Grenada
POPULATION 101,400
ROMAN CATHOLIC 54.3 percent
ANGLICAN 20 percent
OTHER 25.7 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
A densely forested, mountainous island in the Caribbean Sea, Grenada is the most southerly of the group known as the Windward Islands. Some islands of the Grenadines group, including Carriacou and Petit Martinique, are within its jurisdiction. About 80 percent of the people are of African origin (descendants of slaves); the rest are either mixed or of some less prominent grouping, such as East Indians (descendants of indentured laborers) or Europeans.
In the mid-1650s C.E. Grenada was colonized by the French, who established Roman Catholicism as the island's religion. The island was captured by the British in 1762, opening the door to non-Catholic Christians, and the island rapidly became pluralist in its religious manifestations. These include Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and various other evangelical and Pentecostal groups.
The British also imported many slaves from Africa. In 1795–96 there was an uprising against the British, part of a wave of unrest that was related to the French Revolution and French antislavery sentiments. Slavery was abolished in Grenada in 1834.
Grenada became self-governing in 1967 and gained independence in 1974. For more than a decade the political life of the island was controlled by Prime Minister Eric Gairy, who in 1979 was ousted by the radical leader Maurice Bishop.
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