Grenada - Facts and Factoids
- So, let's talk about Grenada. Grenada is one main island, also called Grenada, and several smaller surrounding islands. It's at the southern end of the Grenadines chain. It's slightly confusing. Most of the Grenadines belong to St Vincent and the Grenadines, but a few of these islands belong (as one would expect from the name) to Grenada.
- The principal small islands in Grenada (and the only other inhabited islands) are Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
- The Tri-Island State is a nickname used to describe the entire country, as the nation consists of three main inhabited islands.
- Grenada is famous for the production of spices, which is how it got its nickname 'Island of Spice'. Nutmeg is one of the country’s major exports. ( It's even on the national flag). Grenada supplies nearly 40 per cent of the world’s annual crop. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, mace, allspice, bay leaves orange/citrus peels, wild coffee (used by the locals) and turmeric are also produced.
- So, Grenada is known as The Spice Island and the whole nation's PR name is The Spice of the Caribbean:. the locals call the country Greenz.
- The red border on the flag of Grenada symbolises the courage of its people. The six small yellow stars dotted along the border represent the six parishes of Grenada. The yellow triangles symbolise the nation’s warm weather and the warmth of its people, the green, the islands’ vegetation and agriculture. There's also the nutmeg, of course.
- Grenada is volcanic, which makes for mountains, covered in dense, vibrant tropical rainforests and agricultural vegetation (rich volcanic soil leading to intensely fertile terrain ).
A Brief History of Grenada
- Christopher Columbus sighted Grenada in 1498, during his third voyage to the Americas. Before the arrival of the Europeans, Grenada was inhabited by the indigenous Carib peoples. They successfully resisted colonisation, until the French took over, in 1649.
- 'La Grenade' (it's believed that the name Grenada is an anglicization of Granada, after the Spanish city) was colonised by Jacques Dyel du Parquet, the governor of Martinique. The French began their colonisation with a series of skirmishes that virtually exterminated the island's native Carib population.
- Over a hundred years later, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris, in 1763. British rule continued until independence, in 1974.
- There was a brief interlude in democracy, in 1979, when the Marxist–Leninist New Jewel Movement overthrew the government in a bloodless coup d'état and established the People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop. Bishop was subsequently arrested and executed by members of the People's Revolutionary Army, prompting a U.S.- led invasion (it lasted 8 days) in October 1983 and the installation of an American approved government. They still named the main airport after Mr Bishop.
What to do in Grenada?
This is one of the nicest parts of the Caribbean. Friendly people. Beautiful beaches. Water sports galore and some gorgeous scenery.
Read about my visits here:
- Grenada - A Solo with Singles Holiday on the Spice Island
- Grenada - Grenada to St Vincent - Island Hopping in the Grenadines
