The first written records in the history of Dominica began in November 1493, when Christopher Columbus spotted the island. Prior to European contact, Dominica was inhabited by the Arawak. Dominica was a French colony from 1715 until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, and then became a British colony from 1763 to 1978. It became an independent nation in 1978.
Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and Islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos.
Caribbean literature is the literature of the various territories of the Caribbean region. Literature in English from the former British West Indies may be referred to as Anglo-Caribbean or, in historical contexts, as West Indian literature. Most of these territories have become independent nations since the 1960s, though some retain colonial ties to the United Kingdom. They share, apart from the English language, a number of political, cultural, and social ties which make it useful to consider their literary output in a single category. The more wide-ranging term "Caribbean literature" generally refers to the literature of all Caribbean territories regardless of language—whether written in English, Spanish, French, Hindustani, or Dutch, or one of numerous creoles.
Lennox Honychurch is Dominica's most noted historian and a politician. He is well known for writing 1975's The Dominica Story: A History of the Island, the 1980s textbook series The Caribbean People, and the 1991 travel book Dominica: Isle of Adventure. Also an artist and a curator, he was largely responsible for compiling the exhibit information for The Dominica Museum in Roseau. Honychurch is the grandson of writer and politician Elma Napier.
Dominica Broadcasting Corporation is the national radio station of the Commonwealth of Dominica. The service, owned by the local government, is headquartered on Victoria Street in the island's capital, Roseau. Broadcast on the 88.1 FM frequency, DBS' signal is also picked up across the Eastern Caribbean.
Calibishie is a village in Dominica, located on the north-east coast of the island, immediately to the east of the village of Hampstead. The Calibishie Coast Travel Area is thought by many to be the most scenic and unspoiled region of Dominica. The Calibishie coast is one of the few areas in the world where the distance from the seashore to rain forest is little more than a mile. Calibishie is home to Dominica's Batibou, Hampstead, Hodges, Point Baptiste, Turtle and Woodford Hill Beaches.
The Chronicle is the national newspaper of the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. It was begun by Bishop Philip Schelfhaut in 1909 as the Dominica Chronicle, a bi-weekly publication. For many years afterward, it was known as The New Chronicle until it dropped the "New" from its title in 1996.
The ' Leader of the Opposition of the Commonwealth of Dominica is the Member of Parliament who leads the Official Opposition in the House of Assembly of Dominica.
The rufous-throated solitaire is a species of bird placed in the family Turdidae.
Dominica Botanic Gardens is located on the Caribbean island-nation of Dominica, in the capital of Roseau. Once known as one of the finest botanical gardens in the region, it was severely damaged by Hurricane David in 1979. Following restoration efforts, it remains a focus of cultural life in Roseau, and a center of conservation research on Dominica.
The Chief of the Kalinago Territory presides over the Kalinago Council, the local government of the Kalinago Territory. The position is the equivalent of a village council chairperson elsewhere in Dominica. Beginning in the late 20th century, Kalinago Chiefs have also acted as a representative of the Kalinago Territory to other indigenous populations in the Caribbean region, and have worked with organizations including the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations.
Sir Louis Cools-Lartigue, O.B.E. was a Dominican politician.
The Dominica Award of Honour is a decoration of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Created in 1967, it is the highest honour presented by the President of the Commonwealth of Dominica on behalf of the state.
Belles is a small village in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. It is located at 15°27′12.7″N61°19′11.4″W and is a part of the country's St. Joseph administrative division. Its population is 500. Belles is a historical site for a few reasons. It is a major part of the highway system to the northern part of the island. The roads were blocked many years ago by Rastafarians who were not happy with the government. Many of them escaped to Jaco Flats and used it for refuge. This is a site that was used by the Maroons hundreds of years ago. As of 2016, the Esprit and Benjamin families own and control a majority of the private land.
Lemuel McPherson Christian MBE (1913–2000) was a Dominican music educator and composer, who wrote the music for "Isle of Beauty, Isle of Splendour", the national anthem of the Commonwealth of Dominica, the words being written by Wilfred Oscar Morgan Pond (1912–1985). Also a music teacher, Christian ran the first music school in the Eastern Caribbean.
Polly Pattullo Hon. FRSL is a British author, journalist, editor and publisher, who co-founded in 1998 the independent publishing company Papillote Press, based in Dominica, and London, England. Her writing has appeared in such publications as The Guardian, The Observer, Caribbean Insight, and Caribbean Beat, and she is the author or editor of several books, among them Last Resorts: the Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean (1996) and Your Time is Done Now: Slavery, Resistance and Defeat: the Maroon Trials of Dominica 1813–14 (2015).
Dominican nationality law is regulated by the 1978 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica, as amended; the Citizenship Act, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Dominica. Dominican nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Dominica; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Dominican nationality. It can also be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. There is also, currently a program in Dominica for acquiring nationality by investment. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably.
Alwin Anthony Bully was a Dominican cultural administrator, playwright, actor and artist, who designed the national flag of Dominica. Bully was bestowed with the Sisserou Award of Honour, the nation's second highest honour, in 1985. He was responsible for establishing and developing Dominica's Department of Culture and was its first director. Viewed as being the island's "cultural icon", Bully's contributions were to arts and culture, also impacting on the areas of education and communication, and according to Dominica News Online there was no Dominican more decorated and honoured in those fields than Bully, whose influence extended to the wider Caribbean.
