Introduction

Abstract

Grenada is the southernmost island in the Windward Islands chain in the Eastern Caribbean. The island was sighted by Columbus in 1498 and named Concepciôn; it was subsequently renamed Granada by his Spanish sponsors. Early English and French efforts at colonization were defeated by fierce resistance from the native Carib Indians. In 1650 the French established a settlement; conflict with the Caribs ensued with the French triumphing in 1654. The island was renamed la Grenade and remained in French hands until it was captured by the British during the Seven Years’ War and formally ceded to them in 1763. Grenada, as the British called it, was recaptured by the French in 1779 but returned to British rule in 1783. Like most of the West Indies, Grenada was settled to cultivate sugar on large estates. After several natural disasters in the late eighteenth century other crops were successfully introduced—cocoa and nutmeg initially and then other spices, giving Grenada its title as the “spice island.” Grenada became independent in 1974.¹