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Kozel Fraser
Charlene Daniel
150 sq miles = 386 sq km
109,2022
Argyle International Airport on the mainland, J F Mitchell Airport in Bequia, Union Island Airport, Canouan Airport, and Mustique Airstrip.
The Eastern Caribbean Dollar is legal tender and maintains an exchange rate of EC$2.70 = US$1.00.
The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' national bird is the St Vincent Parrot (Amazona Guildingii).
Claims that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was sighted by Columbus in 1492 have been disputed as there is no evidence that he ever landed on the island. The island received its name in 1498. The first settlers, the Arawaks, were partly displaced by the Caribs, who strongly resisted European settlement until the remaining yellow Caribs, fearing total extinction, encouraged and assisted the French to establish a settlement in 1719. The island changed hands between France and Britain several times thereafter, until 1783 when it was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Versailles. In 1969 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became an internally self-governing State. Independence followed on October 27, 1979. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines comprises 32 islands and cays located 60° 56' west longitude and 13° 15' north longitude. The chain of islands is situated 100 miles west of Barbados, 75 miles north of Grenada, and 21 miles south of St Lucia. Only eight (8) of the 32 islands are inhabited, with St Vincent, the mainland, being the largest, measuring a total of 133 square miles and possessing an area of 85,120 acres. The remaining seven islands comprising the Grenadines are located to the south of St Vincent.
Kingstown
60° 56' west longitude and 13° 15' north latitude, situated 100 miles west of Barbados and part of the Windward Island grouping.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent State within the British Commonwealth. Legislative power is vested in an unicameral elected Parliament comprising a House of Assembly with 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed Senators. The Head of State is a Governor General appointed by Her Majesty the Queen.
The national flower of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the Soufriere Tree - Spachea Perforata.
Economic activity in St Vincent is centred on agricultural production and exports, with tourism and light manufacturing playing a lesser role. Banana is the dominant agricultural crop. Private investment is encouraged through generous fiscal incentive packages offered to developers.
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's Agency Office commenced operations on April 6, 1990.
