Dominica

(Commonwealth of Dominica, Nature Isle of the Caribbean)

General Information:

Location: Caribbean
Capital: Roseau
Language(s): English, Spanish
Population: 74,464
Total Area: 750 sq km
Currency: East Caribbean Dollar
Curious Alcohol Fact: There are various alcoholic drinks made from fruits.
Annual Average Liquor Consumption Per Capita: 7.84 liters
Most Popular Drink(s): There is a national beer label called Kubuli.

Dominica Travel Video

Video Courtesy: DominicaTravelDeals

The Country

Also referred to as the Commonwealth of Dominica, this island nation is located in the archipelago known as the Lesser Antilles. To its north lies the island of Guadeloupe while Martinique is to the south. The capital city is Roseau and it also doubles as the principal port for the island nation. The island is volcanic in nature and you will observe this in various parts of the island as there are volcanic holes in different parts of Dominica. One other feature of Dominica that is worth mentioning is the fact that the island is thickly forested in addition to being mountainous. Unlike many other tropical islands, the weather of Dominica is actually very mild and hospitable although hurricanes are fairly regular on the pristine island. Ruled by the United Kingdom, Dominica became an independent nation in 1978. The economy of the island depends greatly on agriculture, fishery and the export of timber.

The People

In studying the demographic distribution on the island, I chanced upon an interesting discovery: there is a considerably large number of Carib Indians, indigenous tribes who predate the advent of the Europeans. I did not come across Carib Indians in any of the other island nations in the Caribbean. Apart from these native peoples, other Dominicans are Blacks whose ancestors toiled on the Caribbean plantations, Europeans whose forebears colonized the island and Asians many of whom are migrant workers. The most important religion on the island is Christianity and most of the islanders are followers of the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Methodist Movement and the new-generation Pentecostal Churches.

Eating and Drinking

The most popular foods in the country are called Creole foods. These include the popular kalalu soups which is made from a local plant. The national food is mountain chicken but you will be surprised to know that the meal is actually not made of any fowl but frogs! Local beers are quite popular. Meat (especially goat meat and chicken) are usually served with many of the meals.

Sports and Recreation

Interestingly, cricket is the most popular sport in the country. Some of the best cricketers in the world are from the country. In addition to cricket, there are other sports like football, basketball, volleyball and swimming.

Interesting Facts

The imperial parrot is found only on this island –nowhere else in the world, and that, you will agree is very special.
Dominica is not the same as the Dominican Republic which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Giant frogs are special delicacy in Dominica.
The country is also called the Nature Isle of the Caribbean.
A former prime minister of the country, Eugenia Charles is the first female prime minister of any nation in the Caribbean, and in addition to this, she also holds the record of the longest continuously serving female prime minister. There was a time a group of mercenaries attempted to overthrow her government.
The island nation was once claimed by France.
It was named ‘Dominica’, meaning Sunday in Latin by Christopher Columbus who discovered it on that day of the week.
It was once considered to be part of the ‘Petite Antilles’.
Waitukubuli is the name given to it by the natives.
In 1967, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom.
Dominica is home to the Boiling Lake, the second largest hot spring in the world.

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Special thanks to our contributors:
Adebayo Ahmed Adebola (Ilorin, Nigeria).