On November 3, , the island attained its independence from Britain. The new era of freedom and independence brought increased challenges as well as economic and political struggles.
By the mids, though, Dominica had settled down as a stable and peaceful country. By , however, Dominica saw sharp declines in banana exports with the loss of its preferential access on the UK market.
Migrating in waves from South America from as early as the 3, B. Despite fiercely resisting European colonization for centuries, the Kalinagos eventually succumbed to the disease, greed, and tyranny unleashed by the Spanish, English, and French colonizing forces. Their grip on the island slowly slipped away with each major European offensive.
In , the British Administrator at the time, Hesketh Bell, agreed to allocate 3, acres to the Caribs, and also officially recognized the Carib Chief with ceremonial adornments and a financial allowance. Christopher Columbus landed on the island in November Dominica was the last Caribbean island to be colonized by Europeans due to fierce resistance by the Caribs. In , it was claimed by France and, in , became a British possession as a result of the Treaty of Paris.
In , Dominica became a British colony. In the 19th century, it was the first and only British Caribbean island to have a Black-controlled legislature. Dominica gained independence from the United Kingdom on November 3, Education in Dominica is overseen by their Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development and is free and compulsory from ages 6 to Beginning with the s and continuing for the next sixty years, events throughout the world caused rapid and major changes in the island's colonial status.
The declaration of war by the North American colonies against Britain disrupted a thriving trade that had developed between the colonies and Dominica in wood, rum, horses, cattle, and other items. In France took advantage of British difficulties in America to reclaim several British colonies in the West Indies, including Dominica; however, only a few later, in , control of Dominica returned to the British through terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
These events thrust Dominica firmly into the period of open struggle for an end to crown colony rule. In three black members were elected to the Dominican House of Assembly, and by there was a black majority.
Dominica became the only island in the British West Indies where white rule was successfully challenged. Political tensions grew rapidly as legislators began to press for laws promoting the welfare of the newly liberated citizens of the island.
When legislators attempted to extend voting rights to freed persons without property, the conservative British merchants and professionals, by then organized into a political party, countered with a call for the creation of a single executive council comprising nineteen elected representatives and nine members appointed by the crown.
Following elections conducted under the rules limiting voting rights to those of property, the blacks lost control of the government. As a result, they increased agitation against crown colony rule and launched a campaign that advocated the removal of the land tax and called for a special investigation by the British government into the affairs of the colony. In response to this challenge, the British attempted, for the first time, to meet the social and infrastructure needs of the island.
Roads were built through the mountainous interior, agriculture was supported with research, extension services, and training, and agro-industry was begun with the processing of lime juice for export to Britain. By the start of World War I, sufficient goodwill toward Britain had been re-established to encourage locals to volunteer for service in the British army. The event that singlehandedly thrust Dominica into the modern era was the publication of the Moyne Commission Report in The Commission itself had been formed in response to riots that erupted throughout the British West Indies in the late s.
The report exposed the primitive conditions of the colonies and called for a comprehensive economic development program see Labor Organizations, ch. During the next twenty years, Dominica experienced what many of that generation refer to as "the good old days," when British aid, trade, and investment boosted local living standards, created jobs, trained public servants, and provided education and health facilities.
The expectations of workers and farmers rose with the advent of roads, radios, and newspapers. In the s, demands for better work conditions, higher farm prices, and more land for farming began a period of popular social and political activism that led to the formation of trade unions and political parties representing the interests of workers and small farmers on the one hand and business interests on the other. The election of a government led by Edward Oliver Leblanc, a small farmer and agricultural extension worker, marked an important turning point in Dominica's history.
Leblanc was the first person without links to the city- based ruling elite to ascend to government leadership in Dominica.
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