Today is Independence Day in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This holiday is the National Day of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and commemorates the independence of the islands from the United Kingdom on this day in 1979.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a southern Caribbean nation consisting of 32 islands, of which nine are inhabited. Britain won the European rights to the islands under the Treaty of Versailles in 1783, with a plantation economy based on sugar and slave trading emerging in the 19th century.
St Vincent and the Grenadines was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. After its dissolution in 1962, and the movement of the larger Caribbean countries to gain independence, the transition towards independence began. St. Vincent was granted “associate statehood” status by Britain on October 27th 1969. While this gave St. Vincent complete control over its own internal affairs, it fell short of complete independence.
It was exactly ten years later on October 27th 1979, when St. Vincent and the Grenadines became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence following a referendum. It became a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elisabeth II as the head and Milton Cato became the first prime minister.
The fortunes of the islands have depended partly on the activity of La Soufrière, an active volcano on St. Vincent. It has violently erupted in 1708, 1812, 1902, 1979, and 2021. Thousands were evacuated to neighboring countries in 2021, many with the help of major cruise lines.
Small town…
Today is the birthday, in 1949, of American musician and record producer Garry Tallent who is the bass player with the Bruce Springsteen E Street Band. He started playing with Springsteen in 1971 and as of 2013, and not counting Springsteen himself, Tallent was the only original member of the E Street Band remaining in the band. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQpW9XRiyM
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