Dominica History

History

Known as “The Nature Island of the Caribbean” due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world.

The official name is Commonwealth of Dominica. Dominica’s pre-Columbian name was Wai’tu kubuli, which means “her body is tall.” The indigenous Kalinago people of the island, somewhat erroneously called ‘Caribs’, have a territory which resembles the Indian reserves of Canada. Because the island went through a period of French occupation, and lies between two overseas départements of France (Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south), the island is sometimes called “French Dominica”. It also has the nickname “The Nature Isle of the Caribbean” due to its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty.

The isle of Dominica is one of the youngest islands in the Lesser Antilles, and it is still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity. It is a lush island of mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou parrot is featured on the Dominica flag.Dominica’s economy is heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.

Extended History

Dominica History Dominica was first sighted by Europeans, including Christopher Columbus, in 1493. They encountered the indigenous peoples known as the Caribs, but soon left the island after being defeated by the Caribs. It is said that when his superiors asked Columbus to describe this island in the “New World,” he crumbled a piece of parchment roughly and threw it on the table. This, Columbus explained, is what Dominica looks like- completely covered with mountains with nary a flat spot.In 1627 England also tried and failed to capture Dominica. In 1635 the French claimed the island and sent missionaries, but were unable to wrench Dominica from the Caribs. They abandoned the island, along with the island of Saint Vincent, in the 1660s.

For the next hundred years Dominica remained isolated, and even more Caribs settled there after being driven from surrounding islands as European powers entered the region. France formally ceded possession of Dominica to the United Kingdom in 1763. The United Kingdom then set up a government and made the island a colony in 1805. The emancipation of African slaves occurred throughout the British Empire in 1834, and, by 1838, Dominica became the first British Caribbean colony to have a Black-controlled legislature. In 1896, the United Kingdom re-took governmental control of Dominica and turned it into a crown colony. Half a century later, from 1958 to 1962,
Dominica became a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation.

In 1978 Dominica finally became an independent nation. Dominica’s fortunes improved in 1980 when its corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia Charles, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years. In 1995 Charles resigned and was replaced by Edison James. And Now Hon. Roosevelt Skerit

Culture

Dominica is home to a wide range of people. Historically occupied by several native tribes, only a Carib tribe remained by the time European settlers reached the island. French and British settlers each claimed the island, and imported slaves from Africa. The native Caribs have a

reserve on which they live in their traditional manner. This mix of cultures is important to Dominica.

The famed novelist Jean Rhys was born and raised in Dominica. The island is obliquely depicted in her best-known book, Wide Sargasso Sea. Rhys’s friend, the political activist and writer Phyllis Shand Allfrey, set her 1954 novel, The Orchid House ISBN 0-8135-2332-X, in Dominica.

The dialect of Dominica also includes Cocoy and a French Patois. “Cocoy”, is primarily a mix of cockney English imported by English settler and with an infusion of African lingual. Cocoy is mainly spoken in the north-eastern part of the island. The French patois which is more widely spoken came from the French plantation owners from the neighbouring French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique