This article is about inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Dominica of white European descent. For inhabitants of the Dominican Republic of white European descent, see White Dominicans.
Most White Dominicans are descendants of European settlers of French and English stock.[2]
History
Christopher Columbus landed in Dominica in November 1493. Spanish ships frequently landed on Dominica during the 16th century, but fierce resistance by the indigenous Caribs discouraged Spain's efforts at settlement in the island. In 1635, France officially claimed Dominica.[3] Dominica was colonized by the Spanish, French and English.[4] The first Europeans colonists in Dominica were the French.[5] Winds and tides made Dominica the first landfall for numerous sailing ships arriving in the West Indies from the Azores, the Canary Islands, and West Africa. Spanish ships called for water and provisions, but hostile Caribs discouraged colonization. During the seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Caribs, the British and the French fought for control of Dominica. The European settlers in Dominica between 1632 and 1748 were predominantly French. Situated almost equidistant from France's colonies of Guadeloupe and Martinique, Dominica had more than 300 African slaves by 1633. England had also claimed the island. In 1660 and 1731, Dominica was declared "neutral" in an effort to resolve the conflicting European assertions and to appease Carib raiders. Again, by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748, the British and French pledged to abandon the disputed territory. Even if both nations sincerely had desired to adhere to these pacts, enforcement would have proven difficult. War rather than diplomacy ultimately settled the question of possession.[citation needed]
French colonists arrived in increasing numbers. Their failure to evacuate helped precipitate the Seven Years' War (1755–1763) between England and France. In 1759, when the English seized Guadeloupe, the French presence on Dominica grew dramatically. The Caribs were driven to the remote areas, where their descendants still survive. Britain reacted in 1761 by assaulting and capturing the island. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 confirmed the conquest. Between 1764 and 1774 both the white and black populations increased. Approximately 19,000 slaves entered Dominica during the same period. In 1763 blacks outnumbered whites three to one. By 1811 the ratio had climbed to sixteen to one. Even today, whites comprise a small minority of Dominica's population.[6]
In the year 1715, France established the first permanent settlement in the island with groups of poor European smallholders from Martinique.[7]
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.
Saint Lucia was inhabited by the Arawak and Kalinago Caribs before European contact in the early 16th century. It was colonized by the British and French in the 17th century and was the subject of several possession changes until 1814, when it was ceded to the British by France for the final time. In 1958, St. Lucia joined the short-lived semi-autonomous West Indies Federation. Saint Lucia was an associated state of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1979 and then gained full independence on February 22, 1979.
France began colonizing the Americas in the 16th century and continued into the following centuries as it established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France established colonies in much of eastern North America, on several Caribbean islands, and in South America. Most colonies were developed to export products such as fish, rice, sugar, and furs.
The Kalinago, also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language known as Kalinago or Island Carib. They also spoke a pidgin language associated with the Mainland Caribs.
This is a page on the history of the island of Martinique.
The French West Indies or French Antilles are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
The Garifuna people are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, Spanish, Belizean Creole and Vincentian Creole.
Antillean Creole is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of French, Carib, English, and African languages.
The Carib Expulsion from Martinique was the French-led ethnic cleansing that removed most of the Kalinago population in 1660 from the island of Martinique. This followed the French invasion in 1635 and its conquest of the Caribbean island that made it part of the French West Indies.
The culture of Dominica is formed by the inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Dominica is home to a wide range of people. Although it was historically occupied by several native tribes, it was the Taíno and Island Caribs (Kalinago) tribes that remained by the time European settlers reached the island. "Massacre" is a name of a river dedicated to the murders of the native villagers by both French and British settlers, because the river "ran red with blood for days." Each claimed the island and imported slaves from Africa. The remaining Caribs now live on a 3,700-acre (15 km2) Carib Territory on the east coast of the island. They elect their own chief.
As an overseas department of France, Martinique's culture is French, African and Caribbean. Its former capital, Saint-Pierre, was often referred to as the Paris of the Lesser Antilles. The official language is French, although many Martinicans speak a Creole patois. Based in French, Martinique's Creole also incorporates elements of English, Spanish, Portuguese, and African languages. Originally passed down through oral storytelling traditions, it continues to be used more often in speech than in writing.
Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. Dominica's closest neighbours are two constituent territories of the European Union, the overseas departments of France, Guadeloupe to the northwest and Martinique to the south-southeast. Dominica comprises a land area of 750 km2 (290 sq mi), and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 m (4,747 ft) in elevation. The population was 71,293 at the 2011 census.
This is a timeline of the territorial evolution of the Caribbean and nearby areas of North, Central, and South America, listing each change to the internal and external borders of the various countries that make up the region.
The languages of the Caribbean reflect the region's diverse history and culture. There are six official languages spoken in the Caribbean:
Dominican Creole French is a French-based creole, which is a widely spoken language in Dominica. It can be considered a distinct dialect of Antillean Creole.
White Haitians, are Haitians of predominant or full European descent. There were approximately 20,000 whites around the Haitian Revolution, mainly French, in Saint-Domingue. They were divided into two main groups: The Planters and Petit Blancs. The first Europeans to settle in Haiti were the Spanish. The Spanish enslaved the indigenous Haitians to work on sugar plantations and in gold mines. European diseases such as measles and smallpox killed all but a few thousand of the indigenous Haitians. Many other indigenous Haitians died from overwork and harsh treatment in the mines from slavery. Most Europeans who settled in Haiti were killed or fled during the Haitian Revolution.
Jacques Dyel du Parquet was a French soldier who was one of the first governors of Martinique. He was appointed governor of the island for the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique in 1636, a year after the first French settlement had been established. In 1650 he purchased Martinique, Grenada and Saint Lucia. He did much to develop Martinique as a colony, including introduction of sugarcane.
Robert le Frichot des Friches, sieur de Clodoré was a French governor of Martinique from 1665 to 1667. He was an energetic and effective leader during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, in which France was an ally of the Dutch from the start of 1666. He used Caribs as auxiliaries, and helped take several islands in the Antilles from the English.
Jean du Plessis, sieur d’Ossonville was a joint leader of the French expedition that established a colony on the island of Guadeloupe in 1635. He died on the island after less than six months.
Charles Liénard, sieur de L'Olive was a French colonial leader who was the first governor of Guadeloupe.
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