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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Sir Eric Gairy
(pen&pencil on paper ... 11x8) 1998.

Grenada's First Prime Minister, Sir Eric Gairy has been quite a controversial leader. In 1974 Sir Eric led Grenada to Independence from Great Britain. However, five years later he was overthrown in a bloodless coup----in what is known as the first coup d'tat in the English-Speaking Caribbean. During the 40s and 50s, Sir Eric had successfully negotiated for higher wages and better working conditions for thousands of Grenada's agricultural laborers. Quite a flamboyant dresser and popular leader among the poor and rural residence, uncle Gairy as he was known to Grenadians, enjoyed a bitter-sweet relationship with the general populace. Sir Eric was born in 1922 in St. Andrew's parish; he died in 1997.

(available in print and original US$245.00)

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.