Dominica island
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 754 square kilometres (291 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,750 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica has an estimated population of 72,500. The capital is Roseau.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest boiling lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.
Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday (dominica in Latin), November 3, 1493. In the next hundred years after Columbus' landing, 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, in 1838, Dominica became the first British Caribbean colony to have a legislature controlled by an African majority. In 1896, the United Kingdom reassumed governmental control of Dominica, turning 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 became an independent nation.
History
In 1635 France claimed Dominica. Shortly thereafter, French missionaries became the first European inhabitants of the island. Carib incursions continued, though, and in 1660, the French and British agreed that both Dominica and St. Vincent should be abandoned. Dominica was officially neutral for the next century, but the attraction of its resources remained; rival expeditions of British and French foresters were harvesting timber by the start of the 18th century.
Largely because of Dominica's position between Martinique and Guadeloupe, France eventually became predominant, and a French settlement was established and grew. As part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War, the island became a British possession. In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the French mounted a successful invasion with the active cooperation of the population. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, returned the island to Britain. French invasions in 1795 and 1805 ended in failure.
In 1763, the British established a legislative assembly, representing only the white population. In 1831, reflecting a liberalization of official British racial attitudes, the Brown Privilege Bill conferred political and social rights on free non-whites. Three African people were elected to the legislative assembly the following year. Following the abolition of slavery, in 1838 Dominica became the only British Caribbean colony to have a African-controlled legislature in the 19th century. Most African legislators were smallholders or merchants who held economic and social views diametrically opposed to the interests of the small, wealthy English planter class. Reacting to a perceived threat, the planters lobbied for more direct British rule.
In 1865, after much agitation and tension, the colonial office replaced the elective assembly with one that had one-half of members who were elected and one-half who were appointed. Planters allied with colonial administrators outmanoeuvred the elected legislators on numerous occasions. In 1871, Dominica became part of the Leeward Island Federation. The power of the African population progressively eroded. Crown Colony government was re-established in 1896. All political rights for the vast majority of the population were effectively curtailed. Development aid, offered as compensation for disenfranchisement, proved to have a negligible effect.
Following World War I, an upsurge of political consciousness throughout the Caribbean led to the formation of the Representative Government Association. Marshalling public frustration with the lack of a voice in the governing of Dominica, this group won one-third of the popularly elected seats of the legislative assembly in 1924 and one-half in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Dominica was transferred from the Leeward Island Administration and was governed as part of the Windwards until 1958, when it joined the short-lived West Indies Federation.
After the federation dissolved, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom in 1967 and formally took responsibility for its internal affairs. On November 3, 1978, the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence by the United Kingdom.
Independence did little to solve problems stemming from centuries of economic underdevelopment, and in mid-1979, political discontent led to the formation of an interim government. It was replaced after the 1980 elections by a government led by the Dominica Freedom Party under Prime Minister Eugenia Charles, the Caribbean's first female prime minister. Chronic economic problems were compounded by the severe impact of hurricanes in 1979 and in 1980.
In 1981 Dominica was threatened with a takeover by mercenaries.
Attempted coup
In 1981, a group of right-wing "mercenaries" led by Mike Perdue of Houston and Wolfgang Droege of Toronto, attempted to overthrow the government of Eugenia Charles. The North America mercenary group was to aid ex-Prime Minister Patrick John and his Dominica Defence Force in regaining control of the island in exchange for control over the island's future development. The entire plan failed and the ship hired to transport the men of Operation Red Dog never even made it off the dock as the FBI was tipped off. The self-titled mercenaries lacked any formal military experience and/or training and the majority of the crew had been misled into joining the armed coup by the con-man ringleader Mike Perdue. White supremacist Don Black was also jailed for his part in the attempt, which violated US neutrality laws. The book, "Bayou of Pigs" written by Stewart Bell details the story of this missguided attempt to turn Dominica into a criminal paradise.
Since the 1980s
By the end of the 1980s, the economy recovered, but weakened again in the 1990s because of a decrease in banana prices.
