The island of Dominica was originally settled by the Native American Arawak tribes. Later, around the 1300s, the warring Carib peoples wiped them off the island.
The first European to visit Dominica was Christopher Columbus in 1493, however, the Spanish did not settle the island due to the fierce Carib natives. Over 100 years later, the French laid claim to Dominica and began to settle the island. As part of various wars throughout the 1700's the island changed hands between the French and the British a few times finally ending up in British control. It officially became an English colony in 1805 and it was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized.
Dominica became an independent country on November 3, 1978. In 1980 the first female prime minister in the Caribbean was elected, Mary Eugenia Charles.
The Geography of Dominica
Total Size: 754 square km
Size Comparison: slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
