Misplaced Pages

#836163

130-650: Grenada ( / ɡ r ə ˈ n eɪ d ə / grə- NAY -də ; Grenadian Creole French : Gwenad , [ɡweˈnad] ) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea . The southernmost of the Windward Islands , Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about 100 miles (160 km) north of Trinidad and the South American mainland. Grenada consists of

260-512: A People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop , who declared himself prime minister. His Marxist–Leninist government established close ties with Cuba , Nicaragua , and other communist bloc countries. All political parties except for the New Jewel Movement were banned and no elections were held during the four years of PRG rule. Some years later, a dispute developed between Bishop and certain high-ranking members of

390-556: A Roman colony and in 27   BC it became a Roman municipium named Florentia Iliberritana ('Flourishing Iliberri'). The identification of present-day Granada with the Roman-era Iliberis and the historical continuity between the two settlements has long been debated by scholars. Modern archeological digs on the Albaicín hill have uncovered finds demonstrating the presence of a significant Roman town on that site. Little

520-508: A 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.22/10, ranking it 131st globally out of 172 countries. The climate is tropical: hot and humid in the dry season and cooled by the moderate rainfall in the rainy season . Temperatures range from 22–32 °C (72–90 °F) and are rarely below 18 °C (64 °F). Grenada lies at the southern edge of the Main Development Region for tropical cyclone activity, though

650-582: A 48 hour period. Like much of the Caribbean, Grenada is depauperate of large animals . However, native opossums , armadillos , and introduced mona monkeys and mongooses are common. As of June 2024, the avifauna of Grenada included a total of 199 species according to Bird Checklists of the World . Of these, one is endemic ( Grenada dove ), one has been introduced by humans ( Rock Pigeon ), and 130 are rare or accidental . Approximately 2 million years ago, in

780-517: A brief period until the June 1995 election which was won by the New National Party under Keith Mitchell , who went on to win the 1999 and 2003 elections , serving for a record 13 years until 2008. Mitchell re-established relations with Cuba and also reformed the country's banking system, which had come under criticism over potential money laundering concerns. In 2000–02, much of the controversy of

910-552: A capital known as Fort Royal (later St. George's). To shelter from hurricanes, the French navy would often take refuge in the capital's natural harbour, as no nearby French islands had a natural harbour to compare with that of Fort Royal. The British captured Grenada in the Seven Years' War in 1762. Grenada was formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The French re-captured

1040-421: A census of Grenada reported that the language was "slowly dying out" and was "only spoken among a small number of the adult population of the rural districts". Today most of the population speaks Grenadian Creole English . Granada In the 2021 national census , the population of the city of Granada proper was 227,383, and the population of the entire municipal area was estimated to be 231,775, ranking as

1170-605: A group of seven of his closest supporters were taken prisoner and executed by firing squad. Besides Bishop, the group included three of his cabinet ministers, a trade union leader, and three service-industry workers. After the execution of Bishop, the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA) formed a military Marxist government with General Hudson Austin as chairman. The army declared a four-day total curfew, during which anyone leaving their home without approval would be shot on sight. US President Ronald Reagan stated that particularly worrying

1300-503: A landslide and the NNP returned to power, winning again by another landslide in 2018 . In March 2020, Grenada confirmed its first case of COVID-19 and, as of 17 March 2022, 13,921 cases and 217 deaths had been recorded. On 23 June 2022, the NDC won the general election under Dickon Mitchell , who became prime minister the following day. The island of Grenada is the southernmost island in

1430-469: A left-bank tributary of the former, also passes through the city, discharging into the Genil to the west of the city centre. Granada has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa ) close to a cold semi-arid climate ( BSk ). Summers are hot and dry with daily temperatures averaging 34 °C (93 °F) in the hottest month (July); however, temperatures reaching over 40 °C (104 °F) are not uncommon in

SECTION 10

#1732844111837

1560-689: A lesser extent, with the Venetians, the Florentines, and the Portuguese. It provided connections with Muslim and Arab trade centers, particularly for gold from sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb , and exported silk and dried fruits produced in the area. Despite its frontier position, Granada was also an important Islamic intellectual and cultural center, especially in the time of Muhammad   V, with figures such as Ibn Khaldun and Ibn al-Khatib serving in

1690-499: A multi-party system, with the largest parties being the centre-right New National Party (NNP) and the centre-left National Democratic Congress (NDC). In February 2013, the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) lost the election . The opposition New National Party (NNP) won all 15 seats in the general election. Keith Mitchell , leader of NNP, who had served three terms as prime minister between 1995 and 2008, returned to power. Mitchell subsequently led NNP to win all 15 seats in

1820-629: A process which continued for most of the century. In December 1568, during a period of renewed persecution against moriscos , the Second Morisco Rebellion broke out in the Alpujarras. Although the city's morisco population played little role in the rebellion, King Philip II ordered the expulsion of the vast majority of the morisco population from the Kingdom of Granada , with the exception of those artisans and professionals judged essential to

1950-511: A program of forced baptisms , creating the converso class for Muslims and Jews. Cisneros's new strategy, which was a direct violation of the terms of the treaty, provoked the Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1499–1501) centered in the rural Alpujarras region southeast of the city. The rebellion lasted until 1500 in Granada and continued until 1501 in the Alpujarras. Responding to the rebellion of 1501,

