Grenada

Grenada is an archipelagic country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about 100 miles (160 km) north of Trinidad and the South American mainland. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and several small islands that lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 114,621 in 2024. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops. Before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, Grenada was inhabited by Indigenous peoples from South America called Kalinago. Christopher Columbus sighted Grenada in 1498 during his third voyage to the Americas. Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonise the island, due to resistance from resident Kalinago people, French settlement and colonisation began in 1649 and continued for the next century. Between 1669 and 1808, according to the Voyages database, approximately 127,600 enslaved Africans were brought to Grenada by the British and French. On 10 February 1763, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris. British rule continued until 1974 (except for a brief French takeover between 1779 and 1783). However, on 3 March 1967, it was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs as an Associated State, and from 1958 to 1962, Grenada was part of the Federation of the West Indies, a short-lived federation of British West Indian colonies. Independence was granted on 7 February 1974 under the leadership of Eric Gairy, who became the first prime minister of Grenada as a sovereign state. The new country became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. In March 1979, the Marxist–Leninist New JEWEL Movement overthrew Gairy's government in a bloodless coup d'état and established the People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop as prime minister. Bishop was later arrested and executed by members of the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA), which was used to justify a U.S.-led invasion in October 1983. Since then, the island has returned to a parliamentary representative democracy and has remained politically stable. The country is currently headed by King Charles III, King of Grenada and 14 other Commonwealth realms, who is represented by the Governor-General of Grenada.