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Pre-European Settlement
1300 - Carib Indians of South America conquer the
indigenous Arawak Indians.
1498 - Christopher Columbus visits the main island
on St Vincent's Day.
1627 - St Vincent granted to Britain's Lord Carlisle-Island
inhabited by (Yellow) Caribs and (Black) Caribs-Garifuna.
1772-73 First Carib-Garifuna/British war. First Indigenous
Caribbean people to force the British to sign a treaty
1783 - Treaty of Versailles recognizes St Vincent
as a British colony.
1795 –96 Second Carib-Garifuna/British war in response
to British failure to honor treaties.
On March 14, 1795, Garifuna paramount chief Joseph Chatoyer is killed in battle.
1797 - Britain, with French support, deports 5,000
Garifuna to Belize following an uprising.
1812 - First recorded eruption of La Soufriere volcano which resulted in many casualties.
1834 - Slavery abolished, forcing plantations to
free more than 18,000 slaves; foreign laborers indentured.
1902 - Second eruption of La Soufriere volcano
results in the death of 2,000 inhabitants.
1935 - October 21, 1935 saw the a series of working
people protests which the British colonial authorities tried to characterize
as riots.
The protests were led by a number of working women,
including a Black Carib woman named Bertha Mutt.
Also involved was George McIntosh,
who later founded the St. Vincent Workingmen’s Association.
1951 - St Vincent granted universal adult suffrage.
First Chief Minister, Ebenezer Joshua elected.
1958-62 St Vincent a member of the British-sponsored
West Indies Federation.
1969 - St Vincent granted internal self-government
under Chief Minister Milton Cato, with Britain
retaining responsibility for foreign and defense affairs.
1979 October - St Vincent and the Grenadines become independent with Milton Cato of the center-left St Vincent Labour Party (SVLP) as Prime Minister.
1979 - Uprising called the “December Revolt” on Union Island by a group that wanted more power in the country's new government.
1979 - Third major eruption of La Soufriere volcano.
1981 - Workers stage a general strike in protest
at new industrial relations legislation against the background of an economic
recession.
1984 - James Mitchell becomes Prime Minister after
his center-right New Democratic Party (NDP) wins a surprising victory in the
general election.
1989 - Mitchell returned
to office after his NDP won all parliamentary seats.
1994 - Mitchell and the NDP returned to office
once again, but with a reduced majority.
1998 - Mitchell and the NDP scrape a fourth term.
Labor unions and opposition parties launch recall initiative.
2000 - Mitchell resigns and is succeeded by his
finance minister, Arniham Eustace.
2000 - Ralph Gonsalves of the opposition coalition,
elected Prime Minister
Population
(1991): 115,500
Capital:
Kingstown
Major
languages: English
Major
religion: Christianity
Life
expectancy: 71 years (men), 74 years (women)
Monetary
unit: 1 East Caribbean dollar = 100 cents
Average annual income: US $2,640
