Marigot is the largest settlement of Saint Andrew Parish in northeastern

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

. The village has a population of 2,676 people, and is home to a Fisheries Complex as well as the island's main airport. Kokoy is the main language spoken in the village, a dialect of

Antiguan and Barbudan Creole Antiguan and Barbudan Creole is an English-based creole language that emerged from contact between speakers of the Kwa languages and speakers of Antiguan and Barbudan English in the Leeward Islands. Today, it is natively spoken in Antigua and B ...

brought to the village by Antiguan and Montserratian settlers. It is the birthplace of Wills Stratmore Stevens, a local Educationist and B.O Robinson, a former education officer. Along with Doctor Watts and local politician Edison James, (former Prime Minister) and cricket umpire

Billy Doctrove Billy Raymond Doctrove (born 3 July 1955) is a Dominica former international football referee, but is best known as an international cricket umpire. Career as a FIFA referee During his time as a referee, Doctrove took charge of several inter ...

. Marigot served as the leading community in Dominica at one point, with its people serving in all aspects of government and local community development. Former police Commissioner O N Philip and Customs Comptroller Victoria Watty are also from the village of Marigot. Marigot can boast of being the leader in job creation, agriculture and entrepreneurship. Marigot is also the home of former Government Senator Allan Jerry E Samuel, the youngest member to serve in parliament in the entire Caribbean region. It is also home to current leader of the Opposition

Lennox Linton Lennox Irving Linton (born 25 November 1956) is a Dominican politician in the United Workers' Party (UWP). He was first elected as the Representative for the Marigot constituency in the House of Assembly of Dominica on 8 December 2014. He served ...

History

The village of Marigot was developed around the plantation of John Weir, deputy provost Marshall in Dominica, who brought laborers to Dominica from Antiguan and some Leeward Islands. The present day village extends from Pagua Bay to Melville Hall. There are several small districts within the village, including one called Weirs after the former plantation owner. The former Melville Hall Estate was owned by

Robert Melvill General Robert Melvill (or Melville) LLD (12 October 1723 – 29 August 1809) was a Scottish soldier in the British Army, antiquary, botanist, inventor, and slave plantation owner. He was owner of the Marigot, Dominica, Melville Hall (Dominica ...

e, Governor of the ceded Islands, or Tobago, Dominica,

Grenada Grenada is an island 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 north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, and

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305 ...

, which were the British Empire's first Caribbean acquisition after a century. Melville was a member of the noble

Melville family Melville is a surname and a given name. The surname has two different origins: Scottish and Irish. In Scotland, the name is a habitational name, originally of Norman origin, derived from any of several places called Malleville in Normandy. The p ...

, he was related to the

Earls of Leven Earl of Leven (pronounced "''Lee''-ven") is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1641 for Alexander Leslie. He was succeeded by his grandson Alexander, who was in turn followed by his daughters Margaret and Catherine (who are us ...

and Earls of Melville. All of Mellville's purchased land had originally been granted to someone else. John Weir had been granted a number of plots of land in the area, including 230 acres in February 1768, that later appeared in the appraisement of Melville Hall Estate in May 1769. By 1770, Robert Melville's Melville Hall Estate consisted of 1027 acres and was valued at £33,190 16s 0d including an enslaved population of 128, stock and crops. The Estate was inherited by his cousin's son, Robert Whyte Melville, who was the owner until his death, after which his brother, John Whyte Melville, inherited the estate. In 1832 William Greig registered 135 enslaved persons, as lessee of the Melville Hall estate. Following

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

, William Greig was awarded ''£997 19s 10d'' in compensation as owner of 50 enslaved people that he had placed on the Melville Hall estate. John Whyte Melville was awarded ''£2781 14s 10d'' in compensation as the owner of 131 enslaved people. Like Wesley, Marigot has a strong Methodist influence due to the introduction of free labourers into the estates of the north-east from

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

, and other

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

to replant the sugar estates. The people of the Wesley-Marigot area speak an English-lexicon basilectal Creole, referred to as Kokoy.

Climate

References

{{Settlements in Dominica Populated places in Dominica Saint Andrew Parish, Dominica