"The nature island of the Caribbean", Dominica's appeal is in its raw, untamed landscape. Found between Martinique and Guadeloupe, Dominica (pronounced do-men-ee-ca) consists of 29 by 16 miles of virgin rain forests filled with rivers, waterfalls, lakes and natural hot springs.
» Dominica General Information
Area: 751 sq km (290 sq miles)
Capital: Roseau
Currency: Eastern Caribbean Dollar
GNI per capita: US$4,770 (World Bank, 2008)
Language: English
Main exports: Bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges
New Year's Day; Carnival; Good Friday; Easter Monday; May Day; Whit Monday; August Monday; Independence Day (3 November); Community Day (4 November), Christmas; Boxing Day.
› Visas
A valid passport and a return or onward ticket is required of most EU citizens for stays of up to 21 days.
» Dominica History
Dominica was first sighted by Europeans, including Christopher Columbus, in 1493. They encountered the indigenous peoples known as the Caribs, but soon left the island after being defeated by the Caribs. It is said that when his superiors asked Columbus to describe this island in the "New World," he crumbled a piece of parchment roughly and threw it on the table. This, Columbus explained, is what Dominica looks like- completely covered with mountains with nary a flat spot.In 1627 England also tried and failed to capture Dominica. In 1635 the French claimed the island and sent missionaries, but were unable to wrench Dominica from the Caribs. They abandoned the island, along with the island of Saint Vincent, in the 1660s.
For the next hundred years Dominica remained isolated, and even more Caribs settled there after being driven from surrounding islands, as European powers entered the region. France formally ceded possession of Dominica to the United Kingdom in 1763. The United Kingdom then set up a government and made the island a colony in 1805. The emancipation of African slaves occurred throughout the British Empire in 1834, and, by 1838, Dominica became the first British Caribbean colony to have a Black-controlled legislature. In 1896, the United Kingdom re-took governmental control of Dominica and turned it into a crown colony. Half a century later, from 1958 to 1962, Dominica became a province of the short-lived West Indies Federation. In 1978 Dominica finally became an independent nation. Dominica's fortunes improved in 1980 when its corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia Charles, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years.
The Tamarind Tree Hotel in Salisbury is located in centre of the west coast of Dominica, on the top of a 100-foot cliff overlooking the beautiful Bay of Salisbury and the Caribbean Sea.
