"St.Vincent... a little history " a Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Travel Page by BROOKS

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Sans Souci Village along the NE Coast

History

Caribs were the first inhabitants of St. Vincent. Columbus marked the presence of the island on his third voyage in 1498, but didn't go ashore. The Caribs were tenacious, keeping the European conquistadors at bay longer than on any other island. In 1763 a treaty allowed the British to take control; 16 years later, they fought the French for the island, but the Treaty of Versailles in 1783 returned St. Vincent to England.
In 1787, Captain William Bligh set sail from England on the Bounty, bound for Tahiti. The purpose of the voyage, which ended in mutiny, was to collect breadfruit plants and transport them to St. Vincent for use as food for slaves. In 1793 Bligh eventually arrived in St. Vincent on another ship loaded with breadfruit seedlings. The fruit would make the island famous. In 1795 the indigenous population sided with the French and burned British plantations during a ferocious battle. A year later the British quelled the rebellion. At that time, the British decided to deport the rest of the island's native Amerindians to British Honduras (now known as Belize), where their ancestors live today.
In 1979 St. Vincent and the Grenadines achieved independence as a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. A governor-general is appointed by the British Crown on the advice of the prime minister. The Parliament's House of Assembly is elected every five years.

The island of St. Vincent and the string of 32 islands and cays in the Grenadines compose a single nation. Each island is, in its own way, a refuge for demanding
escapists. You will be hard put to find glitzy resorts, discos, or duty-free shopping malls. Rather, these islands dazzle you with their lush mountains, fertile valleys, quiet villages, secluded beaches, and fine sailing waters.
Nature lovers can spend days walking or hiking St. Vincent's well-defined trails, perhaps sighting the rare St. Vincent parrot in the Vermont Valley, or climbing La Soufrière, an active volcano that last erupted in 1979. Below sea level, snorkeling and scuba landscapes are similarly exciting. Tourist facilities are varied and reasonably priced, and Vincentians are welcoming.
Just south of St. Vincent is Bequia, the largest of the Grenadines. With superb views, snorkeling, hiking, and
swimming, the island has much to offer the international mix of backpackers and luxury yacht owners who frequent its shores. On the exclusive, private island of Mustique, just south of Bequia, posh villas are tucked into lush hillsides. The appeal of Mustique is its seclusion. Boot-shape Canouan is an unspoiled island where you can relax on the beach, snorkel, or hike. Tiny Mayreau has less than 200 residents and one of the area's most beautiful beaches:
the Caribbean Sea is often mirror-calm; yet, just yards away, on the southern end of this narrow island, is the
rolling Atlantic surf.
Day-tripping cruise passengers like to lounge on one or another of Palm Island's five palm-fringed, white-sand
beaches. Union Island isn't really a place for landlubbers-surface transport is limited, and to see the island you really need a car. Petit St. Vincent is another private luxury-resort island, reclaimed from the jungle. The resort's stone houses are so far apart, that you can spend your entire vacation here without ever seeing another human being.
You can charter yachts and catamarans for day sails from any of the Grenadines to the four tiny, uninhabited
Tobago Cays. Avid snorkelers claim that these cays, which have been declared a wildlife preserve, have some
of the best hard and soft coral formations found outside the Pacific Ocean. The beaches here are perfect for secluded picnics.