Canouan
Encyclopedia
Canouan is an island in the Grenadines
Islands belonging to St Vincent
. It is a tiny island, measuring only 3.5 miles by 1.25 miles.
A barrier reef
runs along the Atlantic side of the island. The highest point on the island is Mount Royal. Two bays, Glossy and Friendship, separate the southern side of the Canouan Island.
Canouan lies approximately 25 miles south of St. Vincent
which, from 1871 to 1969, was part of the British colony of the Windward Islands
. Locals in need of supplies beyond basic staples routinely board cargo ships to make the two-to-three-hour passage to the main Island of Saint Vincent. A fast ferry service for the Grenadines
commenced operations in June 2010 which reduces the journey to one hour.
In 1979, the island became independent with a secure democratic government based on the British system. History marks more than 200 years before year zero; a cultivated tribe called the Arawaks arrived on bunker canoes to the island. These new residents brought fire-burners, plants and animals, basic farming and fishing skills with them. They lived in peace for 1500 years until a tribe of fierce fighters called the Caribs, invaded and killed the Arawak men and took off with their women.
More than 200 years after Columbus
laid eyes on St. Vincent, the Europeans established a kind of permanent settlement. Its mountainous and heavily forested geography allowed the Caribs to defend against Europe
an settlement here longer than on almost any other island in the Caribbean.
After the Caribs were defeated on other islands they joined slaves
who had escaped repression on Barbados
by following the current of trade winds westward to St. Vincent, as well as those who had survived shipwrecks near St. Vincent and Bequia.
The mixed descendants of the island warriors and the freed Africans (who became known as the Black Caribs), with their common distrust and disgust for the Europeans, proved to be a fearsome foe.
The Caribs feared complete domination so they allowed the French to construct a settlement on the island in 1719. The French brought slaves to work their plantations. By 1748, the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
officially declared St. Vincent and its surrounding islands to be a neutral island, controlled by neither Britain nor France. The two countries continued to contest control of the islands, however, until they were definitively ceded to the British in 1814.
In the early 1990s the CRDltd company was formed and secured lease for areas of the island to build 2 hotels - the current Raffles Resort site and Tamarind Hotel site. At this point the building arm of CRD ltd built roads throughout Canouan (previously only dirt tracks), installed electricity to the island and residents houses and provided desalinated water for the first time. Locals who are not employed by the resort, however, are forbidden admittance to the property nowadays as it is private property. However the beaches remain public property and locals are allowed to use the beaches and can use access either through the resort or by boat.
The two major resorts on Canouan, Raffles and the Tamarind, provide a stark contrast to life on the rest of the island. Outside the two resorts, wild dogs roam freely, along with chickens, goats, turtles, lizards, and the occasional bat. In 2004 Raffles began managing the Raffles Resort, which occupies 1/3 of the island. The resort has a golf course, casino and 150 room hotel. The Raffles Golf Course won the Robb Reports best of the best Golf Courses in the World 2005 and consistently voted top course in the Caribbean. The Trump International Golf Club at Tamarind was designed by Jim Fazio.
There are 2 schools on Canouan - the Government Primary school and the independent Pelican school used mainly - but not exclusively - by expatriate
children. There is also an official Canouan Pre-school located close to the primary school.
The runway at Canouan Airport
has recently been lengthened to accommodate larger aircraft. It is now the jet port for the Grenadines.
Moorings yacht charter company have their Grenadines base in Canouan in Grand Bay.
Canouan was one of the locations of the Sports Illustrated 09 Swimsuit edition.
NBA player and political activist Adonal Foyle
hails from Canouan, and former Prime Minister
of St. Lucia Sir John Compton was born there.
Grenadines
The Grenadines is a Caribbean island chain of over 600 islands in the Windward Islands.-Geographic boundaries:They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. They lie between the islands of Saint Vincent in the north and Grenada in the south. Neither...
Islands belonging to St Vincent
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
. It is a tiny island, measuring only 3.5 miles by 1.25 miles.
A barrier reef
Barrier reef
Barrier reef may refer to:*a kind of coral reef*the Great Barrier Reef in Australia*the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System*the Belize Barrier Reef*the New Caledonia Barrier Reef*Barrier Reef , an Australian television series...
runs along the Atlantic side of the island. The highest point on the island is Mount Royal. Two bays, Glossy and Friendship, separate the southern side of the Canouan Island.
