the arrival of the Europeans in the late 15th century. The Carib islands, including Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, were among the last to be colonized by the Europeans as the dense Carib population made it hard for the Europeans to gain a foothold. In 1626, the French were in possession of Saint Vincent. In 1627, the British took over. In 1675, a slave ship sunk in the Bequia/Saint Vincent channel and some slaves managed to reach the shores. They were welcomed by the Caribs and soon intermingled, and their children were called Black Caribs. In 1748, when the European nations found that they could not compromise with the Caribs, Saint Vincent was declared a neutral island by the Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle. Changing hands again as both the British and French fought for possession, finally in 1783, by the Treaty of Versailles, Saint Vincent was once more under British rule. The last open rebellion by the Caribs took place in 1795. By 1797, however, the war was over with the Caribs losing for the last time. British and French influence can still be seen in the island’s architecture and language. The official language is English. Ethnic groups are black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, and other 7%.The population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is estimated around 115,461 people. 25.7% of the population lives in Kingstown and its suburbs and may be considered urban. More than 90% of the total population lives on the island of Saint Vincent. The age structure of the population consists of 0-14 years 30% (male 17,868; female 17,263), 15-64 years 63% (male 37,377; female 35,623), and 65 years and over 7% (male 3,144; female 4,186). The sex ratio at birth is 1.03 males/females, under 15 years is 1.04 males/females, 15-64 years is 1.05 males/females, and over 65 years is 0.75 males/females. The population growth rate is 0.43%. The birth rate is 18.25 births/1,000 population and the death rate is ...
