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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ( GREH-nə-DEENZ) is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea, where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean. Its 369 km2 (142 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and, south of that, two-thirds of the northern part of the Grenadines, a chain of 32 smaller islands. Some of the Grenadines are inhabited—Bequia, Mustique, Union Island, Canouan, Petit Saint Vincent, Palm Island, Mayreau, Young Island—while others are not: Tobago Cays, Baliceaux, Battowia, Quatre, Petite Mustique, Savan and Petit Nevis. To the north of Saint Vincent lies Saint Lucia, to the east is Barbados, and Grenada lies to the south. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a population density of over 300 inhabitants/km2 (700 per sq mi), with an estimated population of 110,872. Kingstown is the capital and main port. Saint Vincent has a British colonial history, and is now part of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, CARICOM, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). In April 2021, the La Soufrière volcano erupted several times with "explosive events" continuing. By 12 April, 16,000 residents had evacuated the area. Assistance and emergency financial support was being provided by several nearby islands, the United Kingdom, and agencies such as the United Nations. The first significant offer of long-term funding, of US$20 million, was announced on 13 April 2021 by the World Bank. Etymology Christopher Columbus, the first European to reach the island, named it after St. Vincent of Saragossa (San Vicente de Zaragoza) whose feast day was on the day Columbus first saw it (22 January 1498). The name of the Grenadines refers to the Spanish city of Granada, but to differentiate it from the island of the same name, the diminutive was used. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Kalinago natives who inhabited the island of St. Vincent called it Youloumain, in honour of Youlouca, the spirit of the rainbows, who they believed inhabited the island. History Pre-colonial period Before the arrival of Europeans and Africans in the 16th century, various Amerindian groups passed through or settled on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including the Ciboney, Arawak, and Kalinago people. The island now known as Saint Vincent was originally named Youloumain by the native Island Caribs who called themselves Kalina. European arrival and early colonial period It is thought that Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1498, giving it the name St Vincent. The Kalinago people aggressively opposed European settlement on Saint Vincent. French and British colonisation and First Carib War Various attempts by the English and Dutch to claim the island proved unsuccessful, and it was the French who were first able to colonise the island, settling in the town of Barrouallie on the leeward side of St Vincent in 1719. The French imported Black slaves to work on plantations producing sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton and cocoa. The British captured the island and drove out the French from Barrouallie during the Seven Years' War, a claim confirmed by the Treaty of Paris (1763). On taking control of the island in 1763, the British laid the foundations of Fort Charlotte and also continued the importation of slaves to work on the island's plantations. The Garifuna, an Afro-Indigenous creole people on the island, were opposed to the British presence and entered into open conflict against the British, starting the First Carib War, which lasted from 1772 to 1773. During the Anglo-French War (1778–1783), the French recaptured St Vincent in 1779. However, the British regained control under the Treaty of Versailles (1783). British colonial period and Second Carib War The uneasy peace between the British and the Garifuna led to the Second Carib War, which lasted from 1795 to 1797. The Garifuna were led by paramount chief Joseph Chatoyer and supported by the French, notably Victor Hugues who was based on the island of Martinique. They were eventually defeated in 1797 by British forces under the command Sir Ralph Abercromby; a peace treaty agreement was made which resulted in almost 5,000 Garifuna being deported to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras, and to Belize and Baliceaux in the Grenadines. In 1806, the construction of Fort Charlotte was completed. The La Soufrière volcano erupted in 1812, resulting in considerable destruction. The British abolished slavery in Saint Vincent (as well as in all other British West Indies colonies) in 1834, and an apprenticeship period followed which ended in 1838. After its end, labour shortages on the plantations resulted, and were initially addressed by the immigration of indentured servants; starting from 1845, many Portuguese immigrants arrived from Madeira, with around 2,100 arrivals from Portugal recorded from 1845 to 1850. Between 1861 and 1888, a new wave of immigration occurred, with shiploads of Indian labourers arrived. 20th century In 1902, the La Soufrière volcano erupted again, killing 1,500–2,000 people; much farmland was damaged, and the economy deteriorated. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines passed through various stages of colonial status under the British. A representative assembly was authorised in 1776, Crown Colony government was installed in 1877, a legislative council was created in 1925 with a limited franchise, and universal adult suffrage was granted in 1951. During the period of its control of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Britain made several attempts to unify the island with the other Windward Islands as a single entity, to simplify British control in the sub-region through a single unified administration. In the 1960s, the British again tried to unify all of its regional islands, including Saint Vincent, into a single politically unified entity under British control. The unification was to be called the West Indies Federation and was driven by a desire to gain independence from the British government. However, the attempt collapsed in 1962. Saint Vincent was granted "associate statehood" status by Britain on 27 October 1969. This gave Saint Vincent complete control over its internal affairs but fell short of full independence in law. In April 1979, La Soufrière erupted once more. Although no one was killed, thousands were evacuated and extensive agricultural damage occurred. On 27 October 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gained full independence; the date is now the country's Independence Day, a public holiday. The country opted to remain within the Commonwealth of Nations, retaining the then-Queen Elizabeth II as Monarch, represented locally by a Governor-General. Post-independence era Milton Cato of the centre-left Saint.... Discover the Vincent Ralph popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Vincent Ralph books.