| Saint Vincent was
probably visited and named by Christopher Columbus in 1498. Inhabited by
the fierce Carib people, the island was successfully colonized only in 1762
when the British established a settlement. The Caribs were subdued-and many
were deported-after an uprising in 1795. Saint Vincent was a member of the
Federation of the West Indies from 1958 to 1962. In 1969 it became an internally
self-governing member of the West Indies Associated States. On October 27,
1979, it received full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations as
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. A separatist movement in the Grenadines
resulted in a brief uprising (1979) on Union Island. |