99 Fun Facts About Grenada

Grenada is nicknamed the 'Island of Spice' chiefly for producing which spice, shown on its flag?

Nutmeg, the seed shown on Grenada's flag, reached the island in 1843 aboard a merchant ship returning from the East Indies; mace is its by-product.

What is the capital of Grenada?

St. George's, Grenada's capital, grew from a settlement founded in 1650; its pastel waterfront, the Carenage, is the island's best-known view.

Grenada gained independence from Britain on 7 February of which year?

Grenada became independent on 7 February 1974, with Eric Gairy, founder of the Grenada United Labour Party, as its first prime minister.

The 1979 coup that overthrew Eric Gairy was carried out by which Marxist-Leninist group?

The New JEWEL Movement seized power on 13 March 1979 while Eric Gairy was abroad, installing the People's Revolutionary Government in a nearly bloodless coup.

Who led Grenada's revolutionary government from 1979 until his execution in October 1983?

The country's main airport now bears his name.

The 1983 US-led invasion of Grenada was code-named what?

Operation Urgent Fury began at dawn on 25 October 1983, with US Army Rangers parachuting onto the unfinished Point Salines airstrip in the south of the island.

Reagan cited workers from which country building a 10,000-foot airstrip on Grenada as a particular worry?

Cuba had sent hundreds of construction workers to build the Point Salines runway; Reagan warned in March 1983 that it could serve Soviet and Cuban military aircraft.

The 25 October anniversary of the 1983 invasion is now a national holiday in Grenada called what?

Thanksgiving Day, a public holiday on 25 October, marks the 1983 US-led intervention that ended the rule of the Revolutionary Military Council.

Sprinter Kirani James won Grenada's first Olympic gold at London 2012 in which event?

Kirani James, from Gouyave, won the 400 metres at London 2012 aged 19, then added silver in Rio 2016 and bronze in Tokyo in the same event.

Hurricane Ivan in 2004 damaged or destroyed roughly what share of Grenada's homes?

Hurricane Ivan, on 7 September 2004, damaged or destroyed about 90% of Grenada's homes and killed 39 people, the island's worst storm in decades.

Besides the main island, Grenada consists of two smaller ones: Petite Martinique and which other?

Carriacou, about 13 square miles, is the largest of the Grenadine islands and lies north of Grenada; with Petite Martinique it forms a dependency of Grenada.

Columbus sighted Grenada in 1498 on his third voyage and named it what?

Columbus named the island La Concepción when he sighted it in 1498, but the name never stuck; the origin of the later name is obscure.

Grenville, on Grenada's east coast, is the chief town of which parish?

Grenville, Grenada's second town, is the main settlement of Saint Andrew, the island's largest parish by area, on the east coast.

The 1649 expedition that founded the first permanent European settlement on Grenada was led by whom?

Jacques Dyel du Parquet, governor of Martinique, landed with 203 men on 17 March 1649 and built the settlement that grew into the capital.

Grenada was ceded by France to Britain in 1763 under an agreement signed in which city?

The 1763 Treaty of Paris handed Grenada to Britain; France recaptured the island in 1779 during the American War of Independence but returned it in 1783.

The 1795-96 revolt against British rule on Grenada, by rebels favouring a return to France, was led by whom?

Julien Fédon, a mixed-race planter from the Belvidere estate, led the 1795–96 uprising with backing from Revolutionary France; the British crushed it in June 1796 and Fédon vanished.

Grenada's national dish, oil down, is what kind of food?

Oil down is a one-pot stew of breadfruit, salted meat, dumplings and callaloo simmered until the liquid is absorbed, leaving only the oil.

Which British sculptor created the world's first underwater sculpture park, off Grenada in 2006?

Jason deCaires Taylor sank his first concrete figures in Molinere Bay in 2006; the best-known piece, Vicissitudes, is a ring of children holding hands.

Grenada's highest point, Mount St. Catherine, rises to about what height?

Mount St. Catherine, a dormant volcano in the north of the island, reaches 840 metres, the highest point in Grenada.

The active underwater volcano off Grenada's north coast is called what?

Kick 'em Jenny is a submarine volcano about 8 km north of Grenada whose summit lies roughly 180 m below the surface; ships keep a 1.5 km exclusion zone in quiet periods.

