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Grenada The island of Grenada, in the East

The island of Grenada, in the Eastern Caribbean, is part of the West Indies, a chain of islands formed by the peaks of the Caribbean Andes. The main island is 21 miles long and 12 miles wide at its widest point--about twice the size of Washington, D.C. The nation of Grenada also includes some inhabited islands from the Grenadines chain, the larger of which are Carriacou and Petit Martinique. Both Carriacou and Petit Martinique have colonial histories that parallel Grenada's.

As the twenty-first century nears, Grenada struggles to stabilize its economy. Grenada is mainly rural; farming techniques are not much different from those employed 100 years ago. And when prices decline for one of its few exports, the overall earnings of Grenada plummet. Like many small island nations, Grenada is economically dependent on the changing forces of international trade.

Grenada's small size has hampered its economic development. The area's population is only about 110,000 and its total area only about 133 square miles. More than 90 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) is derived from traded goods and services (Thomas 237). Educational and employment opportunities are so limited that the most talented of the island's young people often go abroad to study or get jobs. Relatively few return, creating a significant "brain drain" that exacerbates the economic situation.

Grenada's recent leaders have largely failed to put the country on the road to progress. All have promised democracy but their administrations subsequently deteriorated into autocracy: "This development occurred because the petty-bourgeoisie (along with the other intermediate strata from which the mass movement's leaders were recruited) was essentially a colonial creation with limited objectives" (Thomas 72). The objective of Grenada's leaders has been to exclude the masses. Democracy and independence have merely created a shift in power from colonial plan...

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Grenada The island of Grenada, in the East. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:06, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1708987.html