The history of Grenada in the Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles group of islands, covers a period from the earliest human settlements to the establishment of the contemporary nationstate of Grenada. First settled by indigenous peoples, Grenada by the time of European contact was inhabited by the Caribs. French colonists killed most of the Caribs on the island and established plantations on the island, eventually importing African slaves to work on the sugar plantations.
The politics of Grenada takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Grenada is an independent Commonwealth realm. It is governed under a multi-party parliamentary system whose political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom; it has a prime minister and a cabinet, and a bicameral Parliament with an elected House of Representatives and an appointed Senate. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, motion, and association. Grenada is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.
Sir Eric Matthew Gairy PC was the first Prime Minister of Grenada, serving from his country's independence in 1974 until his overthrow in a coup by Maurice Bishop in 1979. Gairy also served as head of government in pre-independence Grenada as Chief Minister from 1961 to 1962, and as Premier from 1967 to 1974.
Maurice Rupert Bishop was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party that sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation – that came to power during the 13 March 1979 revolution that removed Eric Gairy from office. Bishop headed the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada from 1979 to 1983, when he was dismissed from his post and executed during the coup by Bernard Coard, leading to upheaval.
The New Joint Endeavor for Welfare, Education, and Liberation, or New JEWEL Movement (NJM), was a Marxist–Leninist vanguard party in the Caribbean island nation of Grenada that was led by Maurice Bishop.
Herbert Augustus Blaize PC was a Grenadian politician and leader of the Grenada National Party. When Grenada was still a British Crown Colony he served as the first Chief Minister from 1960 to 1961, and again from 1962 to 1967. He became the first Premier of the autonomous Associated State of Grenada briefly in 1967. In the first elections following the 1983 coups and the American-led invasion of Grenada, he served as Prime Minister from 1984 until his death in 1989.
Saint David's Parish is the fourth largest of the parishes of Grenada in the island's southeast. The parish's main town is St. David's, located between La Tante and Westerhall. Because St David's is so small, the parish is sometimes referred to as "The Virgin Parish".
The People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) was proclaimed on 13 March 1979 after the Marxist–Leninist New Jewel Movement overthrew the government of Grenada in a revolution, making Grenada the only socialist state within the Commonwealth. In Grenada, the revolution is referred to as the March 13th Revolution of 1979 or simply as “The Revolution”. The government suspended the constitution and ruled by decree until a factional conflict broke out, culminating in an invasion by the United States on 25 October 1983.
Grenada is an island 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 100 miles north of Trinidad and the South American mainland.
The Grenada National Party (GNP) was a conservative and economically liberal political party in Grenada that existed from 1954 to 1984, when it merged into the New National Party. It alternated in power with the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP).
General elections were held in Grenada on 18 January 1999. The governing New National Party of Prime Minister Keith Mitchell was re-elected after winning all 15 seats. Voter turnout was 56.5%.
The Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) is a political party in Grenada.
General elections were held in Grenada on 10 October 1951. They were the first held with universal suffrage. Eric Gairy's Grenada Mental and Manual Workers Union won six of the eight seats. However, at this time the Legislative Council had few powers and the role of head of government remained with the Administrator.
General elections were held in Grenada on 20 September 1954. Although independent candidates received the most votes, Eric Gairy's Grenada United Labour Party won six of the eight seats, as it had done in the 1951 elections. At this time the Legislative Council had few powers. The role of head of government remained with the Administrator.
General elections were held in Grenada on 24 September 1957. Following the introduction of the new Constitution on 21 December 1959 real authority for governing the country was given to a Chief Minister and those from the majority party in the Legislative Council based on the 1957 elections. Herbert Blaize was appointed the first Chief Minister from 1 January 1960 when the Legislative Council provisions took effect, with the cooperation of the independents who chose to support the Grenada National Party.
General elections were held in Grenada on 27 March 1961. Eric Gairy's Grenada United Labour Party won eight of the ten seats, his wife Cynthia Gairy becoming the first woman to be elected to the legislature. George E.D. Clyne of GULP became Chief Minister and served from March to August 1961 when, following the direct intervention of the British government, Gairy's political ban was lifted early, and Clyne resigned allowing Gairy to return in a by-election and become Chief Minister. Voter turnout was 55.5%.
General elections were held in Grenada on 13 September 1962. Herbert Blaize's Grenada National Party won six of the ten seats and Blaize was appointed Chief Minister for the second time. Blaize served as Head of Government until the next general election in August 1967, initially as Chief Minister until March 1967, and subsequently when Grenada became a fully internally autonomous Associated State, as Grenada's first Premier. Voter turnout was 72.6.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 5 December 1979. The result was a victory for the Saint Vincent Labour Party (SVLP), which won eleven of the thirteen seats. Voter turnout was 63.9%.
The Mongoose Gang was a private army or militia which operated from 1967 to 1979 under the control of Sir Eric Gairy, the Premier and later Prime Minister of Grenada, and head of the Grenada United Labour Party. Officially, Mongoose Gang members were called Special Reserve Police (S.R.P.) or Volunteer Constables.
On 25 October 1983, during the invasion of Grenada, the Richmond Hill Mental Hospital was mistakenly bombed by U.S. Navy A-7 Corsairs, killing 18 people and hospitalizing 30 more.
