Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0113/01138.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 7.3 KB | 130 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01138}
$Pretitle{233H}
$Title{Dominica
Chapter 1.    General Overview of the Windward Islands}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Franklin W. Knight}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{islands
st
windward
british
grenada
barbados
dominica
government
vincent
windwards}
$Date{1987}
$Log{Bananas*0113801.scf
}
Country:     Dominica
Book:        Caribbean Commonwealth, An Area Study: Dominica
Author:      Franklin W. Knight
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1987

Chapter 1.    General Overview of the Windward Islands

[See Bananas: Preparing Bananas for export.]

     The Windward Islands consist of Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, and Grenada. The name Windward dates back to the 1700s, to the
time when English ships bound for Jamaica followed the trade-wind passage,
stopping at islands along the way. The islands constitute a north-south chain
in the southern section of the Lesser Antilles and share a volcanic rock
formation. The Windward Islands nations also have highly similar political and
economic systems. Despite these parallels, the Windwards are much more
heterogeneous than other Commonwealth Caribbean island groupings. These
differences prevented the establishment in the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries of a federation along the lines found in the Leeward Islands.

     A French legacy distinguishes the Windward Islands from their
Commonwealth Caribbean neighbors. The French established permanent settlements
on Dominica, St. Luica, St. Vincent, and Grenada in the 1600s and controlled
them until the islands were seized by the British in the 1760s. Even after the
British takeover, France continued to compete with Britain for authority over
the Windwards, regaining control over St. Lucia, for example, on several
occasions. France did not relinquish its claim to St. Lucia until 1815.

     The islands varied widely in the degree to which they subsequently
assimilated British culture and mores. The most extensive acculturation
occurred in St. Vincent, where the population easily adopted the English
language and Protestantism. In Grenada, on the other hand, the majority of the
residents remained Roman Catholics even though English became the sole
language of the island. Dominica and St. Lucia offered the greatest resistance
to British influence. In the late 1980s, a French creole language or patois
was still in use by much of the rural population of both islands. Dominicans
and St. Lucians were also overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.

     The British made numerous, largely unsuccessful, efforts to administer
the Windward Islands as a single entity. In 1764 the British established the
Southern Caribbee Islands and grouped together the colonies of Grenada, the
Grenadines, St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago. Within two decades, however,
the government collapsed as each colony except the Grenadines won the right to
have its own governor and assembly. In 1833 Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent,
and Tobago were incorporated into the Windward Island Government with
headquarters in Barbados. St. Luica was absorbed into this government in 1838.
In actuality, however, lieutenant governors and assemblies on each of the
islands exercised considerable autonomy.

     Yet another British effort aimed at unifying the Windward Islands
occurred in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. In 1875 the governor
of Barbados attempted to implement a British directive calling for a Windward
Islands confederation. Fearing a loss of political and financial autonomy,
Barbadian planters successfully defeated the measure. Although the Barbadian
action dealt a severe blow to the confederation effort, the British
established in 1885 the office of governor and commander in chief of the
Windward Islands of Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and Tobago. Four years
later, Tobago withdrew from this government to form a union with Trinidad.
Dominica, a reluctant member of the Leeward Islands Federation since 1871,
rejoined the Windwards in 1940. Although the Windwards structure lasted until
1956, it had only limited authority. Its members were absorbed in 1958 in the
ill-fated West Indies Federation and became independent nations between 1974
and 1979 (see The West Indies Federation, 1958-62, ch. 1).

     The nations of the Windward Islands generally share common political and
economic patterns. St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada are
formally constitutional monarchies with a parliamentary system of government
based on the Westminister model. Each has a bicameral legislature consisting
of an elected House and non-elective Senate. The prime minister is the leader
of the party that secures a majority of House seats. Dominica's political
system differs from its neighbors in two important ways. First of all,
Dominica is a republic with a president as head of state and prime minister as
head of government. In addition, House and Senate members form part of a
unicameral body, called the House of Assembly. Agriculture is the leading
component of the gross domestic product for each of the islands. In the case
of Grenada, however, tourism replaced agriculture as the primary earner of
foreign exchange by the mid-1980s. All of the Windwards have high levels of
unemployment and emigration.

     In the late 1980s, following a tumultuous decade, national security
remained an important consideration for the leaders of the Windward Islands.
The overthrow in 1979 of the Grenadian government and its replacement by the
People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), the temporary seizure the same year
of Union Island in the Grenadines, the attempted coup in 1981 in Dominica, and
the assassination in 1983 of PRG leader Maurice Bishop shocked the Windwards
population. These events led to the creation of paramilitary Special Service
Units within each of the national police organizations. At the same time,
however, leaders generally continued to oppose the establishment of a regional
army, fearing that such an institution could endanger democracy.

     Despite its nineteenth-century ties to the Windward Islands, Barbados
differs from its neighbors in several ways. Barbados lies east of the
Windwards and is characterized by lowlands, plains, and rolling hills rather
than the mountainous terrain of the Windwards. The island also followed a
distinct historical path. Barbados is regarded as the most British nation in
the Commonwealth Caribbean, a reflection undoubtedly of the uncontested
control exercised by the British from 1625 until the granting of independence
in 1966. Barbados also managed to maintain a representative assembly
throughout the colonial period. In contrast, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, and Grenada adopted crown colony government (see Glossary)
at varying periods during the nineteenth century (see Political Traditions,
ch. 1). Barbados's economic base also differs from that of most of the
Windwards nations; tourism replaced agriculture as the primary foreign
exchange earner by the 1970s. Barbados is also distinguished from its
neighbors by the maintenance of a standing army. Barbados' political
structure, however, is identical to that found in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and
the Grenadines, and Grenada.