History of Grenada

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Grenada flag
Location of Grenada in the Caribbean

The history of Grenada deals with the history of the Caribbean state Grenada, which has only gained independence since 1974 . The Indian cultures that existed on Grenada before the European conquest have been wiped out almost without a trace. The history of this state includes a phase of French colonial rule from the middle of the 17th century to the end of the 18th century and the subsequent, formative period of British colonial rule until 1958. An interlude as part of the West Indian Federation followed from 1958 to 1962 and semi-colonial status until 1974 .

Indigenous people

Grenada was originally only populated by the Indian Arawak , who were later dominated by the indigenous Caribs , coming from the South American mainland. In the 17th century, the remaining Caribs and Arawaks were exterminated by French colonial officials, a genocide similar to that on all Caribbean islands during the early colonial period.

European competition for Grenada and fight against the Caribbean

The naval battle of Grenada, July 6, 1779

Grenada was discovered by Columbus in 1498 , he called the island "Concepción". The origin of the name "Grenada" is unknown; it is believed that the island was later renamed after the city of Granada by Spanish sailors .

However, the Spaniards did not establish a base on the island of the Caribs. The English later tried in vain to gain a foothold on the island, but had to withdraw in 1609. 1650 bought a French company set up by Cardinal Richelieu had been established, Grenada by the British and established a first European settlement here. After a number of violent clashes with the Caribs, the French brought reinforcements from their neighboring colony, Martinique, and defeated the native Caribs, completely exterminating the Caribbean population. The French called the new colony "La Grenade" (later called "Grenada" by the British) and in 1650 founded the capital and port city "Fort Royal", later St. George’s , which soon developed into the most important French naval base in the Caribbean .

The island remained under French control until it was conquered by the British in the Seven Years' War in 1762. Grenada was ceded to the United Kingdom in the Peace of Paris in 1763 , but the French have not yet given up their previous possessions. During the American War of Independence , the island was re-conquered by the French in 1779, but returned to Great Britain in the Peace of Paris (1783) . Even if the British had to put down a pro-French uprising in 1795, Grenada was finally part of the British Empire .

British Grenada

Nutmeg with inner shell, mace and fruit

In addition to the protected natural harbor of St. George's, the island , like the rest of the Antilles Islands, was important for the European colonial rulers through the possibility of growing the coveted sugar cane . The cultivation of sugar was based on slave labor and went hand in hand with the deportation of Africans to the island as slaves . Various natural disasters made sugar cultivation here less profitable than elsewhere. 1782 was on the advice of Sir Joseph Banks , an eminent botanist and adviser to King George III. who introduced the nutmeg tree to Grenada. The island soil turned out to be ideal for growing this spice. Nutmeg and cocoa displaced sugar cane cultivation. This development away from plantation cultivation favored the emergence of a class of free, land-owning farmers in Grenada. In 1834, as in the rest of the British colonial empire, slavery was abolished.

Grenada was administered as part of the British Windward Islands from 1833 and received crown colony status in 1877 . On February 1, 1881, the colony joined the Universal Postal Union . The women's suffrage was introduced in the 1951st

Independent Grenada

The transition phase

Flag of the West Indian Federation

From 1958 to 1962 the island was part of the West Indian Federation . After this federation failed due to internal disagreements, the United Kingdom and the islands of Grenada, St. Vincent , Dominica , Antigua , St. Kitts and Nevis , Anguilla , and St. Lucia formed a new form of cooperation, known as the "Associated State". In 1967 Grenada was given full autonomy over its internal affairs, and on February 7, 1974, Grenada became independent under Prime Minister Eric Gairy .

Human rights violations under the Eric Gairy regime

Gairy founded the Grenada Manual and Mental Workers Union in 1950 , a union that z. B. Represented the interests of the plantation workers vis-à-vis the planting aristocracy of Grenada. His unorthodox and spectacular methods of fighting for the common people made him a folk hero. The Grenada United Labor Party later grew out of the union . As prime minister, Gairy turned himself into a dictator who did not shy away from obtaining arms supplies from the Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet when he was otherwise denied any outside support. His belief in a threat to humanity from aliens and UFOs was carried to the United Nations . Serious human rights violations occurred under his regime.

Putsch and socialist regime under Maurice Bishop

Maurice Bishop

Gairys government in a bloodless 1979 revolution from the Marxist movement New Jewel Movement (NJM) under Maurice Bishop deposed. Bishop wanted Grenada to be non-aligned and to have good relations with the USA as well as with the Soviet Union and Cuba . Social reforms also ensured him a high level of popularity among the population, although no free elections were held under his regime and all parties except his NJM were banned. Under his administration, a consortium led by a British company began building Point Salines Airport . This should stimulate tourism.