In the January 2000 elections, the Edison James United Workers Party (UWP) was defeated by the Dominican Labour Party (DLP), led by Roosevelt P. "Rosie" Douglas. Douglas died after only a few months in office and was replaced by Pierre Charles, who died in office in January 2004. Roosevelt Skerrit, also of the DLP, replaced Charles as Prime Minister. Under Prime Minister Skerrit's leadership, the DLP won elections in May 2005 that gave the party 12 seats in the 21-member Parliament to the UWP's 8 seats. An independent candidate affiliated with the DLP won a seat as well. Since that time, the independent candidate joined the government and one UWP member crossed the aisle, making the current total 14 seats for the DLP and 7 for the UWP.
Geography
Dominica is an island nation and borderless country in the Caribbean Sea, the northernmost of the Windward Islands. The size of the country is about 289.5 square miles (754 km²). The capital is Roseau.
Dominica is largely covered by rainforest and is home to the world's second-largest boiling lake. Dominica has many waterfalls, springs, and rivers. The Calibishie area in the country's northeast has sandy beaches. Some plants and animals thought to be extinct on surrounding islands can still be found in Dominica's forests. The volcanic nature of the island has attracted scuba divers. The island has several protected areas, including Cabrits National Park, as well as 365 rivers.
It is said that when his royal sponsors asked Christopher Columbus to describe this island in the "New World", he crumpled 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.
Morne Trois Pitons National Park is a tropical forest blended with scenic volcanic features. It was recognised as a World Heritage Site on April 4, 1995, a distinction it shares with four other Caribbean islands.
The Commonwealth of Dominica is engaged in a long-running dispute with Venezuela over Venezuela's territorial claims to the sea surrounding Isla Aves (literally Bird Island, but in fact called Bird Rock by Dominica authorities), a tiny islet located 140 miles (224 km) west of the island of Dominica.
There are two primary population centres: Roseau and Portsmouth.
Dominica possesses the most pristine wilderness in the Caribbean.[citation needed] Originally, it was protected by sheer mountains which led the European powers to build ports and agricultural settlements on other islands. More recently, the citizens of this island have sought to preserve its spectacular natural beauty by discouraging the type of high-impact tourism which has damaged nature in most of the Caribbean.
Visitors can find large tropical forests, including one which is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites, hundreds of streams, coastlines and coral reefs.
The Sisserou parrot is Dominica's national bird and is indigenous to its mountain forests.
The Caribbean Sea offshore of the island of Dominica is home to many cetaceans. Most notably a group of sperm whales live in this area year round. Other cetaceans commonly seen in the area include spinner dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Less commonly seen animals include killer whales, false killer whales, pygmy sperm whales, dwarf sperm whales, Risso's dolphins, common dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, humpback whales and Bryde's whales. This makes Dominica a destination for tourists interested in whale-watching.
Dominica is especially vulnerable to hurricanes as the island is located in what is referred to as the hurricane region. In 1979, Dominica was hit directly by category 5 Hurricane David, causing widespread and extreme damage. On August 17, 2007, Hurricane Dean, a category 1 at the time, hit the island. A mother and her seven-year-old son died when a landslide caused by the heavy rains fell onto their house. In another incident two people were injured when a tree fell on their house. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit estimated that 100 to 125 homes were damaged, and that the agriculture sector was extensively damaged, in particular the banana crop.
Other Info
Oficial name:
Commonwealth of Dominica
Independence:
November 3, 1978
Area:
751km2
Inhabitants:
72.500
Languages:
Dominican Creole French [acf] 42,600 in Dominica (1998). Alternate names: Lesser Antillean Creole French, Patwa, Patois, Kwèyòl. Classification: Creole, French based
More information.
English [eng] 10,000 in Dominica (2004). Dialects: Dominican English. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
More information.
Kokoy Creole English [aig] 200 in Dominica (2004). Kokoy dialect is in 2 villages: Marigot and Wesley in northeast Dominica. Alternate names: Leeward Caribbean Creole English. Classification: Creole, English based, Atlantic, Eastern, Southern
More information.
Extinct languages
Carib, Island [crb] Extinct. Formerly also in Lesser Antilles, excluding Trinidad. Also spoken in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Dialects: Was not intelligible with Black Carib (D. Taylor 1959). Vincentian on Saint Vincent may have been closer to Black Carib than to Island Carib. Not inherently intelligible with Garífuna (D. Taylor IJAL 1959:67). Classification: Arawakan, Maipuran, Northern Maipuran, Caribbean
Capital city:
Roseau
Meaning of country name: From the Latin "Dies Dominica" meaning "Sunday": the day of the week on which Christopher Columbus first landed on the island.