Canouan lies approximately 25 miles south of St. Vincent
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....
which, from 1871 to 1969, was part of the British colony of the Windward Islands
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
. Locals in need of supplies beyond basic staples routinely board cargo ships to make the two-to-three-hour passage to the main Island of Saint Vincent. A fast ferry service for the Grenadines
Grenadines
The Grenadines is a Caribbean island chain of over 600 islands in the Windward Islands.-Geographic boundaries:They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. They lie between the islands of Saint Vincent in the north and Grenada in the south. Neither...
commenced operations in June 2010 which reduces the journey to one hour.
In 1979, the island became independent with a secure democratic government based on the British system. History marks more than 200 years before year zero; a cultivated tribe called the Arawaks arrived on bunker canoes to the island. These new residents brought fire-burners, plants and animals, basic farming and fishing skills with them. They lived in peace for 1500 years until a tribe of fierce fighters called the Caribs, invaded and killed the Arawak men and took off with their women.
More than 200 years after Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
laid eyes on St. Vincent, the Europeans established a kind of permanent settlement. Its mountainous and heavily forested geography allowed the Caribs to defend against Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an settlement here longer than on almost any other island in the Caribbean.
After the Caribs were defeated on other islands they joined slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
who had escaped repression on Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
by following the current of trade winds westward to St. Vincent, as well as those who had survived shipwrecks near St. Vincent and Bequia.
The mixed descendants of the island warriors and the freed Africans (who became known as the Black Caribs), with their common distrust and disgust for the Europeans, proved to be a fearsome foe.
The Caribs feared complete domination so they allowed the French to construct a settlement on the island in 1719. The French brought slaves to work their plantations. By 1748, the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
officially declared St. Vincent and its surrounding islands to be a neutral island, controlled by neither Britain nor France. The two countries continued to contest control of the islands, however, until they were definitively ceded to the British in 1814.
In the early 1990s the CRDltd company was formed and secured lease for areas of the island to build 2 hotels - the current Raffles Resort site and Tamarind Hotel site. At this point the building arm of CRD ltd built roads throughout Canouan (previously only dirt tracks), installed electricity to the island and residents houses and provided desalinated water for the first time. Locals who are not employed by the resort, however, are forbidden admittance to the property nowadays as it is private property. However the beaches remain public property and locals are allowed to use the beaches and can use access either through the resort or by boat.
The two major resorts on Canouan, Raffles and the Tamarind, provide a stark contrast to life on the rest of the island. Outside the two resorts, wild dogs roam freely, along with chickens, goats, turtles, lizards, and the occasional bat. In 2004 Raffles began managing the Raffles Resort, which occupies 1/3 of the island. The resort has a golf course, casino and 150 room hotel. The Raffles Golf Course won the Robb Reports best of the best Golf Courses in the World 2005 and consistently voted top course in the Caribbean. The Trump International Golf Club at Tamarind was designed by Jim Fazio.
There are 2 schools on Canouan - the Government Primary school and the independent Pelican school used mainly - but not exclusively - by expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
children. There is also an official Canouan Pre-school located close to the primary school.
The runway at Canouan Airport
Canouan Airport
Canouan Airport is the airport located on the island of Canouan in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. A land reclamation project and runway extension were completed at the end of March 2008. Overall runway length increased from . This extension of the runway makes the airport accessible by a larger...
has recently been lengthened to accommodate larger aircraft. It is now the jet port for the Grenadines.
Moorings yacht charter company have their Grenadines base in Canouan in Grand Bay.
Canouan was one of the locations of the Sports Illustrated 09 Swimsuit edition.
NBA player and political activist Adonal Foyle
Adonal Foyle
Adonal David Foyle is a retired Vincentian-American former professional basketball center. He was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the eighth overall selection of the 1997 NBA Draft. He played ten seasons with the team until the team bought out his contract on August 13, 2007. At the...
hails from Canouan, and former Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of St. Lucia Sir John Compton was born there.
External links
- http://www.canouan.com
- http://www.canouanisland.com
- http://www.jadeninc.com