Carriacou and Petite Martinique

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Carriacou and Petite Martinique
Carriacou et La Petite Martinique
Carriacou and Petite Martinique in Grenada.svg
Location of Carriacou and Petite Martinique
Capital
and largest city
Hillsborough
12°28.9′N61°27.5′W / 12.4817°N 61.4583°W / 12.4817; -61.4583
Official languages
Demonym(s)
  • Carriacouan
  • Petit Martiniquian
GovernmentDependency of Grenada
  Monarch
King Charles III
Cécile La Grenade
Dickon Mitchell
Tevin Andrews
 Minister for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs
Tevin Andrews
Establishment
 Part of British Grenada
1763
 Constituency
1944
 Part of Grenada
February 7, 1974
Area
 Total
37.7 km2 (14.6 sq mi)
Population
 Estimate
6,081 [1]
Currency East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Time zone UTC−4
 Summer (DST)
UTC−4
Driving side left
Calling code+1 473
Internet TLD .gd
  1. The main patois (or Creole) language is French-based.
Map of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Grenada Grenadines.svg
Map of Carriacou and Petite Martinique

Carriacou and Petite Martinique, also known as the Southern Grenadines, is a dependency of Grenada, lying north of Grenada island and south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Lesser Antilles. The islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique belong to the sovereign state of Grenada. Together they all form the 3-island country of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique. [2]

Contents

Carriacou Island is the largest island of the Grenadines, an archipelago in the Windward Islands chain. The island is 13 square miles (34 km2) with a population of 9,595 (2019 census). The main settlements on the island are Hillsborough, L'Esterre, Harvey Vale, and Windward.

The neighbouring island of Petite Martinique is 2.5 miles (2.2 nmi) away from Carriacou, and also a part of Grenada. With its 586 acres (2.37 km2) and population of 900, it is smaller than Carriacou. The residents of this island live by boat-building, fishing and seafaring. Carriacou and Petite Martinique are known for its Regatta and Village Maroon.

Colonial history

On 27 September 1650, Jacques du Parquet bought Grenada from the Compagnie des Iles de l'Amerique, which was dissolved, for the equivalent of £1160. In 1657, Jacques du Parquet sold Grenada to Jean de Faudoas, Comte de Sérillac, for the equivalent of £1890. [3] [4] In 1664, King Louis XIV bought out the independent island owners and established the French West India Company. [5] In 1674, the French West India Company was dissolved. Proprietary rule ended in Grenada, which became a French crown colony as a dependency of Martinique. [5]

Carriacou and Petite Martinique was part of the French colony in 1762. It was part of the British Grenada colony from 1763 to 1779 and 1783–1974. It was part of the French Grenada colony from 1779 to 1783. [6] During this turbulent period, most of the land on Carriacou and all of the property on Petite Martinique was owned by a free black woman, Judith Philip, and her family members. [7] It has been a dependency of Grenada since 1974.

Geography

Carriacou is the largest of the Grenadines and is characterized by hilly terrain sloping to white sand beaches. The island stretches from Pegus Point in the south to Gun Point in the north and it is about 7 miles (11 km) long.

The island has several natural harbors and many coral reefs and small offshore islets. [8]

The highest point on the island is High Point North at 955 feet (291 m) [9] above sea level. Carriacou has no rivers. Residents rely on rainfall for their water.

Islands

NameAreaPopulation
Carriacou 34 km2 (13 sq mi)9,595
Petite Martinique 2.37 km2 (0.92 sq mi)900
Large Island 0.50 km2 (0.19 sq mi)none
Frigate Island 0.40 km2 (0.15 sq mi)none
Saline Island 0.30 km2 (0.12 sq mi)none

Climate

There are two seasons, wet and dry. The dry season is between January and June when the trade winds dominate the climate; the rainy season is from July to December. The climate is tropical. Temperatures range from 27–32 °C (81–90 °F) on land, with 26–30 °C (79–86 °F) water temps.[ citation needed ]

