National Trade Data Bank ITEM ID : ST BNOTES STVINCEN DATE : Oct 28, 1994 AGENCY : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PROGRAM : BACKGROUND NOTES TITLE : Background Notes - ST VINCENT Source key : ST Program key : ST BNOTES Update sched. : Occasionally Data type : TEXT End year : 1994 Date of record : 19941018 Keywords 3 : Keywords 3 : | ST VINCENT BACKGROUND NOTES: ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE SEPTEMBER 1993 Official Name: St. Vincent and the Grenadines PROFILE Geography Area: 340 sq. km.; slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC. The Grenadines include 32 islands, the largest of which are Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, and Union. Some of the smaller islands are privately owned. Cities: Capital--Kingstown (pop. 29,600). Terrain: Volcanic and mountainous; the mountains are almost impenetrable, with the highest peak, Soufriere, rising to 1,219 meters. Climate: Tropical. People Nationality: Noun and adjective--Vincentian. Population: 114,000. Annual growth rate: 1.4%. Ethnic groups: African descent (66%), mixed (19%), East Indian (6%), Carib Indian (2%). Religions: Anglican (47%), Methodist (28%), Roman Catholic (13%), other Protestant denominations, Seventh-Day Adventist, Hindu. Language: English (official); some French patois spoken. Education: Literacy--96%. Years compulsory--Up to age 15. Health (1991): Infant mortality rate--31/1,000. Life expectancy--women 72 yrs., men 68 yrs. Work force: About 40,000, of which agriculture accounts for about 60%. Government Type: Parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth. Independence: October 27, 1979. Constitution: October 27, 1979. Branches: Executive--governor general (representing Queen Elizabeth II, head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--unicameral legislature with 15-member elected House of Representatives and 6-member appointed Senate. Judicial--District courts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Supreme Court (High Court and Court of Appeals), privy council. Subdivisions: 6 parishes. Political parties: New Democratic Party (incumbent holds all seats in parliament), St. Vincent Labor Party, Movement for National Unity. Suffrage: Universal at 18. Flag: Blue, gold, and green vertical bands; the gold band bears three green diamonds. Economy GDP (1992 est.): $215 million. Per capita GDP: $2,000. Natural resources: Timber, beaches. Industry: Plastic products, detergents. Trade: Exports--(bananas, eddoes and dasheen, arrowroot starch): $75 million. Major markets--U.K. 54%, CARICOM 34%, U.S. 10%. Imports--(foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers): $128 million. Major suppliers--U.S. 36%, CARICOM 21%, U.K. 18%, Japan 3%. Official exchange rate: St. Vincent and the Grenadines uses the Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollar, which is tied to the U.S. dollar at the rate of $1.00=EC$2.70. PEOPLE Most Vincentians are the descendants of African slaves brought to the island to work on the plantations. There are also a few white descendants of English colonialists, as well as some East Indians, Carib Indians, and a sizable minority of mixed race. The country's official language is English, but a French patois may be heard on some of the Grenadine islands. About half the church-going population attends the Anglican church. The Methodist and Roman Catholic churches also have a sizable following, 28% and 13%, respectively. The balance of the population is Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Hindu, or Rastafarian. St. Vincent has a relatively high birth rate of 27 per 1,000 population, though this is mitigated somewhat by a high rate of emigration. With extremely high unemployment and under-employment, population growth remains a major problem. HISTORY Caribe Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St. Vincent until the 18th century. They apparently were more welcoming to Africans. Escaped slaves from St. Lucia and Grenada sought refuge in St. Vincent and intermarried with the Caribs, eventually becoming known as "black Caribs." In 1675, a Dutch ship laden with settlers and slaves was shipwrecked off of St. Vincent; only the slaves survived. They settled and mixed with the Caribs, and their descendants still live in the area of Sandy Bay. Tension developed between the Caribs and the black Caribs, however, and led to a civil war in 1700. The French eventually settled on the island in 1719 and managed to live peaceably with the Caribs, growing coffee, tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar. Shortly afterward, the British attempted to seize control of the island, and possession was hotly disputed until 1763, when the island was ceded to Britain. It was lost to the French again in 1779 but regained by the British under the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. Battles--called the Carib Wars--continued between the British and the black Caribs until the British subdued them in 1796. In that year, General Abercrombie crushed a revolt fomented by the French radical Victor Hugues. Over 5,000 black Caribs were eventually deported to Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras. Slavery was abolished in 1834, and the resulting labor shortages on the plantations attracted Portuguese immigrants in the 1840s and East Indians in the 1860s. Conditions remained