Introduction
The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.
Location
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Geographic coordinates
13 10 N, 59 32 W
Area - comparative
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Natural resources
petroleum, fish, natural gas
Irrigated land
10 sq km (1998 est.)
Environment - current issues
pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers
Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Population
278,289 (July 2004 est.)