The Grenadines is a nation that is located in the Lesser Antilles chain that lies at the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where it joins to the Atlantic Ocean. It has a size of 150 square miles and is made up of the main island of Saint Vincent and the other northern two-thirds of the Grenadines. These other smaller islands stretch from Saint Vincent Island to Grenada.
Located to the north of the Grenadines is St. Lucia, to the east Barbados, and to the south is Grenada. The Grenadine Islands have a population of 120,000 and the capital is Kingstown. The nation has a British and French colonial history and is now a part of the Commonwealth of Nations and CARICOM.
Saint Vincent was originally called ‘Hairouna’ by the Carib Indians. Carib Indians thwarted European colonization on St. Vincent until the eighteenth century. At that time, escaped African slaves left Barbados, St. Lucia, and Grenada and looked for refuge in St. Vincent. They married Caribs and were then called Garifuna or Black Caribs.
In 1719, French settlers took control of the island and began growing coffee, tobacco, cotton, indigo, and sugar on plantations. The plantations were worked by African slaves. In 1763, France gave control of St. Vincent to Britain, but later re-invaded the island in 1779 and eventually regained control. However, Britain later gained control again by the Treaties of Versailles of 1783. The Treaties of Versailles were lesser treaties under the Treaty of Paris of 1783.