Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Government and Politics

Following the 1979 constitution, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a parliamentary-democratic and unified state monarchy, with the British queen as head of state. According to AllCityCodes.com, the Queen is represented by a Governor General. Legislative authority has been added to the House of Assembly with 21 members. Fifteen members are elected from one-person constituencies in the general election, and six senators have been appointed by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister and the Government assume and are responsible to the House of Assembly.

Administratively, the country is divided into six areas. Also see AbbreviationFinder for abbreviation of VCT and its meanings of St. Vincent and The Grenadines.

St Vincent Country Flag

Reference: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Flag Meaning

Judiciary

The administration of justice is characterized by British customary law. The courts are under the jurisdiction of the West Indian Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia) and are guaranteed such independence. The Supreme Court includes a court of appeal and a superior court. One of the judges of the court acts on Saint Vincent. Magistrates act as first instance courts.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines defense

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are part of the regional security system agreed by the independent states of the area in 1982. For the defense, the country has established a small paramilitary contingent of the police force.

History and Politics

The first residents

The first inhabitants were probably around 5000 BC. BC, but not much is known about these. From around 700 BC The Arawak settled on the islands. You came here from South America. They were expelled from the island Caribs around 800. They called the island Hairoun: home of the blessed.

Refuge for slaves

It is true that Columbus sighted St. Vincent on his third voyage in 1498, but the island initially remained free of European settlement. The first residents who did not belong to the indigenous population were therefore black slaves, whose ship ran aground off St. Vincent in 1635. They stayed on the island, as did slaves who had escaped from neighboring islands. They mingled with the local Caribs and a new people, the Garifuna, came into being.

French, British and the expulsion of the Garifuna

From the 17th century, both France and Great Britain claimed rule over St. Vincent. It was not until 1783 that the island finally fell to Great Britain. Black slaves were brought in to work the new sugar cane plantations. For years the Caribs and the Garifuna fought to get land. You were also a thorn in the side of the British as “free blacks”. In 1796 an uprising was bloodily suppressed. 5000 Garifuna were forcibly abducted and ended up in Central America via detours.

Slave labor

More and more workers were needed to work on the sugar cane, tobacco and coffee plantations. The Africans soon made up the majority of the population – but they had no rights. In order to be able to feed the growing population, new plants were introduced, including breadfruit in 1793.

In 1834 slave labor was finally abolished. The slaves were released. Because there was now a lack of workers on the plantations, the British brought workers into the country, mainly from Madeira and India.

The road to independence

In 1958, several islands in the Caribbean formed an amalgamation, the West Indian Confederation. But it fell apart again in 1962. In 1969 Great Britain granted St. Vincent self-government and in 1979 it gained independence. The country is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In 1979 the Soufrière volcano erupted. Thousands were evacuated and agriculture suffered great damage. Several hurricanes destroyed harvests in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1999 the damage was particularly high.

Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Head of Government

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