Description Flag:
The flag of Dominica was adopted on November 3, 1978, with some small changes being made in 1981, 1988, and 1990. The flag features a green background. A red circle at the centre features a Sisserou Parrot (Amazona imperialis) surrounded by ten green stars, which represent the island's ten parishes. Four strips of three coloured bands (yellow, black and white) radiate horizontally and vertically from the circle.
Before 1981, the colours of the bands were ordered differently and the green stars had no borders. Before 1988, the parrot faced in the opposite direction. In 1990, the colour of the stars, originally lime green, was darkened to match the green of the background, the yellow border around the stars was changed to black, the coloration of the parrot was brought more into alignment with reality, and some proportions were changed. There seems to be, generally, a lack of standardisation on many minor points of the flag in Dominica.
The flag's elements have symbolic meanings. The parrot is Dominica's national bird, meant to inspire citizens to soar to achieve their highest goals. In addition to representing the island's parishes, the stars also symbolise hope and equality. The combined lines form a cross, reflecting Dominica's Christian faith, and the three lines individually represent the Trinity. The flag's colours were also chosen for their associations: green - the island's verdant landscape; red - social justice; yellow - sunshine, agriculture; black - earth, African ancestry; white - clear waters, purity.
Coat of arms:
The coat of arms of Dominica was adapted on July 21, 1961. It consists of a shield with two guardian Sisserou Parrots bracing the shield atop of which is a raging lion. The quadrants of the shield depict a canoe, a banana tree, a palm and a mountain frog. Below the crest is the national motto: Après Bondie C'est La Ter (After God the Earth).
Motto: "Après Bondie, C'est La Ter"
National Anthem: Isle of beauty, isle of splendour
Isle of beauty, isle of splendour,
Isle to all so sweet and fair,
All must surely gaze in wonder
At thy gifts so rich and rare.
Rivers, valleys, hills and mountains,
All these gifts we do extol.
Healthy land, so like all fountains,
Giving cheer that warms the soul.
Dominica, God hath blest thee
With a clime benign and bright,
Pastures green and flowers of beauty
Filling all with pure delight,
And a people strong and healthy,
Full of godly, rev'rent fear.
May we ever seek to praise Thee
For these gifts so rich and rare.
Come ye forward, sons and daughters
Of this gem beyond compare.
Strive for honour, sons and daughters,
Do the right, be firm, be fair.
Toil with hearts and hands and voices.
We must prosper! Sound the call,
In which ev'ryone rejoices,
"All for Each and Each for All."
Internet Page: www.discoverdominica.com
Dominica in diferent languages
eng | afr | arg | ast | bre | cat | cym | dan | est | fin | glg | glv | ina | ita | jnf | lat | lin | lld | nld | nor | oci | por | roh | ron | rup | sco | sme | spa | srd | swe | vie | vor: Dominica
ces | cor | dsb | eus | fao | fry | hrv | hsb | hun | jav | lav | lit | mlg | mlt | pol | slk | slv | swa | tur | wol | zza: Dominika
aze | bos | crh | kaa | slo | tuk | uzb: Dominika / Доминика
deu | ltz | nds: Dominika / Dominika; Dominica / Dominica
fra | nrm: Dominique
bam: Dɔminiki
epo: Dominiko
frp: Domenica
fur: Dominiche
gla: Doiminicia
gle: Doiminice / Doiminice
hat: Dominik
ibo: Dọminika
ind: Dominika / دومينيكا
isl: Dóminíka
kmr: Domînîka / Доминика / دۆمینیکا; Domînîk / Доминик / دۆمینیک
kur: Domînîka / دۆمینیکا
mol: Dominica / Доминика
msa: Dominica / دومينيكا
que: Duminika
rmy: Dominika / दोमिनिका
scn: Domìnica
smg: Duomėnė̄ka
sqi: Domenika
tet: Domínika
ton: Tominika
vol: Dominikeän
wln: Dominike
abq | alt | bul | che | chm | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | mkd | mon | rus | tyv | udm: Доминика (Dominika)
bak | srp | tat: Доминика / Dominika
bel: Дамініка / Daminika
chv: Доминикӑ (Dominikă)
kaz: Доминика / Domïnïka / دومينيكا
kbd: Доминикэ (Dominikă)
oss: Доминикӕ (Dominikä)
tgk: Доминика / دامینیکه / Dominika
ukr: Домініка (Dominika)
ara: الدومينيك (ad-Dūmīnīk); دومينيكا (Dūmīnīkā)
