Dominica is an island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. It is about halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad
and Tobago. The official name is Commonwealth of Dominica. It is one of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles group.
Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by the European powers, due to resistance from the indigenous Carib people. Dominica is the only location in North America still having a settlement of Caribs, who live in the interior of the island. It was colonized by France, taken by Britain in 1759, retaken by France, ceded by France back to Great Britain in 1763, recaptured by France in 1778, and returned to Britain in 1783. It became an English colony in 1805, and became independent in 1978. It is a parliamentary democracy. The capital city is Roseau.
Dominica has a total land area of 754 square kilometers, and is about four times the size of Washington, DC.
The climate is tropical, with northeast trade winds. Rainfall can be heavy. Hurricanes often strike during the season in late summer.
The island is known as “The Nature Island of the Caribbean”, since it has many species of flora and fauna protected by a natural park system. It is mountainous, having volcanic peaks and a thermally active lake called Boiling Lake. The government is currently promoting Dominica as an “ecotourism” destination.
The population is 72,386, of whom 86.8 percent are black, 8.9 percent are of mixed ethnicity, 2.9 percent Carib Amerindian, and the remainder Caucasian or other.
The majority of the population is Roman Catholic, followed by various Protestant denominations and a small percentage (1.3 percent) of Rastafarians.
The official language is English, the common language is French patois.
Agricultural products are bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, and cocoa.
Industries include soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, and shoes.
Dominica was the setting for several scenes of “Dead Man’s Chest,” the second of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. The book “Wide Sargasso Sea,” by Jean Rhys, is partly set on Dominica. The author Jamaica Kincaid’s book “Autobiography of My Mother” is set on Dominica.
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