2080-592: A reputation as a major center of flamenco song and dance, including the Zambra Gitana , an Andalusian dance originating in the Middle East. The zone is a protected cultural environment under the auspices of the Centro de Interpretación del Sacromonte , a cultural center dedicated to the preservation of Gitano cultural forms. This formerly blue collar but now upmarket neighborhood houses 100,000 residents of Granada, making it

2210-406: A research project into the era and specifically into the fact that Maurice Bishop's body was never discovered. On 7 September 2004, after being hurricane-free for 49 years, the island was directly hit by Hurricane Ivan . Ivan struck as a Category 3 hurricane , resulting in 39 deaths and damage or destruction to 90% of the island's homes. On 14 July 2005, Hurricane Emily , a Category 1 hurricane at

2340-566: A self-contained palace-city, with its own mosque, hammams, fortress, and residential quarters for workers and servants. The most celebrated palaces that survive today, such as the Comares Palace and the Palace of the Lions , generally date from the reigns of Yusuf   I (r. 1333–1354) and his son Muhammad   V (r. 1354–1391, with interruptions). Some smaller examples of Nasrid palace architecture in

2470-565: A set of 36 neighborhoods . All boundaries of districts and neighborhoods were modified in February 2013. The municipal government team has organized the distribution of management responsibilities, structuring itself in the following service areas: Weddings and Palaces, Equal opportunities, Economy, Education, Communication office, Unified license management, Youth, Environment, Municipal Office of Consumer Information, Citizen Participation, Group of Civil Protection Volunteers, Local Police . Realejo

2600-623: A small quantity of nutmeg trees on board, which they left in Grenada, and this was the beginning of Grenada's nutmeg industry that now supplies nearly 40% of the world's annual crop. In 1877, Grenada was made a Crown colony . Theophilus A. Marryshow founded the Representative Government Association (RGA) in 1918 to agitate for a new and participative constitutional dispensation for the Grenadian people. Due to Marryshow's lobbying,

2730-623: A small yet densely-populated territory which was more uniformly Muslim and Arabic-speaking than before. The city itself expanded and new neighbourhoods grew around the Albaicín (named after refugees from Baeza ) and in Antequeruela (named after refugees from Antequera after 1410). A new set of walls was constructed further north during the 13th–14th centuries, with Bab Ilbirah (present-day Puerta de Elvira ) as its western entrance. A major Muslim cemetery existed outside this gate. The city's heart

SECTION 20

#1732844111837

2860-508: Is Mount St. Catherine , rising to 840 m (2,760 ft) above sea level. Other major mountains include Mount Granby and South East Mountain . Several small rivers with waterfalls flow into the sea from these mountains. The coastline contains several bays, most notably on the southern coast, split into numerous thin peninsulas. Grenada is home to four ecoregions: Windward Islands moist forests, Leeward Islands dry forests, Windward Islands dry forests, and Windward Islands xeric scrub. It had

2990-698: Is a provincial delegation from each of the governmental departments to the Junta de Andalucía , coordinated by a government delegate under the Ministry of the Interior. The national government of Spain has a sub-delegation in Granada, subordinate to the government delegate in the autonomous community. The headquarters of the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia, Ceuta and Melilla is in Granada, located in Plaza Nueva, in

3120-659: Is also made in the city. Vineyards and wines are also a significant contributor to the city and region. In 2020, Granada exported a total of $ 1.3 billion products. The University of Granada (UGR), founded in 1531 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V , meant the continuation of higher studies in La Madraza, when the city was the capital of the last Nasrid Kingdom . The university has become internationally recognised in many university fields: teaching, research, cultural and services to its members and its surroundings. It

3250-506: Is known, however, about the history of the city in the period between the end of the Roman era and the 11th century. An important Christian synod circa 300 AD, the Synod of Elvira , took place near this area (the name Elvira being derived from the name Iliberri ), but there is no concrete archeological or documentary evidence establishing the exact location of the meeting. It may have taken place in

3380-608: Is located in Granada. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the most visited tourist sites in Spain. Islamic-period influence and Moorish architecture are also preserved in the Albaicín neighborhood and other medieval monuments in the city. The 16th century also saw a flourishing of Mudéjar architecture and Renaissance architecture , followed later by Baroque and Churrigueresque styles. The University of Granada has an estimated 47,000 undergraduate students spread over five different campuses in

3510-523: Is referred to as patois . Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonise the island due to resistance from resident Island Caribs , French settlement and colonisation began in 1649 and continued for the next century. On 10 February 1763, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris . British rule continued until 1974 (except for a brief French takeover between 1779 and 1783). In 1921,

3640-770: Is reported to have renamed the island "Mayo", although this is the only map where the name appears. The indigenous Arawak who once lived on the island before the arrival of the Europeans gave the name Camajuya . Grenada is thought to have been first populated by peoples from South America during the Caribbean Archaic Age , although definitive evidence is lacking. The earliest potential human presence comes from proxy evidence of lake cores, beginning c.  3600 BC . Less ephemeral, permanent villages began c.  100–200 . The population peaked between 750 and 1250, with major changes in population afterward, potentially

3770-514: The Alcaicería , is made up of several narrow streets, which start from this place and continue as far as the cathedral. The Sacromonte neighborhood is located on the extension of the hill of Albaicín, along the Darro River. This area, which became famous by the nineteenth century for its predominantly Gitano inhabitants, is characterized by cave houses, which are dug into the hillside. The area has