harsh for the former slaves and for the immigrant agricultural workers, as depressed world sugar prices kept the economy stagnant until the turn of the century. From 1763 until independence, St. Vincent passed through various stages of colonial status under the British. A representative assembly was authorized in 1776, crown colony government installed in 1877, a legislative council created in 1925, and universal adult suffrage granted in 1951. During this period, the British made several unsuccessful attempts to affiliate St. Vincent with other Windward Islands in order to govern the region through a unified administration. The most notable was the West Indies Federation, which collapsed in 1962. St. Vincent was granted associate statehood status in 1969, giving it complete control over its internal affairs. Following a referendum in 1979, St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence. Natural disasters have plagued the country throughout the 20th century. In 1902, La Soufriere volcano erupted, killing 2,000 people, just 2 days before the Mt. Pelee eruption killed 30,000 on Martinique. Much farmland was damaged and the economy deteriorated. In April 1979, La Soufriere erupted again. Though no one was killed, thousands had to be evacuated, and there was extensive agricultural damage. In 1980, a hurricane devastated the banana and coconut plantations. In 1987, Hurricane Emily destroyed as much as 70% of the banana crop. GOVERNMENT St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a parliamentary democracy within the British Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II is Head of State and is represented on the island by a governor general, an office with mostly ceremonial functions. Control of the government rests with the prime minister and the cabinet. The parliament is a unicameral body with a 15-member elected House of Assembly and a 6-member appointed Senate. The governor general appoints senators, four on the advice of the prime minister and two on the advice of the leader of the opposition. The term of office of members of parliament is 5 years, although the prime minister may call elections at any time. As in other English-speaking Caribbean countries, the judiciary in St. Vincent is rooted in British common law. There are 11 courts in 3 magisterial districts. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, comprising a high court and a court of appeals, is known as the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Supreme Court in St. Vincent. The court of last resort is the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council. There is no local government in St. Vincent, and all 6 parishes are administered by the central government. Principal Government Officials Head of State--Queen Elizabeth II Governor General--Sir David Jack Prime Minister--James F. Mitchell Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism--Herbert G. Young Ambassador to the U.S.--Kingsley C.A. Layne St. Vincent and the Grenadines maintains an embassy located at 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 102, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202-462-7806). POLITICAL CONDITIONS The People's Political Party (PPP), founded in 1952 by Ebenezer Joshua, was the first major political party in St. Vincent. The PPP had its roots in the labor movement, and was in the forefront of national policy prior to independence, winning elections from 1957 through 1966. With the development of a more conservative black middle class, however, the party began to steadily lose support, until it collapsed after a total rout in the 1979 elections. The following year, Joshua resigned from the leadership, and the party dissolved itself in 1984. Founded in 1955, the St. Vincent Labor Party (SVLP), under R. Milton Cato, gained the support of the middle-class. With a conservative law-and-order message and a pro-Western foreign policy, it had gained enough strength by the mid-1960s to become the most powerful political force for the next 20 years. Following victories in the 1967 and 1974 elections, the SVLP led the island to independence, winning the first post-independence election in 1979. Expecting an easy victory for the SVLP in 1984, Cato called early elections. The results were surprising: with a record 89% voter turnout, James F. Mitchell's New Democratic Party (NDP) won 9 of 13 seats for the House of Assembly. Since the 1984 election, politics in St. Vincent has been dominated by the NDP. With a reputation for sound fiscal management, and bolstered by a resurgent economy in the mid-1980s, Mitchell led his party to an unprecedented sweep of all 15 House of Assembly seats in the 1989 elections. The opposition emerged from the election weakened and fragmented. ECONOMY The St. Vincent economy is heavily dependent on agriculture, with bananas alone accounting for 60% of the work force and 20% of GDP. Such reliance on a single crop makes the economy vulnerable to external factors. Since 1984, an agricultural diversification program and modest land reforms have helped strengthen the agricultural sector. St. Vincent now exports a number of agricultural commodities including arrowroots, coconuts, sweet potatoes, tannias, and eddoes, primarily to CARICOM countries. St. Vincent was, at one time, the world's largest producer and exporter of arrowroot, a crop used in the manufacture