Grenada is an archipelagic country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and the South American mainland.
Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and several small islands that lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. Its size is , with an estimated population of 114,621 in 2024. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace.
Before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, Grenada was inhabited by Indigenous peoples from South America called Kalinago. Christopher Columbus sighted Grenada in 1498 during his third voyage to the Americas. Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonise the island, due to resistance from resident Kalinago people, French settlement and colonisation began in 1649 and continued for the next century. Between 1669 and 1808, according to the Voyages database, approximately 127,600 African slaves were brought to Grenada by the British and French. On 10 February 1763, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris. British rule continued until 1974 (except for a brief French takeover between 1779 and 1783). From 1958 to 1962, Grenada was part of the Federation of the West Indies, a short-lived federation of British West Indian colonies. On 3 March 1967, it was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs as an Associated State.
Independence was granted on 7 February 1974 under the leadership of Eric Gairy, who became the first prime minister of Grenada as a sovereign state. The new country became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. In March 1979, the Marxist–Leninist New JEWEL Movement overthrew Gairy's government in a coup and established the People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), a de facto dictatorship headed by Maurice Bishop as prime minister. Bishop was later arrested and executed by members of the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA), which was followed by a U.S.-led invasion in October 1983. The current head of state is King Charles III, King of Grenada, who is represented by the Governor-General of Grenada.
Etymology The origin of the name "Grenada" is obscure, but Spanish sailors likely named the island for the city of Granada. The name "Granada" was recorded by Spanish maps in the 1520s and referred to the islands to the north as Los Granadillos ('Little Granadas'); although those named islands were deemed the property of the King of Spain, there are no records to suggest the Spanish ever attempted to settle Grenada. The French maintained the name (as "La Grenade" in French) after settlement and colonisation in 1649. On 10 February 1763, the island of La Grenade was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris. The British renamed it "Grenada", one of many place-name anglicisations they made there.
The island was given its first European name by Christopher Columbus, who sighted it on his third voyage to the region in 1498 and named it "La Concepción" in honour of the Virgin Mary. Reportedly, he may have actually named it "Assumpción", but this is uncertain, as he is said to have sighted what are now Grenada and Tobago from a distance and named them both at the same time. However, it became accepted that he named Tobago "Assumpción" and Grenada "La Concepción". The year after, Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci travelled through the region with the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda and mapmaker Juan de la Cosa. Vespucci is reported to have renamed the island "Mayo", although this is the only map where the name appears.
The Indigenous Arawak who once lived on the island before the arrival of the Europeans gave the name Camajuya.
History
Precolumbian history Grenada is thought to have been first populated by peoples from South America during the Caribbean Archaic Age, although definitive evidence is lacking. The earliest potential human presence comes from proxy evidence of lake cores, beginning . Less ephemeral, permanent villages began . The population peaked between 750 and 1250, with major changes in population afterward, potentially the result of either the "Carib Invasion" (although highly contested), regional droughts, or both.
European arrival In 1498, Christopher Columbus was the first European to report sighting Grenada during his third voyage, naming it 'La Concepción', but Amerigo Vespucci may have renamed it 'Mayo' in 1499. Although it was deemed the property of the King of Spain, there are no records to suggest the Spanish attempted to settle. However, various Europeans are known to have passed and both fought and traded with the indigenous peoples there. The first known settlement attempt was a failed venture by the English in 1609 who were massacred and driven away by the native "Carib" peoples.
French colony and slavery (1649–1763)
In 1649, a French expedition of 203 men from Martinique, led by Jacques Dyel du Parquet, founded a permanent settlement on Grenada. They signed a peace treaty with the Carib chief Kairouane, but within months conflict broke out between the two communities. This lasted until 1654 when the island was completely subjugated by the French. Warfare continued during the 1600s between the French on Grenada and the Caribs of present-day Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Chocolate was brought to Grenada in 1714 with the introduction of cocoa beans.
