Brief History

Dominica was discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 3, 1493, during his second voyage to the New World and upon his arrival, he encountered the first inhabitants there- Caribs, who call themselves “Kalinago”.

During the 14th century Columbus and his crew drove off the island’s indigenous Arawak Indians. It can be noted that Dominica is the only island in the Caribbean to retain a colony of the Kalinago. Nearly 500 live within a reserve on the Dominica’s east coast (“Dominica history: a timeline of events in the history of our Caribbean island of Dominica,” n.d.).

 In 1635, France claimed Dominica, and the missionaries became the first Europeans to live on the island.    

“As part of The 1763 Treaty of Paris the island became a British possession whereas they established a legislative assembly, representing only the white population. In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the French mounted a successful invasion of Dominica with the cooperation from the many French settlers still living on the island. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, ended hostilities with the island being to Britain”(“Dominica history: a timeline of events in the history of our Caribbean island of Dominica,” n.d.).

N.B Dominica lies between two French islands, so there were still a few French settlers on the island.

There were many attempted attacks and invasions by the French between 1795 and 1805, thus Fort Shirley was constructed.
  

In 183, the Brown Privilege Bill passed which provided political and social rights for nonwhites. The year after that, three blacks were elected to the Legislative Assembly. By 1838, blacks dominated the legislative body. These new legislators were mostly small business owners who had economic and social views, often opposed to the interests of the wealthy English merchants / farmers. Reacting to the threat, the British citizens lobbied for more direct British rule. After much tension, the colonial office replaced the elective assembly with one of half elected members in 1865. Then in 1871, Dominica became a federal colony attached to the Leeward Islands. Subsequently, the power of the black population eroded until crown colony government was forced on the assembly in 1896. All political rights for the vast majority of the black population were essentially curtailed.

 After World War I, a surge of political awareness throughout the Caribbean led to the creation of the Representative Government Association. Between this point and 1966 Dominica politics shifted across a variety of venues and changes. Then, in 1967, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom, formally taking responsibility of its internal affairs.

On November 3, 1978, the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence by the United Kingdom.

(“Dominica Living - About Dominica - History”)