of baby food and computer paper. Increased competition has now reduced production by more than 80% from its peak in 1984. The tourism sector remains small, but is robust and is assuming greater importance. For example, there were 157,532 visitors in 1990, an increase of 23% over the previous year, with cruise ship visitors up 58%, and stayover visitors up 8%. The tourist appeal of the country lies in the privacy and the unspoiled and diverse beauty of the Grenadine islands. Some of the finest sailing waters in the world amid these islands attract affluent visitors. Efforts are underway to broaden this appeal, though development of tourism is limited by airports, which only handle small aircraft. The economy expanded at a healthy pace in late 1980s, with growth averaging about 7%, principally due to strong performances by the manufacturing and construction sectors and favorable banana prices. The country has been able to maintain access to foreign capital, both mutilateral and bilateral aid and credit. The government wants economic diversification and infrastructure improvement. It has sought to attract investment with liberal tax and currency exchange regulations, revision of the tax code to promote savings, and reduction of the fiscal deficit through government expenditure control. The government has funded the wide-ranging Development Corporation to locate foreign investors for joint ventures in manufacturing and agriculture. St. Vincent's maritime laws have resulted in a lucrative ship registry business. Despite its good performance of late, the economy remains vulnerable because of its dependence on bananas. Since over 60% of foreign exchange earnings are from banana exports, possible loss of this protected market with the establishment of a single European market in 1992 poses a serious challenge to the Vincentian economy. St. Vincent and the Grenadines are beneficiaries of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative. They are also members of the 12-nation Caribbean Economic Community and Common Market, which has signed a framework agreement with the United States to promote trade and investment under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative. FOREIGN RELATIONS St. Vincent's foreign relations were administered by Great Britain until independence in 1979. It maintains close ties to the U.S., Canada, and Britain, and cooperates with regional political and economic organizations such as OECS, CARICOM, and the Windward Islands Regional Constituent Assembly (RCA). St. Vincent is a participant in the RCA, an advisory body established in 1991 to make recommendations on the proposed economic and political union of the four Windward Islands states (Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines). U.S.-ST. VINCENT RELATIONS The United States and St. Vincent have good bilateral relations. The United States supports the government's economic policies. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contributes to the island in such areas as agricultural diversification, small business development and infrastructure improvement. The U.S. also actively supports the efforts of the St. Vincent Government to control drug cultivation and trans-shipment on the island. The U.S. Ambassador and embassy staff are resident in Bridgetown, Barbados, and travel frequently to St. Vincent. The U.S. embassy is located in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown, Barbados, (tel. 809-436-4950). The Peace Corps has about 20 volunteers in St. Vincent working primarily in education and health. St. Vincent's ambassador to the U.S. is also accredited to the UN. St. Vincent also has a consul resident in New York. Principal U.S. Officials Ambassador--G. Philip Hughes Deputy Chief of Mission--Tain P. Tompkins Political/Economic Counselor--John Savage Consul General--Thomas E. Cairns Regional Labor Attache--Mary Ann Singlaub Public Affairs Officer, United States Information Agency--Gerald Waters Director, USAID--Mosina Jordan Director, Peace Corps--Richard Pyle (resident in St. Lucia) TRAVEL NOTES Visas: Passports and visas are not required for U.S. citizens, but some proof of citizenship (usually an original birth certificate and photo ID) must be presented. In addition, travellers must be in possession of an onward or return ticket. Currency: The monetary unit is the Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollar, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar at the rate of U.S.$1.00=EC$2.70. Health: Basic medical and sanitation facilities are adequate. Travelers should check latest information. Transportation: Public transportation is poor, though some taxis are available in Kingston. There is scheduled boat and plane service to the Grenadines. Department of State Publication 10132 Published by the United States Department of State Bureau of Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication -- Washington, DC September 1993 -- Managing Editor: Peter Knecht -- Editor: Josephine C. Brooks Contents of this publication are not copyrighted unless indicated. If not copyrighted, the material may be reproduced without consent; citation of the publication as the source is appreciated. Permission to reproduce any copyrighted material (including photos and graphics) must be obtained from the original source. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.