Politics

Carriacou and Petite Martinique is a Grenadian Constituency. Tevin Andrews, NDC, is the representative for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Constituency and also the Minister of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs. The Grenadian constitution of 1974 guarantees a right to autonomy and local government for Carriacou and Petite Martinique, but this has never been implemented. In 2022, the government of Dickon Mitchell introduced a bill to parliament to establish a local Council for Carriacou and Petite Martinique. [10]

Festivals

There are four major cultural festivals held on Carriacou and one on Petite Martinique. Carriacou Carnival, called "Kayak Mas", [11] [12] is held during the days leading up to Lent in late February or early March. [12] The Carriacou Regatta, held on the first weekend in August, is a racing event for locally built boats. [13] The Regatta began in 1965, making it the longest running regatta in the Caribbean. [14] The Parang, on the weekend prior to Christmas, celebrates the island's traditional Christmas music and culture. [15] Village Maroons take place year round, and involve villagers partaking in cooking traditional foods and the "Big Drum Dance". [16] The Carriacou Maroon & String Band Music Festival is held in the last weekend of April of the year. [16] [17] Petite Martinique's Whitsuntide Regatta Festival takes place annually on Whitsuntide weekend, and consists of boat races, performances, and other activities. [18]

Transport

Carriacou and Petite Martinique's main transport system includes roads and ferries. The people of Carriacou travel mainly by privately run 15 seater buses. Rental cars and taxis are also available and boats are commonplace. Lauriston Airport, located in Lauriston, Carriacou, is the island's major airport, and a small ferry boat known as the Osprey runs between Carriacou, Grenada, and Petite Martinique. The short distances between the Grenadines also enables travel between them by small boats.

Radio stations

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Grenada</span> Geography of Grenada.

Grenada is an island country located between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located at 12°07′N61°40′W. There are no large inland bodies of water on the island, which consists entirely of the state of Grenada. The coastline is 121 km long. The island has 15 constituencies and speaks English and Grenadian Creole. It is volcanic in origin and its topography is mountainous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George's, Grenada</span> Capital of Grenada

St. George's is the capital of Grenada. The town is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is located on a horseshoe-shaped harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser Antilles</span> Archipelago in the Southeast Caribbean

The Lesser Antilles are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc between the Greater Antilles to the north-west and the continent of South America. The islands of the Lesser Antilles form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles make up the Antilles. The Lesser and Greater Antilles, together with the Lucayan Archipelago, are collectively known as the West Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grenadines</span> Chain of small islands

The Grenadines is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public : Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Union Island, Petit St Vincent, Palm Island and Mayreau, all in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, plus Petite Martinique and Carriacou in Grenada. Several additional privately owned islands such as Calivigny are also inhabited. Notable uninhabited islands of the Grenadines include Petit Nevis, used by whalers, and Petit Mustique, which was the centre of a prominent real estate scam in the early 2000s.

The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles. Part of the West Indies, they lie south of the Leeward Islands, approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carriacou</span> Island in Grenada

Carriacou is an island of the Grenadine Islands. It is a dependency of Grenada, and is located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island Grenada and the north coast of South America. The name is derived from the Carib language Kayryouacou.

The Martinique Channel is a strait in the Caribbean Sea that separates Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from Grenada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsborough, Carriacou</span> City in Carriacou and Petite Martinique, Grenada

Hillsborough is the largest town (city) on the island of Carriacou, Grenada. The town serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre of both Carriacou and Petite Martinique. It has a population of approximately 1,000 people.

ISO 3166-2:GD is the entry for Grenada in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.