Grenada's most famous beach, three kilometres long in the south-west, is called what?

Grand Anse, a 3 km curve of white sand just south of the capital, is Grenada's best-known beach and the hub of its resort hotels.

Grenada shares the East Caribbean dollar and a central bank with how many other OECS members?

The minibus fare per segment is EC$2.50, paid to a conductor by the sliding door.

Who became Grenada's head of state on the death of Elizabeth II in 2022?

King Charles III became Grenada's head of state on 8 September 2022 on the death of his mother; a Governor-General represents him on the island.

Grenada is the southernmost of which island chain?

Grenada is the southernmost of the Windward Islands, the lower arc of the Lesser Antilles, lying about 90 miles north of Trinidad.

Grenada's motto reads 'Ever conscious of God we aspire, build and advance as' what?

Grenada's motto, 'Ever conscious of God we aspire, build and advance as one people', runs along the scroll at the base of the coat of arms adopted at independence.

Chocolate first arrived on Grenada in which year, with the introduction of cocoa beans?

Cocoa arrived on Grenada in 1714 and is grown on small farms; the Grenada Chocolate Company has made bars from local beans since 1999.

The island's only endemic bird species is what kind of bird?

The Grenada dove, a shy ground-dwelling dove found nowhere else, is the national bird; its last strongholds are dry forest at Mount Hartman and Perseverance.

Grenada's carnival, held in August, is known as what?

Spice Mas, Grenada's carnival, climaxes on the second Monday and Tuesday of August with J'ouvert's oil-covered Jab Jab devils leading the parade.

Slavery was abolished in Grenada and the other British colonies in which year?

The Slavery Abolition Act took effect in Grenada and across the British West Indies on 1 August 1834; an 'apprenticeship' system kept the freed bound to estates until 1838.

Grenada's estimated population in 2024 was roughly how many?

Grenada's population was estimated at about 115,000 in 2024, living on 344 square kilometres, making it one of the smallest nations in the Americas.

Which prime minister served a then-record 13 years from 1995 to 2008 and later returned to power?

Keith Mitchell was prime minister from June 1995 to July 2008, a 13-year run, and returned for a second spell from 2013 to 2022.

In which year did Grenada become an Associated State of the UK with control of internal affairs?

Grenada became an Associated State on 3 March 1967, running its internal affairs while Britain kept defence and foreign policy, five years after the West Indies Federation collapsed.

The October 1983 coup against Grenada's revolutionary prime minister was led by his deputy, who was?

Bernard Coard, the deputy prime minister, led the hardline faction that placed the prime minister under house arrest on 13 October 1983 and then seized power.

The four-day curfew after the 19 October 1983 killings ordered what for anyone leaving home?

The Revolutionary Military Council's 96-hour curfew from 19 October 1983 warned that anyone found outside without approval would be shot on sight.

France's navy favoured Grenada's capital as a hurricane refuge because of what?

No nearby French island had a harbour to compare with Fort Royal's.

The failed 1609 attempt to settle Grenada, wiped out by the Kalinago, was made by which nation?

England's 1609 attempt, a party of about 200 settlers sent by London merchants, was driven off within months by Kalinago attacks.

Hurricane Emily, which struck Grenada in July 2005, later peaked at what strength?

Emily crossed Grenada's north on 14 July 2005 as a Category 1 storm, killing one person, then strengthened to Category 5 in the western Caribbean before hitting Mexico.

Grenada has competed at every Summer Olympics since which Games?

Grenada made its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 1984 and has sent a team to every Summer Games since; its first medal came from Kirani James in 2012.

The Grenadian folklore werewolf called Loogaroo takes its name from a word in which language?

Loogaroo comes from the French loup-garou.

According to 2011 estimates, roughly what share of Grenadians are Roman Catholic?

The 2011 census put Roman Catholics at about 36% of Grenadians, while Protestant churches combined, led by Pentecostals and Seventh-day Adventists, made up about half.

Which Grenadian novelist wrote Angel (1987), set around the island's revolution?

Merle Collins's 1987 novel Angel follows three generations of Grenadian women through the island's upheavals, from the Gairy era to the 1983 invasion.

