Carriacou and Petite Martinique, also known as the Southern Grenadines, is a dependency of

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, lying north of Grenada island and south of

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

. The islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique belong to the sovereign state of Grenada. Together they all form the 3-island country of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique.

Carriacou Carriacou is an island of the Grenadine Islands. It is a dependency of Grenada, and is located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island Grenada and the north coast of South America. The name is derived from the Carib lang ...

Island is the largest island of the

Grenadines The Grenadines is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted): ...

, an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

in the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...

chain. The island is with a population of 9,595 (2019 census). The main settlements on the island are Hillsborough, L'Esterre, Harvey Vale, and Windward. The neighbouring island of

Petite Martinique Petite Martinique is one of the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, which is a dependency of Grenada. It is 4 km (2½ miles) away from Carriacou. With its and population of 900, it is smaller than Carriacou. Petite Martinique comp ...

is away from Carriacou, and also a part of Grenada. With its and population of 900, it is smaller than Carriacou. The residents of this island live by boat-building,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and seafaring. Carriacou and Petite Martinique are known for its

Regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

and Village Maroon.

Colonial history

On 27 September 1650, Jacques du Parquet bought

from the

Compagnie des Iles de l'Amerique The Company of the American Islands (french: Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique) was a French chartered company that in 1635 took over the administration of the French portion of ''Saint-Christophe island'' (Saint Kitts) from the Compagnie de Saint ...

, which was dissolved, for the equivalent of £1160. In 1657, Jacques du Parquet sold Grenada to Jean de Faudoas, Comte de Sérillac, for the equivalent of £1890. In 1664, King

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

bought out the independent island owners and established the

French West India Company The French West India Company (french: Compagnie française des Indes occidentales) was a French trading company founded on 28 May 1664, some three months before the foundation of the corresponding eastern company, by Jean-Baptiste Colbert and di ...

Steele Steele may refer to: Places America * Steele, Alabama, a town * Steele, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Steele, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Steele, Missouri, a city * Lonetree, Montana, a ghost town originally called Steele ...

, page 54 In 1674, the French West India Company was dissolved. Proprietary rule ended in Grenada, which became a French crown colony as a dependency of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

. Carriacou and Petite Martinique was part of the French colony in 1762. It was part of the British Grenada colony from 1763 to 1779 and 1783–1974. It was part of the French Grenada colony from 1779 to 1783. During this turbulent period, most of the land on Carriacou and all of the property on Petite Martinique was owned by a free black woman,

Judith Philip Judith Philip (c. 1760 – 1848) was a free, Afro-Grenadian business woman who amassed one of the largest estates in Grenada. By the time Britain emancipated slaves in the West Indies she owned 275 slaves and was compensated 6,603 pounds sterling ...

, and her family members. It has been a dependency of Grenada since 1974.

Geography

Carriacou is the largest of the

and is characterized by hilly terrain sloping to white sand beaches. The island stretches from Pegus Point in the south to Gun Point in the north and it is about long. The island has several natural harbors and many coral reefs and small offshore islets. The highest point on the island is High Point North at above sea level. Carriacou has no rivers. Residents rely on rainfall for their water.

Islands

Climate

There are two seasons, wet and dry. The dry season is between January and June when the

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...

dominate the climate; the rainy season is from July to December. The climate is tropical. Temperatures range from on land, with water temps.

Politics

Carriacou and Petite Martinique is a Grenadian Constituency.

Tevin Andrews Tevin Andrews is a Grenadian politician from the National Democratic Congress who has served in the Cabinet of Grenada as Minister for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs and Local Government since 1 July 2022. He also represents Carriacou an ...

, NDC, is the representative for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Constituency and also the Minister of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs.

Festivals

There are four major cultural festivals held on Carriacou and one on Petite Martinique.

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

is held in February or early March. The Carriacou Regatta, held on the first weekend in August, is a racing event for locally built boats. In 2015, the Regatta celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Parang, on the weekend prior to Christmas, celebrates the island's traditional Christmas music and culture. Village Maroons take place year round, and since the turn of the millennium, a new festival of growing popularity has been started – the Carriacou Maroon & String Band Music Festival, held in the last weekend of April of the year. On the weekend of Whitsuntide, Petite Martinique holds their annual Whitsuntide Regatta.

Transport

Carriacou and Petite Martinique's main transport system includes roads and ferries. The people of Carriacou travel mainly by privately run 15 seater buses. Rental cars and taxis are also available and boats are commonplace. Lauriston Airport, located in Lauriston, Carriacou, is the island's major airport, and a small ferry boat known as the ''Osprey'' runs between Carriacou, Grenada, and Petite Martinique. The short distances between the Grenadines also enables travel between them by small boats.

Radio stations

*KYAK106.com Carriacou's Home Grown Radio Station. *The Harbour Light of the Windwards is a local Christian radio station.http://www.harbourlightradio.org/ *Sister Isles – 92.9 FM

References

External links

Carriacou Regatta Festival

Live view of Petit Martinique from BelairCarriacou 2011: a preliminary presentation of some interesting finds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carriacou And Petite Martinique 1650 establishments in the French colonial empire Islands of Grenada