GRENADA - AN INTRODUCTION
Grenada is actually a tri-island state, comprising of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada is 21 miles long by 12 wide, with a population of 95,000.
Carriacou and Petite
Martinique are considerably smaller and have a combined population of 7,000. Grenada is a quiet and considerably unspoilt destination, with a slow
pace and relaxed outdoor way of life.
Grenada is a nature lovers' paradise, with beautiful beaches, waterfalls
and lush tropical vegetation. Temperatures range from 75F/24C to 87F/30C with the rainy season from June to
November. A typical shower, however, only lasts less than one hour.
Grenada used to be considered 'outside the hurricane belt'. Since the passing of hurricane Ivan in September 2004 and hurricane Emily in July 2005, that has been revised. Grenada suffered the most devastation particularly during and after Ivan. Over 90% of buildings were damaged, many severely, and although it has come a long way, there is some work to be done to finish the rebuilding process and reconstruct the agricultural sector. Much of the nutmeg and cocoa crop was lost and it will take years to grow back. If you can help the reconstruction effort in any way, do let us know!
GRENADA - ITS HISTORY
The original people
The recorded history of Grenada dates back to the early 1600's. The original people, subsistence agriculturalists,
are thought to have come by canoe from the Orinoco Basin in what is now Venezuela in the first century AD.
The Arawak people followed in the sixth century, who named the island Ciboney. The next wave of immigrants
were the 'Caribs', who arrived in the fifteenth century and conquered the Arawak nation and renamed the place
Camerhogne. European history has described the Caribs as 'cannibals' but there is no proof that this was the
case. Their correct historical name is the Kalinago. Christopher Columbus sailed by
on the Santa Maria and gave the name Concepion, in honour of the Madonna. This
is reflected on the coat of arms with a Madonna lily.
The colonists
The French arrived in the early 1600's and after being fought off on numerous occasions by the Caribs they
made a violent entrance by almost wiping out the entire Amerindian population. Sauteurs ('Leapers' in French),
in St.Patrick's is renowned to be where the last of the Carib people leapt to their death rather than be enslaved
by the French. Some Carib people, however, did live on and intermingled with the incoming African population,
forming Maroon societies in some of the most inaccesible areas of Grenada.
Slavery
As the enslavement of the Caribs did not work out for the French, nor European indentured labour, they turned
to Africa for their free labour. African people were captured in West Africa and brought to Grenada as in the entire
region in the infamous slave trade and forced to work in brutal and degrading conditions. They began to arrive in
Grenada soon after the establishment of French rule.
French/British struggle
There was a power struggle between the French and the British over a period of years. In 1762 the French
surrendered to a British squadron and Grenada remained under British control until the French recaptured
it in 1779. However the Treaty of Versailles 1783 handed it back (including Carriacou and Petite
Martinique)
to the British. In 1795/6 the Fedon rebellion occurred which almost led to emancipation at that time.
The Fedon Rebellion
Julien Fedon, a French-African planter allied with other 'free coloured' and slaves to overthrow the British.
The French agreed to free all slaves at that time. The fact that Fedon allied with the slaves in Grenada shows
that the underlying cause of the armed struggle that began in 1795 was the injustices of the slave system,
not just a French-British conflict which is often put forward. Fedon, after 15 months of struggle almost
succeeded
in his task, but a large British force attacked from outside and eventually overcame the rebels.
Emancipation
The slave trade was abolished in 1833, however, the planters tried to keep the ex-slaves in a system of
unpaid apprenticeship and repression. The majority of farmers, though, became independent farmers. Groups
of indentured servants were brought in to take over the slaves' labour on the plantations, some Yoruba, some
from Madeira and Malta. Labourers arrived from India during 1856-1861 and the majority of them stayed on and became
farmers. After emancipation a third of the adult male population were smallholders and the rest working on the
estates in a feudal relationship.
The early 20th century
Protests came from the newly-emergent middle-class, challenging the British Crown and the planter class
during the early part of the twentieth century. T. A. Marryshow was an important intellectual figure with a
concern for the poor and holding to the ideas of Caribbean unity and African pride. Unions were allowed in the
1930's but the working class did not ally with this mainly middle-class movement.
Gairy and Independence
Eric Gairy in the 1950's became the spokesman for the working class and peasantry. He rallied the masses
in the country in a General Strike in 1951. Universal Suffrage had just come in and Gairy won the election. He
became the Chief Minister of State in 1961, the Premier with Associated Statehood in 1967 and the first Prime
Minister in 1974. However, he went on to create a repressive regime with economic deterioration and in March
1979 in a coup the socialist New Jewel Movement took over with Maurice Bishop at its head.
Revolution, Invasion and Since
....
