Central America · The modern Caribbean and isthmus states
Grenada
1974–present
Grenada, the "Spice Isle" and a major nutmeg producer in the southern Windwards, gained independence from the United Kingdom on 7 February 1974, with the eccentric and increasingly autocratic Eric Gairy as its first prime minister; the capital is St. George's.
- Existed
- 1974–present
- Shown on the map
- 1976–2024
- Peak area
- 485 km²
- Region
- Central America
Overview
Grenada, the "Spice Isle" and a major nutmeg producer in the southern Windwards, gained independence from the United Kingdom on 7 February 1974, with the eccentric and increasingly autocratic Eric Gairy as its first prime minister; the capital is St. George's. In March 1979 the leftist New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop seized power in a nearly bloodless coup, establishing the People's Revolutionary Government, which aligned with Cuba and the Soviet Union (building, with Cuban help, a large airport at Point Salines that alarmed Washington).
Later history and present status
In October 1983 a hardline Marxist faction led by Bernard Coard overthrew and executed Bishop along with several colleagues. The ensuing chaos prompted a US-led invasion, "Operation Urgent Fury," on 25 October 1983 (with token participation from neighboring Caribbean states), which ousted the regime and restored constitutional government. Grenada is a constitutional monarchy under King Charles III; its economy relies on nutmeg, cocoa, and tourism. Dickon Mitchell (National Democratic Congress) has been prime minister since June 2022.
Common questions
- What was Grenada?
- Grenada, the "Spice Isle" and a major nutmeg producer in the southern Windwards, gained independence from the United Kingdom on 7 February 1974, with the eccentric and increasingly autocratic Eric Gairy as its first prime minister; the capital is St. George's.
- When did Grenada exist?
- Grenada existed 1974–present. On this map it is drawn 1976–2024.
- How large was Grenada?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Grenada covered about 0,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- What is the present status of Grenada?
- In October 1983 a hardline Marxist faction led by Bernard Coard overthrew and executed Bishop along with several colleagues. The ensuing chaos prompted a US-led invasion, "Operation Urgent Fury," on 25 October 1983 (with token participation from neighboring Caribbean states), which ousted the regime and restored constitutional government.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each polity and for the key figures and events as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, EBSCO Research Starters and academic sources. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Grenada en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenada
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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