Before 1984, Grenada's main airport was at which site on the east coast?

Pearls Airport on the east coast served Grenada from 1943 until the international airport at Point Salines opened in October 1984; its short runway could not take jets.

Which political newcomer became Grenada's prime minister after the June 2022 election?

Dickon Mitchell, a lawyer who had led the National Democratic Congress for only eight months and never held office, became prime minister after the NDC won 9 of 15 seats on 23 June 2022.

Which Category 4 hurricane devastated Grenada's northern dependency islands on 1 July 2024?

Beryl struck on 1 July 2024 as a Category 4 hurricane, flattening most homes on Grenada's two northern dependency islands before strengthening further over the eastern Caribbean.

Into how many parishes is Grenada divided?

Grenada's main island is divided into six parishes, each named for a saint, while the two northern dependency islands are administered separately.

Grand Etang and Lake Antoine, two of Grenada's lakes, occupy what kind of geological feature?

Grand Etang and Lake Antoine fill the volcanic craters of extinct vents; the island's rich soil and mountainous interior also betray its volcanic origin.

Grenada's two bronze medals at the 2024 Olympics came in which two events?

Grenada's 2024 Olympic bronzes came in the javelin and the decathlon, the country's first Olympic medals in a field event and in a combined event.

By what vote did the UN General Assembly condemn the 1983 invasion?

The General Assembly voted 108 to 9, with 27 abstentions, on 2 November 1983 to deplore the invasion; a Security Council text backed by 11 members was vetoed by Washington.

Which Grenada-based school specialises in medicine and veterinary medicine?

St. George's University, founded in 1976 at True Blue, is best known for its schools of medicine and veterinary medicine; its students were a stated reason for the 1983 US intervention.

Which introduced primate is common in Grenada's forests?

The mona monkey, brought from West Africa during the slave trade, thrives in the Grand Etang rainforest, where troops beg food from visitors.

Grenada's 1979–83 revolutionary leader was born in 1944 on which island, home to a refinery?

Bishop was born in Aruba on 29 May 1944, where his father Rupert worked at the Lago oil refinery; the family returned to Grenada in 1950.

Eric Gairy was addressing the UN on what subject when he was overthrown in March 1979?

Gairy was in New York to address the UN on UFOs when the coup struck; in November 1978 he had brought astronaut Gordon Cooper and researcher J. Allen Hynek there to urge a UFO study.

Which Grenadian became the first Black woman crowned Miss World, in 1970?

Jennifer Hosten, Miss Grenada, won Miss World 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall; Premier Eric Gairy sat on the judging panel, prompting protests about the result.

Gairy's private militia that terrorised his opponents in the 1970s was known as what?

The Mongoose Gang, Gairy's plain-clothes enforcers, beat and shot opponents; on 'Bloody Monday' they shot dead businessman Rupert Bishop during a protest in the capital.

Who chaired the military council that seized Grenada after the killings of 19 October 1983?

General Hudson Austin, head of the People's Revolutionary Army, chaired the Revolutionary Military Council; he was among 14 sentenced to death in 1986 and freed in December 2008 after commutation.

Who was Grenada's governor-general through both the 1979 revolution and the 1983 invasion?

Sir Paul Scoon was governor-general from 1978 to 1992; his October 1983 letter requesting outside help, rescued from Government House by US forces, was cited to legitimise the invasion.

US troops flew into Grenada in 1983 from Grantley Adams airport on which island?

The Regional Security System that joined the operation was also based there; Barbadian brigadier Rudyard Lewis commanded the Caribbean troops.

Reagan said he felt compelled to invade partly over how many US medical students on the island?

Lawrence Eagleburger later admitted the students were a pretext; the real aim was to get rid of coup leader Hudson Austin.

The 1983 invasion of Grenada was the largest US military action since which war?

Grenada was the largest US military operation since the Vietnam War, involving some 7,000 US troops; Reagan told the Medal of Honor Society that December that 'our days of weakness are over'.

Which world leader privately opposed the invasion after learning of it only three hours beforehand?

Margaret Thatcher, whose country shared a head of state with Grenada, learned of the plan only hours before the landings and objected; Reagan telephoned her two days later to apologise.

The Grenada 17, jailed for the 1983 killings, were all finally released in which year?

