements from Martinique and defeated the Caribs.
The island remained under
French control until its capture by the British in 1762, during
the Seven Years' War. Grenada was formally ceded to Great Britain
in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris. Although the French regained control
in 1779, the island was restored to Britain in 1783 by the Treaty
of Versailles. Although Britain was hard pressed to overcome a
pro-French revolt in 1795 Grenada remained British for the remainder
of the colonial period.
During the 18th century,
Grenada's economy underwent an important transition. Like much
of the rest of the West Indies it was originally settled to cultivate
sugar which was grown on estates using slave labor. But natural
disasters paved the way for the introduction of other crops. In
1782, Sir Joseph Banks, the botanical adviser to King George III,
introduced nutmeg to Grenada. The island's soil was ideal for
growing the spice and because Grenada was a closer source of spices
for Europe than the Dutch East Indies the island assumed a new
importance to European traders.
The collapse of the sugar
estates and the introduction of nutmeg and cocoa encouraged the
development of smaller land holdings, and the island developed
a land-owning yeoman farmer class. Slavery was outlawed in 1834.
In 1833, Grenada became part of the British Windward Islands Administration.
The governor of the Windward Islands administered the island for
the rest of the colonial period. In 1958, the Windward Islands
Administration was dissolved, and Grenada joined the Federation
of the West Indies. After that federation collapsed in 1962, the
British Government tried to form a small federation out of its
remaining dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean.
Following the failure of
this second effort, the British and the islands developed the
concept of associated statehood. Under the Associated Statehood
Act of 1967 Grenada was granted full autonomy over its internal
affairs in March 1967. Full independence was granted on February
7, 1974.
After obtaining independence,
Grenada adopted a modified Westminster parliamentary system based
on the British model with a governor general appointed by and
representing the British monarch (head of state) and a prime minister
who is both leader of the majority party and the head of government.
Sir Eric Gairy was Grenada's first prime minister.
On March 13, 1979, the new
joint endeavor for welfare, education, and liberation (New Jewel)
movement ousted Gairy in a nearly bloodless coup and established
a people's revolutionary government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop
who became prime minister. His Marxist-Leninist government established
close ties with Cuba, the Soviet Union, and other communist bloc
countries.
In October 1983, a power struggle within the government resulted in the arrest and execution of Bishop and several members of his cabinet and the killing of dozens of his supporters by elements of the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA).
A U.S.-Caribbean force landed on Grenada on October 25, 1983, in response to an appeal from the Governor General and to a request for assistance from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. U.S. citizens were evacuated, and order was restored.
An advisory council named by the Governor General administered the country until general elections were held in December 1984. The New National Party (NNP) led by Herbert Blaize won 14 out of 15 seats in free and fair elections and formed a democratic government. Grenada's constitution had been suspended in 1979 by the PRG, but it was restored after the 1984 elections.
The NNP continued in power
until 1989 but with a reduced majority. Five NNP parliamentary
members, including two cabinet ministers, left the party in 1986-87
and formed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which became
the official opposition.
In August 1989, Prime Minister
Blaize broke with the NNP to form another new party, The National
Party (TNP), from the ranks of the NNP. This split in the NNP
resulted in the formation of a minority government until constitutionally
scheduled elections in March 1990. Prime Minister Blaize died
in December 1989 and was succeeded as prime minister by Ben Jones
until after the elections.
The NDC emerged from the
1990 elections as the strongest party, winning seven of the 15
available seats. Nicholas Brathwaite added two TNP members and
one member of the Grenada United Labor Party (GULP) to create
a 10-seat majority coalition. The governor general appointed him
to be prime minister.
In parliamentary elections
on June 20, 1995, the NNP won eight seats and formed a government
headed by Dr. Keith Mitchell. The NNP maintained and affirmed
its hold on power when it took all 15 parliamentary seats in the
January 1999 elections.
General elections were held in November 2003; the NNP won 8 of the 15 seats, holding on to power with a much-reduced majority. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by Tillman Thomas won 7 seats and is now the official opposition.