fas: دومینیکا (Domīnīkā); دمینیکا (Domīnīkā); دومینیک (Domīnīk); دمینیک (Domīnīk)
prs: دومینیکا (Dōmīnīkā)
pus: دومينيکا (Domīnīkā)
uig: دومىنىكا / Dominika / Доминика
urd: ڈومینیکا (Ḋômīnīkā)
div: ޑޮމިނިކާ (Ḋominikā)
heb: דומיניקה (Dômînîqah)
lad: דומיניקה / Dominika
yid: דאָמיניקאַ (Dominika)
amh: ዶሚኒካ (Dominika)
ell: Ντομίνικα (Ntomínika); Δομίνικα (Domínika); Δομινίκη (Dominíkī)
hye: Դոմինիկա (Dominika)
kat: დომინიკა (Dominika)
hin: डोमिनिका (Ḍominikā)
ben: ডোমিনিকা (Ḍominikā); দোমিনিকা (Dominikā); ডমিনিকা (Ḍôminikā)
pan: ਡੋਮੀਨੀਕਾ (Ḍomīnīkā)
kan: ಡೊಮಿನಿಕ (Ḍominika)
mal: ഡൊമിനിക്ക (Ḍominikka)
tam: டொமினிக்கா (Ṭomiṉikkā); டொமினிகா (Ṭomiṉikā)
tel: డొమినికా (Ḍominikā)
zho: 多米尼克 (Duōmǐníkè)
jpn: ドミニカ (Dominika)
kor: 도미니카 (Dominika)
mya: ဒုိမီနီကာ (Dominika)
tha: โดมินิกา (Dōminikā)
khm: ដូមីនិក (Dūmīnik); ដូមីនីកា (Dūmīnīkā)
Dominica island
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 754 square kilometres (291 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,750 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica has an estimated population of 72,500. The capital is Roseau.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its seemingly unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest boiling lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on both tourism and agriculture.
Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday (dominica in Latin), November 3, 1493. In the next hundred years after Columbus' landing, 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, in 1838, Dominica became the first British Caribbean colony to have a legislature controlled by an African majority. In 1896, the United Kingdom reassumed governmental control of Dominica, turning 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 became an independent nation.
History
In 1635 France claimed Dominica. Shortly thereafter, French missionaries became the first European inhabitants of the island. Carib incursions continued, though, and in 1660, the French and British agreed that both Dominica and St. Vincent should be abandoned. Dominica was officially neutral for the next century, but the attraction of its resources remained; rival expeditions of British and French foresters were harvesting timber by the start of the 18th century.
Largely because of Dominica's position between Martinique and Guadeloupe, France eventually became predominant, and a French settlement was established and grew. As part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War, the island became a British possession. In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the French mounted a successful invasion with the active cooperation of the population. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, returned the island to Britain. French invasions in 1795 and 1805 ended in failure.
In 1763, the British established a legislative assembly, representing only the white population. In 1831, reflecting a liberalization of official British racial attitudes, the Brown Privilege Bill conferred political and social rights on free non-whites. Three African people were elected to the legislative assembly the following year. Following the abolition of slavery, in 1838 Dominica became the only British Caribbean colony to have a African-controlled legislature in the 19th century. Most African legislators were smallholders or merchants who held economic and social views diametrically opposed to the interests of the small, wealthy English planter class. Reacting to a perceived threat, the planters lobbied for more direct British rule.
In 1865, after much agitation and tension, the colonial office replaced the elective assembly with one that had one-half of members who were elected and one-half who were appointed. Planters allied with colonial administrators outmanoeuvred the elected legislators on numerous occasions. In 1871, Dominica became part of the Leeward Island Federation. The power of the African population progressively eroded. Crown Colony government was re-established in 1896. All political rights for the vast majority of the population were effectively curtailed. Development aid, offered as compensation for disenfranchisement, proved to have a negligible effect.
