Portsmouth is the second largest town in

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 ...

, with 3,630 inhabitants.Commonwealth of Dominica, ''Population and Housing Census — 2001''. Roseau, Dominica: Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Kennedy Avenue, 2001. It is located on the shore of a natural Harbor, Prince Rupert Bay, in Saint John Parish on the north-west coast of Dominica. The area was called Ouyouhao by the

Kalinago The Kalinago, also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language know ...

and Grand Anse by the French. The Indian River is Portsmouth’s southern border and

Cabrits National Park Cabrits National Park is on a peninsula at the north end of the Caribbean island of Dominica, north of Portsmouth, Dominica, Portsmouth. The park protects tropical forest, coral reefs and wetlands. There are hiking trails and an English garrison c ...

is located on a peninsula to the north of town.

History

Portsmouth was initially chosen as the capital of Dominica, but only served in that capacity temporarily. Royal Engineer, John Simpson surveyed and laid out the area in 1765. It was laid out with a grid design of streets around a central square (now part of Benjamin's Park). The House of Assembly, Court House, and government offices were supposed to be located on the east side of the central square. Portsmouth was named after the important naval seaport of Portsmouth in the south of England. The town’s streets were named after some notable British people of the time period: Egremont, Queensborough, Rodney and others. However, due to the surrounding swamps the settlement proved to be unhealthy due to outbreaks of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

and yellow fever. The capital was moved to

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole French, Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George Parish, Dominica, Saint George Pa ...

, where it remains today. The

Ross University School of Medicine Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) is a private, for-profit medical school. Its main campus is in Barbados, and its administrative offices are in Miramar, Florida. Until 2019, the university's main campus was in Portsmouth, Dominica. RU ...

, was located near Portsmouth, in

Picard Picard may refer to: Places * Picard, Quebec, Canada * Picard, California, United States * Picard (crater), a lunar impact crater in Mare Crisium People and fictional characters * Picard (name), a list of people and fictional characters with th ...

, but was relocated to

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, after

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

caused extensive damages in 2017. Portsmouth has its own

sea port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

in Prince Rupert Bay. A farmer's market runs Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in the town. The area is the birthplace of Exile One's Gordon Henderson, and former Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Douglas. Benjamin's Park is the primary sporting venue and has hosted

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

. The Japanese Government is currently funding and constructing a fish processing plant in Portsmouth.

References

External links

Photos from PortsmouthPortsmouth video from dron
Populated places in Dominica Saint John Parish, Dominica {{Dominica-geo-stub