History

Country of Dominica History

Dominica’s first inhabitants, the Ortoroids, arrived from South America around 3100 B.C. and lasted on the island until around 400 B.C. Next came the Arawaks, who settled in about 400 A.D. By 1400, the Kalinago or “Caribs” moved aggressively up the Caribbean from South America, eliminating the Arawak from the region, including Dominica.

Migrating in waves from South America as early as 3,000 B.C., various tribes made Dominica their home, and by 1,000 A.D., were well settled, calling the island “Waitukubuli,” meaning ‘tall is her body’ in the Kalinago language.

Dominica was spotted on 3rd November 1493 by Columbus on his second voyage to the new world. He found the island inhabited by Carib Indians, who in the 14th century had either expelled or exterminated the indigenous Arawak Indians. Ignoring the Kalinago name of “Waitukubuli,” Columbus renamed Dominica’s island as he first made landfall on a Sunday.

The Caribs successfully resisted Spanish colonization efforts, but the British and French followed from the 1600s on, battling each other and the Caribs to claim the Island. On November 3rd, 1978, the island was finally granted its independence from Britain.

Dominica is the only Caribbean island to retain a colony of its pre-Columbian population. Today, over 2,000 Carib Indians, properly known as the Kalinago, inhabit a 3,700-acre territory on the island’s northwestern side.