The French named their new colony La Grenade, and the economy was initially based on sugar cane and indigo, worked by African slaves via the transatlantic slave trade. According to records, during the French colonial period (circa 1659–1762), the number of slaves on Grenada rose from about 222 in 1669 to roughly 15,200 by 1763. The French established a capital known as Fort Royal (later St. George's). To shelter from hurricanes, the French navy would often take refuge in the capital's natural harbour, as no nearby French islands had a natural harbour to compare with that of Fort Royal. The British captured Grenada in the Seven Years' War in 1762.
British colony, slavery and emancipation Early colonial period and slavery
Grenada was formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The French re-captured the island during the American Revolutionary War, after Comte d'Estaing won the bloody land and naval Battle of Grenada in July 1779. However, the island was restored to Britain with the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. A decade later, dissatisfaction with British rule led to a pro-French revolt in 1795–96 led by Julien Fédon, which was successfully defeated by the British.
As Grenada's economy grew, more and more slaves were transported to the island. In 1785, Grenada had 23,926 slaves and 1,115 free people of colour, with around 996 European settlers. According to the Voyages Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, by 1807 Britain had brought 114,000 slaves to Grenada. Slavery was completely outlawed in 1833, leading to the emancipation of all slaves by 1838. To ease the subsequent labour shortage, migrants from India were brought to Grenada in 1857.
Nutmeg was introduced to Grenada in 1843 when a merchant ship called in on its way to England from the East Indies. The ship had a small quantity of nutmeg trees on board, which they left in Grenada. Nutmeg continues to be an important crop for the Grenadine economy.
Later colonial period after slavery In 1877, Grenada was made a Crown colony. Theophilus A. Marryshow founded the Representative Government Association (RGA) in 1918 to agitate for a new and participative constitutional dispensation for the Grenadian people. Due to Marryshow's lobbying, the Wood Commission of 1921–22 concluded that Grenada was ready for constitutional reform in the form of a modified Crown colony government. This modification granted Grenadians the right to elect five of the 15 Legislative Council members on a restricted property franchise, enabling the wealthiest 4% of adult Grenadians to vote. Marryshow was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1943.
In 1950, Eric Gairy founded the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP), initially as a trade union, which led to the 1951 general strike for better working conditions. This sparked great unrest, and so many buildings were set ablaze that the disturbances became known as the "sky red" days. On 10 October 1951, Grenada held its first general elections based on universal adult suffrage, with Gairy's party winning six of the eight seats contested.
From 1958 to 1962, Grenada was part of the Federation of the West Indies. After the federation's collapse, Grenada was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs as an Associated State on 3 March 1967. Herbert Blaize of the Grenada National Party (GNP) was the first Premier of the Associated State of Grenada from March to August 1967. Eric Gairy served as Premier from August 1967 until February 1974.
Post-independence era
Independence was granted on 7 February 1974 under the leadership of Eric Gairy, who became the first prime minister of Grenada. This is annually commemorated as Independence Day. Grenada opted to remain within the Commonwealth, retaining Queen Elizabeth as Monarch, represented locally by a governor-general. Civil conflict gradually broke out between Eric Gairy's government and some opposition parties, including the Marxist New JEWEL Movement (NJM). Gairy and the GULP won the 1976 Grenadian general election, albeit with a reduced majority; however, the opposition deemed the results invalid due to fraud and the violent intimidation performed by the so-called 'Mongoose Gang', a private militia loyal to Gairy.Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p301-302
On 13 March 1979, whilst Gairy was out of the country, the NJM launched a bloodless coup which removed Gairy, suspended the constitution, and established a People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop, who declared himself prime minister. His Marxist–Leninist government established close ties with Cuba, Nicaragua, and other communist bloc countries. All political parties except for the New Jewel Movement were banned and no elections were held during the four years of PRG rule.
Invasion by the United States (1983)
Coup and execution of Maurice Bishop By mid-1983, a dispute developed between Bishop and certain high-ranking members of the NJM. Though Bishop cooperated with Cuba and the USSR on various trade and foreign policy issues, he sought to maintain a non-aligned status. Hardline Marxist party members, including communist Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, deemed Bishop insufficiently revolutionary and demanded that he either step down or enter into a power-sharing arrangement.