3900-595: The 2022 election to the National Democratic Congress, with the NDC winning 9 seats to the NNP’s 6. Dickon Mitchell , a political newcomer who had only taken over as leader of the National Democratic Congress less than a year before the election and never held elected office, was subsequently appointed prime minister. Grenada is a full and participating member of both the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and

4030-502: The 2023 Spanish local elections Cuenca was ousted by Marifrán Carazo of the PP. Carazo increased the PP's number of seats from 7 to 14, gaining her a slim majority and making her the first female mayor of the city. The municipality of Granada consists of eight districts whose population is distributed in the attached chart according to the 2009 census of the City of Granada. These districts formed

Grenada - Misplaced Pages Continue

4160-419: The 20th-largest urban area of Spain . About 3.3% of the population did not hold Spanish citizenship, the largest number of these people (31%; or 1% of the total population) coming from South America . Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport . The area was settled since ancient times by Iberians , Romans , and Visigoths . The current settlement became a major city of Al-Andalus in

4290-454: The Antilles archipelago, bordering the eastern Caribbean Sea and the western Atlantic Ocean, and roughly 140 km (90 mi) north of both Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Its sister islands make up the southern section of the Grenadines, which include Carriacou , Petite Martinique , Ronde Island , Caille Island , Diamond Island , Large Island , Saline Island , and Frigate Island ;

4420-576: The Corral del Carbón ), built in the early 14th century, the Maristan (hospital), built in 1365–1367 and demolished in 1843, and the main mosque of the Albaicín, dating from the 13th century. When Ibn Al-Ahmar established himself in the city he moved the royal palace from the old Zirid citadel on the Albaicín hill to the Sabika hill, beginning construction on what became the present Alhambra. The Alhambra acted as

4550-541: The Crown of Castile rescinded the Treaty of Granada, and mandated that Granada's Muslims convert or emigrate. Many of the remaining Muslim elites subsequently emigrated to North Africa. The majority of the Granada's mudéjares converted (becoming the so-called moriscos or Moorish) so that they could stay. Both populations of converts were subject to persecution, execution, or exile, and each had cells that practiced their original religion in secrecy (the so-called marranos in

4680-508: The EEC , which provided partial funding, all claimed the airstrip did not have military capabilities. Reagan asserted that Cuba, under the direction of the Soviet Union, would use Grenada as a refuelling stop for Cuban and Soviet airplanes loaded with weapons destined for Central American communist insurgents. The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Barbados , and Jamaica all appealed to

4810-519: The Grenada United Labour Party (GULP), initially as a trade union, which led to the 1951 general strike for better working conditions. This sparked great unrest, and so many buildings were set ablaze that the disturbances became known as the "sky red" days. On 10 October 1951, Grenada held its first general elections based on universal adult suffrage, with Gairy's party winning six of the eight seats contested. From 1958 to 1962, Grenada

4940-511: The Kingdom of Granada , where the hammer of depopulation caused by the expulsion of the moriscos had taken a far greater toll in the previous century. The 17th-century demographic stagnation in the city and overall steady population increase in the wider kingdom went in line with the demographic disaster experienced throughout the century in the rest of the Crown of Castile. The city was overshadowed in importance by other cities including Seville and

5070-694: The Nasrids , who ruled the Emirate of Granada . On multiple occasions Ibn al-Ahmar aligned himself with Ferdinand III, eventually agreeing to become his vassal in 1246. Granada thereafter became a tributary state to the Kingdom of Castile, although this was often interrupted by wars between the two states. The political history of the emirate was turbulent and intertwined with that of its neighbours. The Nasrids sometimes provided refuge or military aid to Castilian kings and noblemen, even against other Muslim states, while in turn

5200-570: The New National Party under Herbert Blaize, who served as prime minister until his death in December 1989. Ben Jones briefly succeeded Blaize as prime minister and served until the March 1990 election . This election was won by the National Democratic Congress under Nicholas Brathwaite, who served as prime minister until he resigned in February 1995. He was succeeded by George Brizan for

5330-521: The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Grenada, along with much of the Caribbean region, is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations . The organisation primarily consists of former British colonies and focuses on fostering international relations between its members. Grenadian Creole French Grenadian Creole is a variety of Antillean Creole . In Grenada and among Grenadians, it

Grenada - Misplaced Pages Continue

5460-454: The Pliocene era, the area of what is nowadays Grenada emerged from a shallow sea as a submarine volcano. In recent times, volcanic activity has been non-existent, except for some of its hot spring and underwater volcano Kick 'em Jenny . Most of Grenada's terrain is made up of volcanic activity that took place 1–2 million years ago. There would have been many unknown volcanoes responsible for

5590-575: The Virgin Mary . It is said that he may have actually named it "Assumpción", but it is uncertain, as he is said to have sighted what are now Grenada and Tobago from a distance and named them both at the same time. However, it became accepted that he named Tobago "Assumpción" and Grenada "La Concepción". The year after, Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci travelled through the region with the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda and mapmaker Juan de la Cosa . Vespucci

5720-495: The arrival of Europeans in the Americas , Grenada was inhabited by the indigenous peoples from South America. Christopher Columbus sighted Grenada in 1498 during his third voyage to the Americas. Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonise the island due to resistance from resident Island Caribs , French settlement and colonisation began in 1649 and continued for the next century. On 10 February 1763, Grenada