Following World War I, an upsurge of political consciousness throughout the Caribbean led to the formation of the Representative Government Association. Marshalling public frustration with the lack of a voice in the governing of Dominica, this group won one-third of the popularly elected seats of the legislative assembly in 1924 and one-half in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Dominica was transferred from the Leeward Island Administration and was governed as part of the Windwards until 1958, when it joined the short-lived West Indies Federation.
After the federation dissolved, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom in 1967 and formally took responsibility for its internal affairs. On November 3, 1978, the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence by the United Kingdom.
Independence did little to solve problems stemming from centuries of economic underdevelopment, and in mid-1979, political discontent led to the formation of an interim government. It was replaced after the 1980 elections by a government led by the Dominica Freedom Party under Prime Minister Eugenia Charles, the Caribbean's first female prime minister. Chronic economic problems were compounded by the severe impact of hurricanes in 1979 and in 1980.
In 1981 Dominica was threatened with a takeover by mercenaries.
Attempted coup
In 1981, a group of right-wing "mercenaries" led by Mike Perdue of Houston and Wolfgang Droege of Toronto, attempted to overthrow the government of Eugenia Charles. The North America mercenary group was to aid ex-Prime Minister Patrick John and his Dominica Defence Force in regaining control of the island in exchange for control over the island's future development. The entire plan failed and the ship hired to transport the men of Operation Red Dog never even made it off the dock as the FBI was tipped off. The self-titled mercenaries lacked any formal military experience and/or training and the majority of the crew had been misled into joining the armed coup by the con-man ringleader Mike Perdue. White supremacist Don Black was also jailed for his part in the attempt, which violated US neutrality laws. The book, "Bayou of Pigs" written by Stewart Bell details the story of this missguided attempt to turn Dominica into a criminal paradise.
Since the 1980s
By the end of the 1980s, the economy recovered, but weakened again in the 1990s because of a decrease in banana prices.
In the January 2000 elections, the Edison James United Workers Party (UWP) was defeated by the Dominican Labour Party (DLP), led by Roosevelt P. "Rosie" Douglas. Douglas died after only a few months in office and was replaced by Pierre Charles, who died in office in January 2004. Roosevelt Skerrit, also of the DLP, replaced Charles as Prime Minister. Under Prime Minister Skerrit's leadership, the DLP won elections in May 2005 that gave the party 12 seats in the 21-member Parliament to the UWP's 8 seats. An independent candidate affiliated with the DLP won a seat as well. Since that time, the independent candidate joined the government and one UWP member crossed the aisle, making the current total 14 seats for the DLP and 7 for the UWP.
Geography
Dominica is an island nation and borderless country in the Caribbean Sea, the northernmost of the Windward Islands. The size of the country is about 289.5 square miles (754 km²). The capital is Roseau.
Dominica is largely covered by rainforest and is home to the world's second-largest boiling lake. Dominica has many waterfalls, springs, and rivers. The Calibishie area in the country's northeast has sandy beaches. Some plants and animals thought to be extinct on surrounding islands can still be found in Dominica's forests. The volcanic nature of the island has attracted scuba divers. The island has several protected areas, including Cabrits National Park, as well as 365 rivers.
It is said that when his royal sponsors asked Christopher Columbus to describe this island in the "New World", he crumpled 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.
Morne Trois Pitons National Park is a tropical forest blended with scenic volcanic features. It was recognised as a World Heritage Site on April 4, 1995, a distinction it shares with four other Caribbean islands.
The Commonwealth of Dominica is engaged in a long-running dispute with Venezuela over Venezuela's territorial claims to the sea surrounding Isla Aves (literally Bird Island, but in fact called Bird Rock by Dominica authorities), a tiny islet located 140 miles (224 km) west of the island of Dominica.
There are two primary population centres: Roseau and Portsmouth.
Dominica possesses the most pristine wilderness in the Caribbean.[citation needed] Originally, it was protected by sheer mountains which led the European powers to build ports and agricultural settlements on other islands. More recently, the citizens of this island have sought to preserve its spectacular natural beauty by discouraging the type of high-impact tourism which has damaged nature in most of the Caribbean.
Visitors can find large tropical forests, including one which is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites, hundreds of streams, coastlines and coral reefs.
