The
British Windward Islands was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
colony existing between 1833 and 1960 and consisting of the islands of
GrenadaGrenada is an island country and sovereign state consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the...
, St Lucia,
Saint VincentSaint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean, the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
, the
GrenadinesThe Grenadines are a Caribbean island chain of over 600 islands in the Windward Islands. They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada...
,
BarbadosBarbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent West Indian Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. For over three centuries Barbados was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom; and still currently maintains Queen Elizabeth II as head of state...
(seat of the governor to 1885, when it became a separate colony),
TobagoTobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada...
(to 1889 when it was joined to
TrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of 4,768 km² it is also the fifth...
), and
DominicaDominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. To the north-northwest lies Guadeloupe, to the southeast Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth of Dominica has an...
(from 1940, when it was transferred from the
British Leeward IslandsThe British Leeward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960, and consisting of Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and Dominica....
to the Windward Islands).
The colony was known as the
Federal Colony of the Windward Islands from 1871 to June 1956, and then as the
Territory of the Windward Islands to its dissolution in 1960.
Its capital was Saint George's on Grenada (originally Bridgetown on Barbados, 1871-1885).
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The
British Windward Islands was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
colony existing between 1833 and 1960 and consisting of the islands of
GrenadaGrenada is an island country and sovereign state consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the...
, St Lucia,
Saint VincentSaint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean, the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
, the
GrenadinesThe Grenadines are a Caribbean island chain of over 600 islands in the Windward Islands. They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada...
,
BarbadosBarbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent West Indian Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. For over three centuries Barbados was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom; and still currently maintains Queen Elizabeth II as head of state...
(seat of the governor to 1885, when it became a separate colony),
TobagoTobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada...
(to 1889 when it was joined to
TrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of 4,768 km² it is also the fifth...
), and
DominicaDominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. To the north-northwest lies Guadeloupe, to the southeast Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth of Dominica has an...
(from 1940, when it was transferred from the
British Leeward IslandsThe British Leeward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960, and consisting of Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and Dominica....
to the Windward Islands).
The colony was known as the
Federal Colony of the Windward Islands from 1871 to June 1956, and then as the
Territory of the Windward Islands to its dissolution in 1960.
Its capital was Saint George's on Grenada (originally Bridgetown on Barbados, 1871-1885). They were not a single colony, but a confederation of separate colonies with a common
governor-in-chiefGovernor-in-chief is a British colonial title for governing offices with a jurisdiction that comprises — unlike an ordinary governor, but like certain governors-general — several colonies.-History:...
, while each island retained its own institutions, and they had neither legislature, laws, revenue nor tariff in common. There was, however, a common court of appeal for the group as well as for Barbados, composed of the chief justices of the respective islands, and there was also a common audit system, while the islands unite in maintaining certain institutions of general utility.
See also
- List of Governors of the British Windward Islands
- History of the British West Indies
- Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles.-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 West Indies blow east to west...
- British Leeward Islands
The British Leeward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960, and consisting of Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and Dominica....
- Windward Islands cricket team
The Windward Islands cricket team is a cricket team representing the member countries of the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control. The team plays in the West Indies regional tournament....
Sources and references
External links