5850-459: The 10th century. The word Gárnata (or Karnata ) possibly meant "hill of strangers". Another meaning might be "hill of pilgrims". It could even have been of Berber origin. Another theory is that it derived from Latin granum (or its plural grana ), meaning "seed", "beads", or a "scarlet color", which would have been adapted into Arabic as Ġarnāṭa or Iġranāṭa . The Arab chronicler Al-Maqqari believed that it came from

5980-581: The 11th century during the Zirid Taifa of Granada . In the 13th century it became the capital of the Emirate of Granada under Nasrid rule, the last Muslim -ruled state in the Iberian Peninsula . Granada was conquered in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs and progressively transformed into a Christian city over the course of the 16th century. The Alhambra , a medieval Nasrid citadel and palace,

6110-467: The 1490s. Many of the city's affluent Muslims and its traditional ruling classes emigrated to North Africa in the early years after the conquest, but these early emigrants numbered only a few thousand, with the rest of the population unable to afford leaving. By 1499, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros grew frustrated with the slow pace of the efforts of the first archbishop of Granada , Hernando de Talavera , to convert non-Christians and undertook

6240-603: The 90's, there has been a slight decrease in the population of Granada city, in favour of smaller towns in the metropolitan area. According to the population pyramid: 18,455 people living in the municipality of Granada in 2021 were of foreign nationality, which represents 7.95% of total population, rate lower than the national average. Resident foreigners come from all continents, the most numerous being Moroccan (4,890), Chinese (1,047), Senegalese (947), Colombian (889), Italian (854), and Bolivian (763). Granada's metropolitan area consists of about fifty municipalities and

6370-557: The Albaicin citadel, have survived to the present day, along with two of its gates: Bāb al-Unaydar (now called Puerta Monaita in Spanish) and Bāb al-Ziyāda (now known as Arco de las Pesas or Puerta Nueva ). The city and its residences were supplied with water through an extensive network of underground cisterns and pipes. On the Darro River, along the wall connecting the Zirid citadel with

6500-577: The Alhambra , which revived some international interest in southern Spain and in its Islamic-era monuments. In the 1930s the tensions that eventually divided Spain were evident in Granada, with frequent riots and friction between landowners and peasants. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, Granada was one of the cities that joined the Nationalist uprising. There was local resistance against

6630-701: The Almohads. Remnants of the Almohad period in the city include the Alcázar Genil , built in 1218–1219 (but later redecorated under the Nasrids), and possibly the former minaret attached to the present-day Church of San Juan de los Reyes in the Albaicin. In 1228 Idris al-Ma'mun , the last effective Almohad ruler in al-Andalus, left the Iberian Peninsula. As Almohad rule collapsed local leaders and factions emerged across

SECTION 50

#1732844111837

6760-657: The Castilians provided refuge and aid to some Nasrid emirs against other Nasrid rivals. On other occasions the Nasrids attempted to leverage the aid of the North African Marinids to ward off Castile, although Marinid interventions in the Peninsula ended after Battle of Rio Salado (1340). The population of the emirate was also swollen by Muslim refugees from the territories newly conquered by Castile and Aragon, resulting in

6890-423: The Fitna, afterwards it was not restored at its previous place and instead Ġarnāṭa , the former Jewish town, replaced it as the main city. In a short time this town was transformed into one of the most important cities of al-Andalus . Until the 11th century it had a mixed population of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. The Zirids built their citadel and palace, known as the al-Qaṣaba al-Qadīma ("Old Citadel"), on

7020-414: The GULP won the 1976 Grenadian general election , albeit with a reduced majority; however, the opposition deemed the results invalid due to fraud and the violent intimidation performed by the so-called ' Mongoose Gang ', a private militia loyal to Gairy. On 13 March 1979, whilst Gairy was out of the country, the NJM launched a bloodless coup which removed Gairy, suspended the constitution, and established

7150-435: The Grenadian Army, led a coup against the government of Maurice Bishop and placed Bishop under house arrest . These actions led to street demonstrations in various parts of the island because Bishop had widespread support from the population. Because Bishop was a widely popular leader, he was freed by impassioned supporters who marched en masse to his guarded residence from a rally in the capital's central square. Bishop then led

7280-463: The House of Representatives again in 2018 , marking three separate occasions on which he had achieved this feat. In November 2021, Prime Minister Keith Mitchell said that the upcoming general elections which were constitutionally due no later than June 2023, was to be the last one for him. Mitchell advised the governor-general on 16 May 2022 to dissolve Parliament a year earlier than the constitutional requirement. The New National Party subsequently lost

7410-420: The Jews"). The district around the city was known as Kūrat Ilbīra (roughly "Province of Elvira"). After 743 the town of Ilbīra was settled by soldiers from the region of Syria who played a role in supporting Abd al-Rahman I , the founder of the Emirate of Córdoba and a new Umayyad dynasty. In the late 9th century, during the reign of Abdallah (r. 844–912), the city and its surrounding district were

7540-426: The Latin word for pomegranate , granata . In either case, the Latin word may have been used not in its primary sense, but in the more derived sense of "red", referring to the color of the area's soil and its buildings. This would also mirror the etymology of the name of the Alhambra . The region surrounding what today is Granada has been populated since at least 5500   BC. Archeological artifacts found in

7670-436: The NJM. Though Bishop cooperated with Cuba and the USSR on various trade and foreign policy issues, he sought to maintain a non-aligned status . Hardline Marxist party members, including communist Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard , deemed Bishop insufficiently revolutionary and demanded that he either step down or enter into a power-sharing arrangement. On 16 October 1983, Bernard Coard and his wife, Phyllis, backed by