The final group of the Grenada 17 walked free on 5 September 2009 after a 2007 resentencing; Amnesty International had called their 1986 trial grossly unfair.

Which Grenadian journalist and politician is called the Father of the Federation?

T. A. Marryshow founded The West Indian newspaper in 1915, campaigned for decades for a British Caribbean federation, and sat in the West Indies Federation's senate before his death in 1958.

The 1951 general strike, when so many buildings burned, became known by what name?

The 1951 strike led by Eric Gairy was remembered as the 'Sky Red' days for the estate fires lighting the night sky; Britain sent warships and troops and briefly detained Gairy.

Which group swept all 15 seats in Grenada's House of Representatives in 1999, 2013 and 2018?

The New National Party won all 15 seats in 1999, 2013 and 2018, leaving no elected opposition; the governor-general named opposition senators to fill the gap.

Grenada's final court of appeal is which body?

The revolutionary government abolished Privy Council appeals in 1979; they were restored in 1991.

Grenada joined ALBA in 2014, an alliance built around Cuba and which other country?

Keith Mitchell called membership a natural extension of cooperation with both countries; he had also re-established ties with Havana in the 1990s.

A famous 1971 booklet attacked British schools for labelling West Indian children what?

Coard's 1971 booklet, How the West Indian Child is Made Educationally Subnormal in the British School System, exposed the dumping of Black pupils into 'ESN' schools and inspired Steve McQueen's 2021 BBC documentary Subnormal.

Whose privateers briefly seized Grenada in 1675 before its colonial rulers retook it?

Dutch privateers seized Grenada in 1675 but held it only briefly before a warship retook the island for France, which had put it under its West India Company in 1664.

The Kalinago mass leap of the 1650s, fleeing colonial troops, is commemorated near which town?

Sauteurs, on Grenada's north coast, takes its name from the Kalinago who leapt from the cliff now called Leapers' Hill rather than surrender; the name means 'leapers'.

Grenada's wooden capital burnt to the ground in 1771 and again in which year?

After a second fire in 1775 followed the 1771 blaze, the town was rebuilt in brick and stone, which is why its Georgian core survives largely intact.

In 1885 St. George's replaced Bridgetown as capital of which colonial grouping?

Grenada had been administered as part of the grouping since 1833 and stayed in it until 1958.

The first indentured labourers from India reached Grenada in 1857 aboard which ship?

The Maidstone landed the first Indian indentured labourers on 1 May 1857, a date Grenada marks as Indian Arrival Day; about 3,200 followed by 1885, most of whom stayed.

Which Grenadian distillery has crushed cane with a waterwheel since 1785?

River Antoine Rum Distillery in the island's north-east has crushed cane with a water-driven wheel since 1785, and is said to be the Caribbean's oldest working water-powered distillery.

Hurricane Janet in 1955 destroyed roughly what share of Grenada's main spice trees?

Hurricane Janet, on 22 September 1955, destroyed about 75% of the island's spice trees and killed more than a hundred people, the worst storm in living memory.

Before Ivan struck in 2004, Grenada had gone how many years without a direct hurricane hit?

Grenada's last direct hit before Ivan had been Hurricane Janet in September 1955, a gap of 49 years that left many residents slow to take the 2004 warnings seriously.

What is Grenada's two-letter internet country-code domain?

Grenada's country-code domain is .gd; .gr belongs to Greece, .gn to Guinea and .ga to Gabon.

Which liner caught fire and sank off Grenada's capital in October 1961?

The Bianca C., a 180-metre Italian liner, caught fire after an engine-room explosion on 22 October 1961; local boats saved nearly everyone aboard, and the hull sank two days later under tow.

A Christ of the Abyss statue on the Carenage was a thank-you gift from which shipping company?

Costa Line, owner of the liner lost off the capital in 1961, gave the bronze Christ of the Deep statue to thank the Grenadians who rowed out to rescue those aboard.

The volcano off Grenada's north coast was first recorded erupting in which year?

The submarine volcano's first known eruption, on 24 July 1939, threw steam and ash 275 metres above the sea and sent waves about two metres high onto Grenada's north coast.

Local fable says the depths of Grand Etang lake are home to what creature?