The Revolution, or 'Revo' as it was called, made great strides in the areas of health and education and
social cooperation, with the help of Cuba. However, during this four-year period detentions became more
common and eventually on October 19, 1983 a more radical wing of the party took over, killing Bishop and
many of his supporters. The American government launched their famous 'rescue mission' and installed an
interim government until elections the following year.
Grenada has been a democracy since, with several changes of government. The New National Party
is still ruling
with a reduced majority with Dr. Keith Mitchell at its head.
CULTURE AND LIFESTYLE
The mixture of African, East Indian, French and British influences has left an interesting mixture seen in the folklore, dialect, music and general way of life.
Agriculture and industry
The majority of Grenadians are employed in agriculture whether as small farmers or estate workers. The main
export crops are cocoa, nutmeg and mace. The banana industry has ground to a halt due to outside pressures.
Since hurricanes Ivan and Emily, more hurricane resistant nutmeg trees
have been introduced. A solar-powered chocolate factory has been developed and is in operation in the north of the island.
There have been moves to diversify into other kinds of fruit and vegetables and tropical flowers.
Genetically-engineered crops have been introduced in the last few years by the
U.S. and China, but most people still plant in the traditional way. There
have been some encouraging strides in agro-processing and production of juices
and health products, which was originally started in the Revolution but was
dismantled immediately after. There is very little
industry in Grenada, however, there is some assembly work, data processing and garment manufacture.
The government is keen to improve the nation's skills in computer literacy and
information technology.
Tourism
Tourism as an industry is growing more and more. The majority of the hotels are small-scale and locally-owned
but now there are a few larger hotels and there are many more projects being planned, especially all-inclusive resorts.
Many of these are foreign-owned. Carriacou has mainly small guest houses and secluded intimate resorts.
Music and Dance
The main types of music popular in Grenada are calypso and reggae. French Caribbean music known as 'zouk'
now seems to be having a strong influence on calypso. There are a few local bands who mainly play on the hotel
circuit. Steel pan, originating in neighbouring Trinidad, is a major part of the music scene and is improving in standard
all the time. There are also a few drumming groups scattered around the island.
There is an annual drum festival held in the village of Tivoli, which is growing
in popularity and is attracting international acts. Folk dance/singing groups are
trying to keep alive the traditional dances and songs. Carnival is celebrated in Grenada on the second weekend
of August every year and in Carriacou and Petite Martinique at the traditional time of just before Ash
Wednesday. There's DJ music, steel
pan bands on floats and street parades with brightly-coloured costumes. It is a time of great revelry and fun.
There are many traditional characters to look out for, including the Jab Jabs (devils), and Shortknees (like
Pierrots). Carriacou has a very particular type of masquerade called
Shakespeare Mas which can be seen during their Carnival, where
participants recite long stretches of Julius Caesar interspersed
with their own tales of bravado. This has been an unbroken tradition for
centuries and is one of the oldest forms of masquerading in the Caribbean
region.
Carriacou has a very rich tradition of music and dance that has survived the centuries. Carriacou is unique
in that it is one of the only places in the African diaspora where people know from which tribal people they are descended. The Big Drum
and Nation Dance are drumming and dancing that accompany special events. Nation Dancing is important because
it commemorates the link with Carriacouans' African heritage and each tribe, Ibo, Kromanti etc. has its own particular
rhythm and dance steps. Easter time is a festive time in Carriacou and the Big Drum
is sometimes performed.
Some of these traditions have been dying out, and there is now a three day
Maroon Festival (normally at the end of April) put in place to revive them among the younger generation.
Dialect and Folklore
Grenadian people speak Standard English, Grenadian English and a French African patois. Only the older people
speak French patios and it has nearly died out. You are most likely to come across it in the rural areas. Grenadian
dialect also has many French words. Puzzled by some grammar? If you know any French and you translate it directly
then you will be able to understand. Some of the pronounciation of French words
is from 200 years ago and even some of the English dates from Shakespearian
times. Some of our hosts also speak foreign languages.
Grenada, and especially Carriacou is full of folklore. Many of the traditional customs are dying out, thanks to TV and more recently Cable TV but if you are lucky you may catch a moonlit cook-up with storytelling of Anancy the spider trickster (from West Africa) and tales of the 'La Diablesse' (devil-woman), Ligaroo (Loupgaroux means werewolf in French) and many other supernatural events and characters.
