Andrew Sage

Despite differences in their weaponry, the Europeans did not have an easy time conquering the islands or conquering the Americas at all.

In many cases, they did not succeed in conquering islands for many decades or centuries of struggle.

But eventually, Grenada was established as a colony of over 15,000 enslaved Africans by 1763.

A year prior, in 1762, Britain took over the island from the French as part of the Seven Years' War and the island was formally ceded to Britain in 1763.

By 1807, Britain had brought 114,000 slaves to Grenada.

By 1838, slavery was abolished.

In 1877, Grenada became a crown colony and fast forward a little further, under modified crown colony status, the wealthiest 4% of Grenadians were allowed to vote.

Eric Geary founded the Grenada United Labour Party, or GULP, in 1950, initially as a trade union, which led to the 1951 general strike for better working conditions.

Buildings were set on fire in this time, and this is in a broader regional context of radicalism and agitation for independence in the post-World War II reality, which would intensify after many of the islands had already gained their independence.

Eventually, Grenada got elections based on universal adult suffrage in 1951, and Eric Gehry's party, Gulp, won.

This is before they got independence though, in a time when the English-speaking Caribbean was trying to establish a West Indies Federation between 1958 and 1962.

It didn't succeed, Jamaica seceded and then Trinidad, so it fell apart.

And after the fall of the Federation, Grenada became an associated state in 1967, then finally gained full independence from Britain in 1974, again under the leadership of Eric Gehry, who became the first Prime Minister of Grenada.

The late 60s and early 70s were a radical time in general.

So that's setting the stage for what comes next in Grenada.

The rise of the new Jewel Movement, led by Maurice Bishop.

You see, as Fundy found, in this time we also had quite a few other confrontations going on across Hispanophone, Francophone, Dutchophone, and Anglophone Caribbean.

In 1965, you had the popular revolt in the Dominican Republic against a military coup that was drowned in blood by the US invasion.

In 1967, you had a spontaneous rebellion of agricultural workers in Guadalupe.

In 1968, black folks in Bermuda rioted against the racist and cloneless control that dominated the island.