GRENADA ART by Eric M Johnn ...


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Despite its natural beauty, Grenada has experienced turbulent political upheavals in the past. Since the coming of Europeans, the Indians who lived there was forced into war to defend their island. It took the Europeans many years before they finally eliminated the Caribs and Arawaks from Grenada.

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"The Capture of Gov. Home"
by Eric Johnn (Oil on canvas ... 36x36) 1992.

The story is told of the ex-slave Julien Fedon who ruled Grenada for nearly two years. Fedon, in 1795, came to prominence when he spearheaded a slave revolt against British colonial dictatorship in Grenada. The then Lt. Governor Ninian Home was captured, tried and executed along with several of his supporters by Fedon and his disenchanted slaves and free blacks. Because of exploits against colonial domination in Grenada, Fedon has since been lauded as a national hero. He was reported to have brought the infamous Belvidere estate for 15,500 pounds sterling, quite a sum in those days, and even more so by an ex-slave.

(Available in print & original: price for original US$1,049 shipping included)

French and British colonialists fought for ownership until the British conquered and won in the end. The travails of the island did not end there. Thousands of Africans were shipped to work on tobacco, sugarcane and coffee plantations for European merchants. The island prospered, but very little of the wealth stayed in Grenada. The island went through dozens of social and political unrest since and during slavery up until 1983 when thousands of US-military troops intervened to squash a military junta that assassinated several ministers in the ruling government at the time. These days, Grenada is enjoying stability and with the tourism industry booming and nutmeg price at a comfortable rate, there's no reason why the Spice Isle of the West cannot even be spicier than ever.