May 2-5Drum Festival, Moonlight City Park, La Poterie, St.Andrew's For more details http://www.grenadagrenadines.com/drum_fest.html
May 3/4 Grenada International Triathlon, Palmiste Beach, St.John's www.grenadatriathlon.com
May 12 Whit Monday
May 22 Corpus Christi
June 29 Fisherman's Birthday, Gouyave
August 1-5 Carriacou Regatta Festival www.carriacouregatta.com
August 4 Emancipation Day Holiday
August Groovy Soca Monarch Finals Tanteen
August Calypso Monarch (St.Andrew's) Victoria Park, Grenville
August National Soca Monarch finals Tanteen
August Panorama (Steel Pan competition)
August Kiddies Carnival
August 10 Dimanche Gras (Calypso finals - ends in the early morning)
Mon/Tues August 11-12 Carnival Monday and Tuesday have parades of bands in costume, revelling around the main towns.
From very early Monday morning, is 'J'ouvert' in all main towns. Look out for the jabjabs, other traditional masqueraders and political satirists, dancing to drums and steel pans, and soca music. Jabjabs are 'devil mas', and are painted black and other colours.
Monday afternoon see the brightly coloured costumes, called "pretty mas", and Monday evening "Monday Night Mas" where local businesses sponsor bands in their own logos.
Tuesday has bands in full costume once more, ending off with a "Last Lap" around the town until midnight.
See www.spicemas.com and www.Summercrew2000.com for full Carnival schedule.
October 12 Grenada Cricket Classics 5 days, St.George's
October 25 Thanksgiving Day Public Holiday commemorating the American Intervention of 1983.
November 13 -17 TTSA Carriacou Sailing Series
December
19
Carriacou Parang Festival.
Nature
Carriacou and Petite Martinique become extremely dry in the dry season and most of the flora is then
reduced to dry scrub and cactus. Carriacou has been heavily deforested for sugar, cotton and then lime
production, contributing to its low rainfall. In the place of forest grows sea grape, manchineel and coconut.
Grenada has five species unique to the island. These are:
The Grenada Dove,
our National bird, whose remaining habitat is currently threatened by a new
hotel project. For more details visit
www.grenadadovecampaign.com
which is partly spearheaded by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood.
The other four
are: a sub-species of snake,
a weevil,
tThe Mountain Cabbage Palm
and a
Grand Etang Fern.
You are likely to see toads (locally
referred to as 'crapaud') crossing the road in the night time, hear the piping frogs singing along with
the crickets. There are many different types of lizards and geckos. There are also iguanas (a beautiful turquoise
colour - but increasingly rare due to hunting). Grenada is said to have four different types of snakes (none of which
is poisonous) but are rarely seen today.
There are 150 species of birds in Grenada and the Grenadines, primarily North American in origin. Grenada performs
an important function as a migration stop off point from North America.
The armadillo and two types of opposum are found here. One opposum is known as a manicou and is hunted for
meat along with the armadillo. The African Mona monkeys came from Africa during the slave trade and are seen in
the forests. Since the destruction of many of the rainforest
trees during hurricane Ivan, they have been frequenting the residential area of
L'Anse aux Epines in the SW of the island.
Turtles can be seen laying their eggs
on the beaches at certain times of year. Ocean Spirits in Levera, St.Patrick's
and KIDO in Carriacou both run volunteer turtle conservation programmes.
Please don't buy any products made from turtles.
Humpback whales and dolphins can be seen off the coast.
Do support the whale and dolphin watching initiatives, like
First Impressions Ltd. in Grand Anse. Grenada is one of many Caribbean countries
that supports Japan in overturning the moratorium on commercial whaling, but
hopefully whale watching will win out as the choice that makes sense both
economically and ethically.
There is a rainforest reserve, protected by the government, of 3,800 acres, in the centre of the island
(the Grand Etang area). The rainforest has been modified by extensive felling in the nineteenth century
and is mostly secondary growth. There are some mangrove swamps, mainly at Levera Pond in the north-east
and on the south coast. In Carriacou there is a wonderfully preserved mangrove system with many birds at Petit
Carenage Bay. Grenada has excellent fertile soil which means almost anything can grow. The Northern part of the
island is particularly lush and scenic. Since hurricane Ivan in September 2004,
there has been extensive damage, but there are some encouraging signs of
regrowth. 
Cuisine
Grenada being the 'Isle of Spice', it is expected that the cuisine uses plenty of spices, nutmeg, bay leaf, allspice,
capsicum, pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, clove and ginger. Grenadians like to use hot pepper sauce as an
accompaniment and some good varieties are available for sale. Chicken dishes are popular, especially barbeque,
and fish (fresh local fish and salted cod). Crab and callaloo (a spinach-like vegetable) is a speciality as is oil-down,
a stew with coconut, breadfruit, vegetables and often pork or fish. Rice and peas and ground provisions (yams,
tannias, sweet potatoes) are popular. Fresh fruit and local fruit juices are easily available.
We can accommodate vegetarian diets so please let us know in advance if this is what you need.