Large Island is an islet between Grenada and Carriacou (Grenadines). It is part of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, a dependency of Grenada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grenada</span> Country in the Caribbean

Grenada is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and several small islands which lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 348.5 square kilometres (134.6 sq mi), and it had an estimated population of 124,523 in July 2021. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petite Martinique</span> Island of Grenada

Petite Martinique is one of the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, which is a dependency of Grenada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Grenada-related articles</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Carriacou</span>

Carriacou is the largest island of the Grenadines, an archipelago in the Windward Islands chain in the Caribbean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Grenadians</span>

Afro-Grenadians or Black Grenadians are Grenadian people of largely African descent. This term is not generally recognised by Grenadians or indeed Caribbeans. They usually refer to themselves simply as Black or possibly Black Caribbean. The term was first coined by an African Americans history professor, John Henrik Clarke (1915–1998), in his piece entitled A Note on Racism in History. The term may also refer to a Grenadian of African ancestry. Social interpretations of race are mutable rather than deterministic and neither physical appearance nor ancestry are used straightforwardly to determine whether a person is considered a Black Grenadian. According to the 2012 Census, 82% of Grenada's population is Black, 13% is mixed European and black and 2% is of Indian origin.

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Grenada.

Tevin Andrews is a Grenadian politician from the National Democratic Congress who has served in the Cabinet of Grenada as Minister for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs and Local Government since 1 July 2022. He also represents Carriacou and Petite Martinique in the House of Representatives.

References

  1. "GOV.gd: Grenada Government Official Web Portal - About Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique". September 10, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-09-10.
  2. "Parishes of Grenada". Statoids.com. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  3. Steele, page 52
  4. Prinet, Max (1909). "Reviewed work: La maison de Faudoas (Gascogne, Maine et Normandie), par l'abbé Ambroise Ledru, chanoine honoraire du Mans, et Eugène Vallée. Paris, A. Lemerre, 1907-1908. 3 vol. in-8°, xii-440, I-339 et 458 pages, pl" [The House of Faudoas (Gascony, Maine and Normandy), by Father Ambroise Ledru, Honorary Canon of Le Mans, and Eugène Vallée…]. Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes (in French). Paris: Librairie Droz, Société de l'Ecole des chartes. 70: 562–564. ISSN   0373-6237. JSTOR   42971075. OCLC   754171109 . Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 Steele, page 54
  6. Martin, Robert Montgomery (1844). The British Colonial Library Comprising a Popular and Authentic Description of all the Colonies of the British Empire, Their History—Physical Geography—Geology—Climate—Anima, Vegetable, and Mineral Kingdoms—Government—Finance—Military Defence—Commerce—Shipping—Monetary System—Religion—Population, white and coloured—Education and the Press—Emigration, Social State, &c. Vol. IV. London, England: H. G. Bohn. pp. 249–251.
  7. Candlin, Kit; Pybus, Cassandra (2015). Enterprising Women: Gender, Race, and Power in the Revolutionary Atlantic. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. p. 57. ISBN   978-0-8203-4455-3.
  8. "Carriacou". Professional Travel Guide. Archived from the original on 2008-04-28.
  9. "National Park". Paradise Inn. Archived from the original on 2008-09-06.
  10. "Carriacou and Petite Martinique Local Government Bill, 2022". The New Today Grenada. 29 October 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  11. Osman, Radeya (2023-01-18). "Carriacou Carnival 2023: What to expect". Soca News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27.
  12. 1 2 "Caribbean carnivals: eight iconic events and when to go". National Geographic UK. 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  13. "Republic Bank continues to support Carriacou Regatta Festival". NOW Grenada. 17 July 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
  14. "55th anniversary of the Carriacou Regatta". Embassy of Grenada. Washington, District of Columbia. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  15. Miller, Rebecca S. (2003). ""Me Ain' Lie on Nobody!" Locality, Regionalism, and Identity at the Parang String Band Competition in Carriacou, Grenada". The World of Music. 45 (1): 55–77. ISSN   0043-8774.
  16. 1 2 "Culture". Pure Grenada. Grenada Tourism Authority. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  17. "Cancellation Notice: Carriacou Maroon and String Band Music Festival". NOW Grenada. 21 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  18. "Petite Martinique Whitsuntide Regatta". Embassy of Granada. Washington, District of Columbia. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  19. "Home kyak106". www.kyak106.com.
  20. "Harbour Light of the Windwards". www.harbourlightradio.org.

12°29.0′N61°27.7′W / 12.4833°N 61.4617°W / 12.4833; -61.4617