7800-457: The Nasrid court. Ibn Battuta , a famous traveller and historian, visited the Emirate of Granada in 1350. He described it as a powerful and self-sufficient kingdom in its own right, although frequently embroiled in skirmishes with the Kingdom of Castile. In his journal, Ibn Battuta called Granada the "metropolis of Andalusia and the bride of its cities." On 2 January 1492, the last Muslim ruler in Iberia, Emir Muhammad XII , known as "Boabdil" to

7930-435: The Nationalists, particularly from the working classes in the Albaicín, which was violently repressed. During the 1950s and 1960s, under the Franco regime , the province of Granada was one of the poorest areas in Spain. In recent decades tourism has become a major industry in the city. The city of Granada sits on the Vega de Granada , one of the depressions or plains located within the Baetic mountain ranges , continued to

SECTION 60

#1732844111837

8060-427: The Sabika hill, was a sluice gate called Bāb al-Difāf ("Gate of the Tambourines"), which could be closed or opened to control the flow of the river and retain water if necessary. The nearby Bañuelo , a former hammam (bathhouse), also likely dates from this time, as does the former minaret of a mosque in the Albaicín, now part of the Church of San José. Under the Zirid kings Habbus ibn Maksan and Badis ,

8190-401: The Socialist Party, four belonging to Citizens Party, three to Vamos, Granada and one to the United Left-Socialist Alternative-For the People. Luis Salvador , leader of Citizens , became mayor with support from the PP and Vox. Salvador resigned in 2021, having lost the support of the PP. He was succeeded by the Socialist Francisco Cuenca who had previously served as mayor from 2016-2019. In

8320-430: The Spanish, surrendered complete control of the Emirate of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs ( Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile ), after the last episode of the Granada War . The 1492 capitulation of the Kingdom of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs is one of the most significant events in Granada's history. It brought the demise of the last Muslim-controlled polity in the Iberian Peninsula. The terms of

8450-434: The St. George's Anglican Church and the St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (Scots Kirk) were restored in 2021). On July 1, 2024, Hurricane Beryl slammed into Grenada, causing damage throughout the country but especially in Carriacou and Petite Martinique, where the eye of the storm passed. Beryl gained international attention, in part, because of its rapid intensification from a tropical storm to Category 4 hurricane within just

8580-442: The United States for assistance. On 25 October 1983, combined forces from the United States and the Regional Security System (RSS) based in Barbados invaded Grenada in an operation codenamed Operation Urgent Fury . The US stated this was done at the behest of Barbados, Dominica and Governor-General Paul Scoon . Scoon had requested the invasion through secret diplomatic channels, but it was not made public for his safety. Progress

8710-447: The Wood Commission of 1921–22 concluded that Grenada was ready for constitutional reform in the form of a modified Crown colony government. This modification granted Grenadians the right to elect five of the 15 Legislative Council members on a restricted property franchise, enabling the wealthiest 4% of adult Grenadians to vote. Marryshow was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1943 . In 1950, Eric Gairy founded

8840-482: The army. During this period, the Muslim king was looked upon as a mainly symbolic figurehead. Granada was the center of Jewish Sephardi culture and scholarship. According to Daniel Eisenberg: Granada was in the eleventh century the center of Sephardic civilization at its peak, and from 1027 until 1066 Granada was a powerful Jewish state. Jews did not hold the foreigner ( dhimmi ) status typical of Islamic rule. Samuel ibn Nagrilla, recognized by Sephardic Jews everywhere as

8970-399: The building of the historic Royal Chancery , as well as the Superior Prosecutor's Office of Andalusia, located in the building of the Bank of Spain. It has a Provincial Court, located in Corteza del Carmen Street, and is also head of the Judicial Party No. 3 of the province, whose demarcation includes the city and 49 towns, some of them very populated, in the metropolitan area region. Most of

9100-515: The capital, Madrid . Between 1810 and 1812 Granada was occupied by Napoleon 's army during the Peninsular War . The French troops occupied the Alhambra as a fortified position and caused significant damage to the monument. Upon evacuating the city, they attempted to dynamite the whole complex, successfully blowing up eight towers before the remaining fuses were disabled by Spanish soldier José Garcia, thus saving what remains today. In 1830 Washington Irving lived in Granada and wrote his Tales of

9230-400: The capital. Although it is not formally constituted as a political and administrative body, there are several public services that are combined. The arrival of many inhabitants of the capital and other towns in the province, influences a large population growth . Despite the fact that the capital loses inhabitants, who move to neighboring towns. The main causes of the exodus towards the towns of

9360-465: The case of the conversos accused of the charge of crypto-Judaism ). Over the course of the 16th century, Granada took on an ever more Catholic and Castilian character, as immigrants arrived from other regions of Castile, lured by the promise of economic opportunities in the newly conquered city. At the time of the city's surrender in 1492 it had a population of 50,000 which included only a handful of Christians (mostly captives), but by 1561 (the year of

9490-656: The city have survived in the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo (late 13th century) and the Dar al-Horra (15th century). Partly due to the heavy tributary payments to Castile, Granada's economy specialized in the trade of high-value goods. Integrated within the European mercantile network, the ports of the kingdom fostered intense trading relations with the Genoese , but also with the Catalans, and to