Another coup

After internal leadership disputes, Bishop was deposed by units of the Military Revolutionary Council (MRC) and placed under house arrest on October 14, 1983 in a coup d'état by internal party competitors for his Vice Prime Minister Bernard Coard and General Hudson Austin , the commander of the armed forces . The population showed solidarity with Bishop. On October 19, 1983, the protesters released Bishop from house arrest. He went to the military headquarters at Fort Rupert, now Fort George, where there was a shooting between civilians and soldiers. Bishop, three of his cabinet members, three businessmen and a unionist were executed on the orders of their rivals in the New Jewel Movement. The government under Bishop had been popular with the people; the violence of the coup, however, aroused fear and resentment in the population.

U.S. invasion 1983

→ Main article: US invasion of Grenada

US parachutists over Grenada 1983

After the coup d'état against Bishop, the Governor General of Grenada Paul Scoon - acting as Head of State of Grenada as representative of Queen Elizabeth II - and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States asked the United States to intervene. Scoon stood as a representative of the British Crown against the British government under Margaret Thatcher , which refused to intervene.

On October 25, 1983, citing Scoon's request, the United States launched an invasion with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States ( Operation Urgent Fury ), as a result of which the NJM government was overthrown. The international legal legitimacy of the intervention was highly controversial; the use was criticized , among others, by the US allies Great Britain and Canada as well as by the UN General Assembly . The operation was initially justified with the aim of guaranteeing the safety of US citizens in Grenada; it is more likely that the US government under Ronald Reagan feared that Grenada would lean heavily on Cuba and Nicaragua.

Democratic development since then

After some of Coard's supporters were arrested and later sentenced to long prison terms, elections were held in 1984. The New National Party (NNP), led by Herbert Blaize , won 14 out of 15 seats. 1986-87, 5 members of the NNP parliament split from their party and founded the National Democratic Congress (NDC). In 1989 Prime Minister Blaize also broke with his party and formed the National Party (TNP). From the 1990 elections, the NDC emerged as the strongest party and Nicholas Brathwaite became Prime Minister. In 1995 government power passed to the NNP under Keith Mitchell . The NDC has been ruling since 2008 with Tillman Thomas as Prime Minister.

In the years 2000 to 2002 a truth-finding and reconciliation commission, which also received international attention, tried to come to terms with the events of 1979 to 1984.

Natural disasters in the 21st century

Devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan

In early September 2004, Grenada was badly affected by Hurricane Ivan . 95% of the houses in the capital St. George's have been destroyed or damaged. The island's important agricultural plantations were devastated. The loss of more than 35 lives was to be lamented. The drinking water and power supply collapsed.

In July 2005 Grenada was hit again by a hurricane - Hurricane Emily . The storm claimed at least one death in Grenada. Some buildings and the infrastructure were damaged again. Export-oriented agriculture was hit worst, as Emily destroyed numerous nutmeg trees.

See also

literature

  • Robert J. Alexander, Eldon M. Parker: A History of Organized Labor in English-speaking West Indies. Westport 2004. ISBN 0-275-97743-9 .
  • George Brizan: Grenada, island of conflict. From Amerindians to people's revolution, 1498–1979 . London 1984. ISBN 0-86232-230-8 .
  • Raymond Devas: A History of the Island of Grenada, 1498–1796. With Some Notes and Comments on Carriacou and Events of Later Years . Carenage Press, St. George's 1964 (2nd ed. 1974).
  • Pedro Noguera: The imperatives of power. Political change and the social basis of regime support in Grenada from 1951 - 1991 . New York 1997. ISBN 0-8204-3095-1 .
  • Hagen Späth: Playrooms in the "backyard". Revolution and invasion in Grenada . Münster 1993. ISBN 3-9801245-8-4 .
  • Beverley A. Steele: Grenada. A history of its people . Macmillan Caribbean, Oxford 2003. ISBN 978-0-333-93053-3 .

Web links

Commons : History of Grenada  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Background Note: Grenada
  2. ↑ http://www.historyofnations.net/northamerica/grenada.html historyofnations.net
  3. ↑ http://www.historyofnations.net/northamerica/grenada.html historyofnations.net
  4. ^ Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 438
  5. ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-sir-eric-gairy-1247273.html
  6. ↑ The Tragedy of October 19, 1983, http://www.thegrenadarevolutiononline.com/tragedy.html , accessed March 23, 2012.
  7. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2004/06/040607_scoon-on-reagan.shtml
  8. ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-paul-scoon-the-queens-governor-general-during-the-american-invasion-of-grenada-8805612.html
  9. ↑ “Let's see action at last” . In: Der Spiegel . No.  44 , 1983, pp. 153 ff . ( online - October 31, 1983 ).
  10. ↑ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2335.htm