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Brief History
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| Dominica was so named on its discovery by Columbus in 1493. Dominica was included in the grant of various islands in the Caribbean Sea made in 1627 by Charles I to the earl of Carlisle, but the first European settlers (1632) were French. They brought with them slaves and lived on terms of friendship with the Caribs, who were then a numerous body. In 1660 a treaty appears to have been made between the French, British and the natives assigning St Vincent and Dominica to the Caribs, but shortly afterwards attempts were made by the British to gain a foothold in the island. These attempts failed, and in 1748 it was once more agreed by France and Great Britain that Dominica should be left in the undisturbed possession of the natives. Nevertheless the French settlers increased, and the island came under the rule of a French governor. It was captured by the British in 1761 and formally ceded by France at the peace of Paris, 1763, French settlers being secured in their estates. In 1778 a French force from Martinique seized the island. Rodney's victory over De Grasse in the neighboring sea in 1782 was followed by the restoration of the island to Britain in 1783; in the interval the trade of Dominica had been ruined. In 1795 a force from Guadeloupe made an unsuccessful descent on the island, and in 1805 the French general La Grange, at the head of 4000 troops, took Roseau and pillaged the island, an event now remembered as the most memorable in its history. The French were, however, unable to make good their hold, and Dominica returned to British possession. Dominica became independent in 1978. |
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