9620-578: The city indicate that the site of the city, including the area around the present-day avenue of Gran Vía de Colón , was inhabited since the Bronze Age . The most ancient ruins found in the area belong to an oppidum called Ilturir , founded by the Iberian Bastetani tribe around 650   BC. The name Elibyrge is also attested in reference to this area. This settlement became later known as Iliberri or Iliberis . In 44   BC Iliberis became

9750-477: The city with two massive heat waves that broke long-standing record temperatures starting on June 13, 2017, with a new maximum high for the month at 40.6 °C (old record 40.0), which was topped three times within the span of four days at 40.9 °C on June 14, 41.3 (June 15) and, eventually, 41.5 (June 17). The second extreme surge in temperatures followed roughly a month later when readings soared to 45.7 and 45.3 °C on July 12 and 13, respectively, surpassing

9880-562: The city. The pomegranate (in Spanish, granada ) is the heraldic device of Granada. Granada's historical name in the Arabic language was غرناطة ( Ġarnāṭa ). Both the name's meaning and origin are uncertain and have been debated. The toponym definitely existed prior to the Zirid period in the 11th century. It probably first appeared in the 9th century and it is found in Arabic sources from

10010-421: The courts are located in two administrative buildings, in Plaza Nueva and Avenida del Sur. The set of judicial bodies is as follows: Its political administration is carried out through a City Council, of democratic management, whose components are chosen every four years by universal suffrage. The electoral roll is composed of all residents registered in Granada over 18 years of age, of Spanish nationality and of

10140-707: The creation of a number of other new institutions such as the Cathedral Cabildo, the Captaincy–General  [ es ] , the Royal Chapel and the Royal Chancellery . For the rest of the 16th century the Granadan ruling oligarchy featured roughly a 40% of (Jewish) conversos and about a 31% of hidalgos . From the 1520s onward, the mosque structures themselves began to be replaced with new church buildings,

10270-505: The crowd to the island's military headquarters to reassert his power. Grenadian soldiers were dispatched in armoured vehicles by the Coard faction to retake the fort. A confrontation between soldiers and civilians at the fort ended in gunfire and panic. Three soldiers and at least eight civilians died in the tumult that also injured 100 others, a school-sponsored study later found in 2000. When the initial shooting ended with Bishop's surrender, he and

10400-407: The economy. The expelled population was redistributed to other cities throughout the Crown of Castile. The final expulsion of all moriscos from Castile and Aragon was carried out between 1609 and 1614. During the 17th century, despite the importance of immigration, the population of the city stagnated at about 55,000, contrary to the trend of population increase experienced in the rural areas of

10530-475: The first royal census of the city) the population was composed of over 30,000 Christian immigrants and approximately 15,000 moriscos . After 1492 the city's first churches had been installed in some converted mosques. The vast majority of the city's remaining mosques were subsequently converted into churches during and after the mass conversions of 1500. In 1531, Charles V founded the University of Granada on

10660-412: The formation of Grenada including Grenada's capital St. George's with its horseshoe-shaped harbour, the carenage. Two extinct volcanoes, which are now crater lakes, Grand Etang Lake and Lake Antoine , would have also contributed to the formation of Grenada. Grenada is a constitutional monarchy with Charles III as head of state , represented locally by a governor-general . Executive power lies with

10790-411: The former Roman town or it may have taken place somewhere in the surrounding region, which was known as Elvira. The Umayyad conquest of Hispania , starting in 711   AD, brought large parts of the Iberian Peninsula under Moorish control and established al-Andalus . The earliest Arabic historical sources mention that a town named Qashtīliya , later known as Madīnat Ilbīra (Elvira), was located on

10920-404: The founder of the city of Granada. His surviving memoirs – the only ones for the Spanish "Middle Ages" – provide considerable detail for this brief period. Because Madīnat Ilbīra was situated on a low plain and, as a result, difficult to protect from attacks, the ruler decided to transfer his residence to the higher situated area of Ġarnāṭa . According to Arabic sources Ilbīra was razed during

11050-508: The head of government, the prime minister . The governor-general role is mainly ceremonial, while the prime minister is usually the leader of the largest party in Parliament . The Parliament of Grenada consists of a Senate (13 members) and a House of Representatives (15 members). The government and the opposition recommend appoints of senators to the governor-general, while the population elect representatives for five-year terms. Grenada operates

11180-487: The hill now occupied by the Albaicín neighborhood. It was connected to two smaller fortresses on the Sabika hill (site of the future Alhambra) and Mauror hill to the south. The city around it grew during the 11th century to include the Albaicín, the Sabika, the Mauror, and a part of the surrounding plains. The city was fortified with walls encompassing an area of approximately 75 hectares . The northern part of these walls, near

11310-522: The indigenous peoples there. The first known settlement attempt was a failed venture by the English in 1609, but they were massacred and driven away by the native "Carib" peoples. In 1649, a French expedition of 203 men from Martinique , led by Jacques Dyel du Parquet , founded a permanent settlement on Grenada. They signed a peace treaty with the Carib chief Kairouane , but within months conflict broke out between

11440-588: The island during the American Revolutionary War , after Comte d'Estaing won the bloody land and naval Battle of Grenada in July 1779. However, the island was restored to Britain with the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. A decade later, dissatisfaction with British rule led to a pro-French revolt in 1795–96 led by Julien Fédon , which was successfully defeated by the British. As Grenada's economy grew, more and more African slaves were forcibly transported to