The Sisserou parrot is Dominica's national bird and is indigenous to its mountain forests.
The Caribbean Sea offshore of the island of Dominica is home to many cetaceans. Most notably a group of sperm whales live in this area year round. Other cetaceans commonly seen in the area include spinner dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Less commonly seen animals include killer whales, false killer whales, pygmy sperm whales, dwarf sperm whales, Risso's dolphins, common dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, humpback whales and Bryde's whales. This makes Dominica a destination for tourists interested in whale-watching.
Dominica is especially vulnerable to hurricanes as the island is located in what is referred to as the hurricane region. In 1979, Dominica was hit directly by category 5 Hurricane David, causing widespread and extreme damage. On August 17, 2007, Hurricane Dean, a category 1 at the time, hit the island. A mother and her seven-year-old son died when a landslide caused by the heavy rains fell onto their house. In another incident two people were injured when a tree fell on their house. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit estimated that 100 to 125 homes were damaged, and that the agriculture sector was extensively damaged, in particular the banana crop.
Other Info
Oficial name:
Commonwealth of Dominica
Independence:
November 3, 1978
Area:
751km2
Inhabitants:
72.500
Languages:
Dominican Creole French [acf] 42,600 in Dominica (1998). Alternate names: Lesser Antillean Creole French, Patwa, Patois, Kwèyòl. Classification: Creole, French based
More information.
English [eng] 10,000 in Dominica (2004). Dialects: Dominican English. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
More information.
Kokoy Creole English [aig] 200 in Dominica (2004). Kokoy dialect is in 2 villages: Marigot and Wesley in northeast Dominica. Alternate names: Leeward Caribbean Creole English. Classification: Creole, English based, Atlantic, Eastern, Southern
More information.
Extinct languages
Carib, Island [crb] Extinct. Formerly also in Lesser Antilles, excluding Trinidad. Also spoken in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Dialects: Was not intelligible with Black Carib (D. Taylor 1959). Vincentian on Saint Vincent may have been closer to Black Carib than to Island Carib. Not inherently intelligible with Garífuna (D. Taylor IJAL 1959:67). Classification: Arawakan, Maipuran, Northern Maipuran, Caribbean
Capital city:
Roseau
Meaning of country name: From the Latin "Dies Dominica" meaning "Sunday": the day of the week on which Christopher Columbus first landed on the island.
Description Flag:
The flag of Dominica was adopted on November 3, 1978, with some small changes being made in 1981, 1988, and 1990. The flag features a green background. A red circle at the centre features a Sisserou Parrot (Amazona imperialis) surrounded by ten green stars, which represent the island's ten parishes. Four strips of three coloured bands (yellow, black and white) radiate horizontally and vertically from the circle.
Before 1981, the colours of the bands were ordered differently and the green stars had no borders. Before 1988, the parrot faced in the opposite direction. In 1990, the colour of the stars, originally lime green, was darkened to match the green of the background, the yellow border around the stars was changed to black, the coloration of the parrot was brought more into alignment with reality, and some proportions were changed. There seems to be, generally, a lack of standardisation on many minor points of the flag in Dominica.
The flag's elements have symbolic meanings. The parrot is Dominica's national bird, meant to inspire citizens to soar to achieve their highest goals. In addition to representing the island's parishes, the stars also symbolise hope and equality. The combined lines form a cross, reflecting Dominica's Christian faith, and the three lines individually represent the Trinity. The flag's colours were also chosen for their associations: green - the island's verdant landscape; red - social justice; yellow - sunshine, agriculture; black - earth, African ancestry; white - clear waters, purity.
Coat of arms:
The coat of arms of Dominica was adapted on July 21, 1961. It consists of a shield with two guardian Sisserou Parrots bracing the shield atop of which is a raging lion. The quadrants of the shield depict a canoe, a banana tree, a palm and a mountain frog. Below the crest is the national motto: Après Bondie C'est La Ter (After God the Earth).
Motto: "Après Bondie, C'est La Ter"
National Anthem: Isle of beauty, isle of splendour
Isle of beauty, isle of splendour,
Isle to all so sweet and fair,
All must surely gaze in wonder
At thy gifts so rich and rare.
Rivers, valleys, hills and mountains,
All these gifts we do extol.
Healthy land, so like all fountains,
Giving cheer that warms the soul.