Legend holds that a mermaid lives in the depths of Grand Etang, a lake 530 metres up in Grenada's central mountains that folklore also calls bottomless.

What is the title of Grenada's national anthem?

'Hail Grenada', adopted at independence, has words by Irva Merle Baptiste and music by Louis Arnold Masanto.

Which animal stands beside a corn stalk as a supporter on Grenada's coat of arms?

An armadillo, locally the tatou, stands before a corn stalk on the left of Grenada's coat of arms; the other supporter is the national bird before a banana plant.

Columbus's flagship sits at the centre of Grenada's coat of arms; which ship is it?

The Santa María, Columbus's flagship on his 1492 voyage, appears on the shield's central roundel, recalling his sighting of Grenada in 1498 on his third voyage.

Grenada's national flower, worn as a garland on the coat of arms, is what?

Seven red roses nest inside the garland, one for each of the six parishes plus the Southern Grenadines.

Grenada's interim flag of the late 1960s was a tricolour of blue, yellow and which colour?

The interim flag's bands of blue, yellow and green carried a spice seed at the centre; Anthony C. George's independence design kept the seed and the yellow-green colours but added red.

Oil down, the national dish, gets its name from being cooked in which liquid until absorbed?

Oil down simmers breadfruit, salted meat, dumplings and callaloo in coconut milk until the liquid is absorbed and only the coconut oil remains at the bottom of the pot.

The fishing town of Gouyave holds a weekly street food festival on which day?

Gouyave's 'Fish Friday' fills two side streets every Friday evening with stalls of grilled and fried seafood; the town also celebrates Fisherman's Birthday each 29 June.

Which fort above the capital, begun in 1705, was the scene of the October 1983 executions?

Fort George, begun in 1705 as Fort Royal, crowns the headland above the capital; renamed Fort Rupert under the revolution, it was where the prime minister and his allies were shot on 19 October 1983.

Which country funded Grenada's $40 million National Cricket Stadium after Hurricane Ivan?

China paid for the rebuilt National Cricket Stadium at Queen's Park and sent hundreds of its own workers to finish it for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Officials were fired after the stadium's opening ceremony played which country's anthem by mistake?

At the February 2007 opening a police band played Taiwan's anthem instead of the donor's, a diplomatic blunder for which the officials responsible were sacked.

In 2012 Kirani James became the first non-American to run his event in under how many seconds?

Kirani James ran 43.94 in the London 2012 final, the first man from any country other than America to break 44 seconds for the distance.

Which Grenadian beat India's Neeraj Chopra to defend his world title in 2022?

Anderson Peters threw 90.54 m in Eugene in July 2022 to retain the world title he had won in Doha in 2019, beating Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra into silver.

Lindon Victor broke a Grenadian record held by Kurt Felix, who is his what?

Kurt Felix is Lindon Victor's older brother; Victor took the family's national record with 8,539 points in 2017, a mark that also stood as a US collegiate record.

Grenada's national football team plays under which nickname?

The Spice Boyz, Grenada's national football team, made three CONCACAF Gold Cup appearances up to 2021, losing all nine group games.

Which Grenadian opening batsman made his Test debut for the West Indies in 2003?

Devon Smith, a left-handed opener from Grenada, made his Test debut for the West Indies against Australia in April 2003 and went on to play more than 40 Tests.

The East Caribbean dollar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1976 at what rate?

The East Caribbean dollar was fixed at EC$2.70 to US$1 in July 1976, a peg the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank took over in 1983 and held unchanged into the 2020s.

Vicissitudes, in Grenada's underwater sculpture park, is a ring of how many children?

Vicissitudes consists of 26 life-size children cast from local schoolchildren, holding hands in a circle on the seabed of Molinere Bay, where coral and sponges slowly colonise them.

Grenada's old colonial motto Clarior e Tenebris appears in the emblem of which body?

The Royal Grenada Police Force keeps the colonial motto Clarior e Tenebris, 'brighter out of darkness', on its badge; the independent state adopted a new motto on its coat of arms.

Point Salines airport was finished after the 1983 invasion with $19 million from which country?

The United States put $19 million into finishing the airport it had invaded to stop, and the first commercial flight landed at Point Salines in October 1984.