11570-410: The island has suffered only four landfalling hurricanes in the last several decades. Hurricane Janet passed over Grenada on 23 September 1955, with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph), causing severe damage. The most recent storm to hit Grenada was Hurricane Beryl on 1 July 2024, a strong category 4 hurricane which set the record for the earliest forming Category 5 Hurricane in recorded history and

11700-400: The island of Carriacou, causing widespread damage across all of Grenada and Carriacou. On Carriacou, there was no electricity and limited communication. Throughout the rest of the country, 95% of customers had no power and telecommunications were also damaged. Mitchell was defeated in the 2008 election by the NDC under Tillman Thomas ; however, he won the 2013 Grenadian general election by

11830-540: The island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique , and several small islands which lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. Its size is 348.5 square kilometres (134.6 sq mi), with an estimated population of 114,621 in 2024. Its capital is St. George's . Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops. 12°07′N 61°40′W  /  12.117°N 61.667°W  / 12.117; -61.667 Before

11960-521: The island. Britain eventually outlawed the slave trade within the British Empire in 1807. Slavery was completely outlawed in 1833, leading to the emancipation of all enslaved by 1838. To ease the subsequent labour shortage, migrants from India were brought to Grenada in 1857. Nutmeg was introduced to Grenada in 1843 when a merchant ship called in on its way to England from the East Indies. The ship had

12090-599: The largest neighborhood or 'barrio'. Traditionally populated by Romani people, now many residents are from North and West Africa, China, and many South American countries. Every Saturday morning it hosts a large outdoor market or "mercadillo", where many people come and sell their wares of fruits and vegetables, clothes and shoes, and other bits and bobs. Granada produces agricultural products such as barley, wheat, sugarcane and tobacco. Besides these crops, olive trees as well as oranges, lemons, figs, almonds, and pomegranates are also commonly grown. For manufacturing, sugar refining

12220-517: The late 11th century to the early 13th century, Al-Andalus was dominated by two successive North African Berber empires. The Almoravids ruled Granada from 1090 and the Almohads from 1166. Granada also served as an administrative capital of Almoravid rule in al-Andalus. Evidence from the artistic and archeological remains of this period suggest that the city thrived under the Almoravids but declined under

12350-594: The late 1970s and early 1980s was once again brought into the public consciousness with the opening of the truth and reconciliation commission . The commission was chaired by a Roman Catholic priest , Father Mark Haynes, and was tasked with uncovering injustices arising from the PRA, Bishop's regime, and before. It held a number of hearings around the country. Brother Robert Fanovich, head of Presentation Brothers' College (PBC) in St. George's, tasked some of his senior students with conducting

12480-703: The main island of Grenada, mainly on the windward and northern portions of the island. Grenada was also impacted by Hurricane Ivan on 7 September 2004, which caused severe damage and thirty-nine deaths, and Hurricane Emily on 14 July 2005, which peaked as a category 5 hurricane on July 16 over the greater Caribbean region. Hurricane Emily caused serious damage in Carriacou and in the north of Grenada, which had been relatively lightly affected by Hurricane Ivan; Grenada has had to be put on Tropical Storm Watch several times since. It took over five years to officially recover from Ivan, although recovery continued for decades after (e.g.,

12610-429: The metropolitan area are, mainly, the difficulty of accessing a home in the capital because of the high prices it has and labor reasons, because in the towns of the periphery the majority are being located of industrial estates. The city of Granada is the capital of the province of the same name, thus all administrative entities of provincial scope dependent on the regional government and the state are located there. There

12740-664: The most powerful figure was the Jewish administrator known as Samuel ha-Nagid (in Hebrew ) or Isma'il ibn Nagrilla (in Arabic). Samuel was a highly educated member of the former elites of Cordoba, who fled that city after the outbreak of the Fitna. He eventually found his way to Granada, where Habbus ibn Maksan appointed him his secretary in 1020 and entrusted him with many important responsibilities, including tax collection. Under Badis, he even took charge of

12870-545: The name "Grenada" is obscure, but it is likely that Spanish sailors named the island for the Andalusian city of Granada . The name "Granada" was recorded by Spanish maps in the 1520s and referred to the islands to the north as Los Granadillos ("Little Granadas"); although those named islands were deemed the property of the King of Spain , there are no records to suggest the Spanish ever attempted to settle Grenada. The French maintained

13000-493: The name (as "La Grenade" in French) after settlement and colonisation in 1649. On 10 February 1763, the island of La Grenade was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris . The British renamed it "Grenada", one of many place-name anglicisations they made there. The island was given its first European name by Christopher Columbus who sighted it on his third voyage to the region in 1498 and named it "La Concepción" in honour of

13130-478: The old July record by almost 3 degrees. In the municipality of Granada there are five urban areas: Granada city, Alquería del Fargue, Bobadilla, Cerrillo de Maracena and Lancha del Genil. Due to the expansion of Granada city, Cerrillo de Maracena has been integrated into it. According to the municipal register of inhabitants, in 2021 the municipality of Granada had a population of 231,775 people, of whom 106,987 were men (46.15%) and 124,738 were women (53.85%). Since

13260-545: The operation that led to the executions. Fourteen were sentenced to death , one was found not guilty, and three were sentenced to 45 years in prison. The death sentences were eventually commuted to terms of imprisonment. Those in prison have become known as the " Grenada 17 ". When US troops withdrew from Grenada in December 1983, Governor-General Scoon appointed an interim advisory council chaired by Nicholas Brathwaite to organise new elections. The first democratic elections since 1976 were held in December 1984 , and were won by