Dominica, God hath blest thee
With a clime benign and bright,
Pastures green and flowers of beauty
Filling all with pure delight,
And a people strong and healthy,
Full of godly, rev'rent fear.
May we ever seek to praise Thee
For these gifts so rich and rare.
Come ye forward, sons and daughters
Of this gem beyond compare.
Strive for honour, sons and daughters,
Do the right, be firm, be fair.
Toil with hearts and hands and voices.
We must prosper! Sound the call,
In which ev'ryone rejoices,
"All for Each and Each for All."
Internet Page: www.discoverdominica.com
Dominica in diferent languages
eng | afr | arg | ast | bre | cat | cym | dan | est | fin | glg | glv | ina | ita | jnf | lat | lin | lld | nld | nor | oci | por | roh | ron | rup | sco | sme | spa | srd | swe | vie | vor: Dominica
ces | cor | dsb | eus | fao | fry | hrv | hsb | hun | jav | lav | lit | mlg | mlt | pol | slk | slv | swa | tur | wol | zza: Dominika
aze | bos | crh | kaa | slo | tuk | uzb: Dominika / Доминика
deu | ltz | nds: Dominika / Dominika; Dominica / Dominica
fra | nrm: Dominique
bam: Dɔminiki
epo: Dominiko
frp: Domenica
fur: Dominiche
gla: Doiminicia
gle: Doiminice / Doiminice
hat: Dominik
ibo: Dọminika
ind: Dominika / دومينيكا
isl: Dóminíka
kmr: Domînîka / Доминика / دۆمینیکا; Domînîk / Доминик / دۆمینیک
kur: Domînîka / دۆمینیکا
mol: Dominica / Доминика
msa: Dominica / دومينيكا
que: Duminika
rmy: Dominika / दोमिनिका
scn: Domìnica
smg: Duomėnė̄ka
sqi: Domenika
tet: Domínika
ton: Tominika
vol: Dominikeän
wln: Dominike
abq | alt | bul | che | chm | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | mkd | mon | rus | tyv | udm: Доминика (Dominika)
bak | srp | tat: Доминика / Dominika
bel: Дамініка / Daminika
chv: Доминикӑ (Dominikă)
kaz: Доминика / Domïnïka / دومينيكا
kbd: Доминикэ (Dominikă)
oss: Доминикӕ (Dominikä)
tgk: Доминика / دامینیکه / Dominika
ukr: Домініка (Dominika)
ara: الدومينيك (ad-Dūmīnīk); دومينيكا (Dūmīnīkā)
fas: دومینیکا (Domīnīkā); دمینیکا (Domīnīkā); دومینیک (Domīnīk); دمینیک (Domīnīk)
prs: دومینیکا (Dōmīnīkā)
pus: دومينيکا (Domīnīkā)
uig: دومىنىكا / Dominika / Доминика
urd: ڈومینیکا (Ḋômīnīkā)
div: ޑޮމިނިކާ (Ḋominikā)
heb: דומיניקה (Dômînîqah)
lad: דומיניקה / Dominika
yid: דאָמיניקאַ (Dominika)
amh: ዶሚኒካ (Dominika)
ell: Ντομίνικα (Ntomínika); Δομίνικα (Domínika); Δομινίκη (Dominíkī)
hye: Դոմինիկա (Dominika)
kat: დომინიკა (Dominika)
hin: डोमिनिका (Ḍominikā)
ben: ডোমিনিকা (Ḍominikā); দোমিনিকা (Dominikā); ডমিনিকা (Ḍôminikā)
pan: ਡੋਮੀਨੀਕਾ (Ḍomīnīkā)
kan: ಡೊಮಿನಿಕ (Ḍominika)
mal: ഡൊമിനിക്ക (Ḍominikka)
tam: டொமினிக்கா (Ṭomiṉikkā); டொமினிகா (Ṭomiṉikā)
tel: డొమినికా (Ḍominikā)
zho: 多米尼克 (Duōmǐníkè)
jpn: ドミニカ (Dominika)
kor: 도미니카 (Dominika)
mya: ဒုိမီနီကာ (Dominika)
tha: โดมินิกา (Dōminikā)
khm: ដូមីនិក (Dūmīnik); ដូមីនីកា (Dūmīnīkā)