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| History island of Dominica |
The Commonwealth of Dominica, commonly known as Dominica,
is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea.
To the north/northwest lies Guadeloupe, to the southeast Martinique.
Its size is 754 square kilometres (291 sq mi) and the highest point in
the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres
(4,750 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica has an estimated population of
72,500. The capital is Roseau.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean"
for its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty.
It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by
geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest
boiling lake.
The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many very 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, the island's national bird, is featured on the national
flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.
In the next hundred years after Columbus' landing 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, in 1838, Dominica became the first British Caribbean colony
to have a legislature controlled by Blacks. In 1896, the United Kingdom
reassumed governmental control of Dominica turning 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 became an independent
nation. |
In 1635, France claimed Dominica. Shortly thereafter, French missionaries
became the first European inhabitants of the island. Carib incursions continued,
though, and in 1660, the French and British agreed that both Dominica and
St. Vincent should be abandoned. Dominica was officially neutral for the
next century, but the attraction of its resources remained; rival expeditions
of British and French foresters were harvesting timber by the start of the
18th century. Largely due to Dominica's position between Martinique and
Guadeloupe, France eventually became predominant, and a French settlement
was established and grew.
As part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War, the
island became a British possession. In 1778, during the American Revolutionary
War, the French mounted a successful invasion with the active cooperation
of the population.
The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, returned the island to Britain.
French invasions in 1795 and 1805 ended in failure. |
In 1763, the British established a legislative assembly, representing
only the white population. In 1831, reflecting a liberalization of official
British racial attitudes, the Brown Privilege Bill conferred political and
social rights on free non-whites. Three Black people were elected to the
legislative assembly the following year. Following the abolition of slavery,
in 1838 Dominica became the only British Caribbean colony to have a Black-controlled
legislature in the 19th century. Most Black legislators were smallholders
or merchants who held economic and social views diametrically opposed to
the interests of the small, wealthy English planter class. Reacting to a
perceived threat, the planters lobbied for more direct British rule.
In 1865, after much agitation and tension, the colonial office replaced
the elective assembly with one that had one-half of members who were elected
and one-half who were appointed. Planters allied with colonial administrators
outmanoeuvred the elected legislators on numerous occasions. In 1871, Dominica
became part of the Leeward Island Federation.
The power of the Black population progressively eroded. Crown Colony government
was re-established in 1896. All political rights for the vast majority of
the population were effectively curtailed. Development aid, offered as compensation
for disenfranchisement, proved to have a negligible effect.Following World
War I, an upsurge of political consciousness throughout the Caribbean led
to the formation of the Representative Government Association. Marshalling
public frustration with the lack of a voice in the governing of Dominica,
this group won one-third of the popularly elected seats of the legislative
assembly in 1924 and one-half in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Dominica was
transferred from the Leeward Island Administration and was governed as part
of the Windwards until 1958, when it joined the short-lived West Indies
Federation. |
After the federation dissolved, Dominica became an associated state of
the United Kingdom in 1967 and formally took responsibility for its internal
affairs.
On November 3, 1978, the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence
by the United Kingdom. ndependence did little to solve problems stemming
from centuries of economic underdevelopment, and in mid-1979, political
discontent led to the formation of an interim government. It was replaced
after the 1980 elections by a government led by the Dominica Freedom Party
under Prime Minister Eugenia Charles, the Caribbean's first female prime
minister. Chronic economic problems were compounded by the severe impact
of hurricanes in 1979 and in 1980.
In 1981 Dominica was threatened with a takeover over by mercenaries.
|
In 1981, a group of right-wing 'mercenaries' led by Mike Perdue of Houston,
and Wolfgang Droege of Toronto, attempted to overthrow the government of
Eugenia Charles. The North-America mercenary group was to aid ex-prime minister
Patrick John and his Dominica Defense Force in regaining control of the
island in exchange for control over the island's future development. The
entire plan failed and the ship hired to transport the men of Operation
Red Dog never even made it off the dock as the FBI was tipped-off. The self-titled
mercenaries lacked any formal military experience and/or training and the
majority of the crew had been misled into joining the armed coup by the
con-man ringleader Mike Perdue.
White supremacist Don Black was also jailed for his part in the attempt,
which violated US neutrality laws.
Despite the amateurishness of the attempt, most students of the affair believe
it could well have toppled the weak and ramshackle Charles government. |
By the end of the 1980s, the economy recovered, but weakened again in
the 1990s due to a decrease in banana prices.
In the January 2000 elections, the Edison James United Workers Party (UWP)
was defeated by the Dominican Labour Party (DLP), led by Roosevelt P. "Rosie"
Douglas. Douglas died after only a few months in office and was replaced
by Pierre Charles, who died in office in January 2004. Roosevelt Skerrit,
also of the DLP, replaced Charles as Prime Minister. Under Prime Minister
Skerrit's leadership, the DLP won elections in May 2005 that gave the party
12 seats in the 21-member Parliament to the UWP's 8 seats. An independent
candidate affiliated with the DLP won a seat as well. Since that time, the
independent candidate joined the government and one UWP member crossed the
aisle, making the current total 14 seats for the DLP and 7 for the UWP
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