13390-727: The other member countries of the European Union. According to the provisions of the General Electoral Regime Law, which establishes the number of eligible councilors according to the population of the municipality, the Municipal Corporation of Granada is made up of 27 councilors. In the municipal elections held in 2019 the constitution of the City Council was eleven councilors belonging to the Popular Party , eight to

13520-716: The prime minister of Caliph Hisham II (r. 976–1009) and successor to Ibn Abi ʿAmir al-Mansur (Almanzor) as de facto ruler of the Caliphate of Córdoba . For their service, the Zirids were granted control of the province of Elvira. When the Caliphate collapsed after 1009 and the Fitna (civil war) began, the Zirid leader Zawi ben Ziri established an independent kingdom for himself, the Taifa of Granada . Arab sources such as al-Idrisi consider him to be

13650-464: The quasi-political ha-Nagid ('The Prince'), was king in all but name. As vizier he made policy and—much more unusual—led the army. [...] It is said that Samuel's strengthening and fortification of Granada was what permitted it, later, to survive as the last Islamic state in the Iberian peninsula. All of the greatest figures of eleventh-century Hispano-Jewish culture are associated with Granada. Moses Ibn Ezra

13780-512: The region. With the Reconquista in full swing, the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon – under kings Ferdinand III and James I , respectively – made major conquests across al-Andalus. Castile captured Cordoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248 . Meanwhile, the ambitious Ibn al-Ahmar (Muhammad I) established what became the last and longest reigning Muslim dynasty in the Iberian peninsula,

13910-476: The remaining islands to the north belong to St Vincent and the Grenadines. Most of the population lives in Grenada, and major towns there include the capital, St. George's, Grenville and Gouyave . The largest settlement on the sister islands is Hillsborough on Carriacou. Grenada is of volcanic origin, as evident in its soil, mountainous interior, and several explosion craters, including Lake Antoine, Grand Etang Lake , and Levera Pond . Grenada's highest point

14040-545: The result of either the "Carib Invasion" (although highly contested), regional droughts, or both. In 1498, Christopher Columbus was the first European to report sighting Grenada during his third voyage, naming it 'La Concepción', but Amerigo Vespucci may have renamed it 'Mayo' in 1499. Although it was deemed the property of the King of Spain, there are no records to suggest the Spanish attempted to settle. However, various Europeans are known to have passed and both fought and traded with

14170-650: The same name: Cartuja. This is an old monastery started in a late Gothic style with Baroque exuberant interior decorations. In this district also, many buildings were created with the extension of the University of Granada . The toponym derives from a gate (Bab al-Ramla, or the Gate of the Ears ) that was built when Granada was controlled by the Nasrid dynasty . Nowadays, Bib-Rambla is a high point for gastronomy, especially in its terraces of restaurants, open on beautiful days. The Arab bazaar ,

14300-465: The site of conflict between muwallad s (Muslim converts) who were loyal to the central government and Arabs, led by Sawwār ibn Ḥamdūn, who resented them. At the beginning of the 11th century, the area became dominated by the Zirids, a Sanhaja Berber group and offshoot of the Zirids who ruled parts of North Africa . This group became an important contingent in the army of ʿAbd al-Malik al-Muẓaffar ,

14430-578: The site of the former madrasa built by Yusuf I. Granada's Town Council did not fully establish until almost nine years after the Castilian conquest, upon the concession of the so-called 'Constitutive Charter' of the Ayuntamiento of Granada on 23 September 1500. From then on, the municipal institution became a crucible for the " Old Christian " and the converted morisco elites, resulting in strong factionalism, particularly after 1508. The new period also saw

14560-488: The southern slopes of the Sierra de Elvira mountains (near present-day Atarfe ) and became the most important settlement in the area. A smaller settlement and fortress ( ḥiṣn ) named Ġarnāṭa (also transliterated as Gharnāṭa) existed on the south side of the Darro River or on the site of the current Albaicín neighbourhood. The latter had a mainly Jewish population and thus was also known as Gharnāṭat al-Yahūd (" Gharnāṭa of

14690-693: The strongest hurricane to develop within the Main Development Region (MDR) of the Atlantic before the month of July. While all three inhabited Grenadian islands were impacted, it passed directly over the island of Carriacou causing total devastation and the damage and destruction of many vessels (both in water and ashore) in Tyrrel Bay and the Carriacou Mangroves. Petit Martinique also suffered considerable damage with much more limited damage occurring on

14820-516: The summer months. Winters are cool and damp, with most of the rainfall concentrated from November through to January. The coldest month is January with daytime temperatures hovering at 13 °C (55 °F) and dropping to around 1 °C (34 °F) during the night. Frost is common as temperatures usually reach below-freezing in the early morning. Snow is rare and occurs once every few years. Spring and autumn are unpredictable, with temperatures ranging from mild to warm. Early summer in 2017 confronted

14950-521: The surrender, outlined in the Treaty of Granada at the end of 1491, explicitly allowed the Muslim inhabitants, known as mudéjares , to continue unmolested in the practice of their faith and customs. This had been a traditional practice during Castilian (and Aragonese ) conquests of Muslim cities since the takeover of Toledo in the 11th century. The terms of the surrender pressured Jewish inhabitants to convert or leave within three years, but this provision

15080-461: The time, struck the northern part of the island with 80-knot (150 km/h; 92 mph) winds, killing one person and causing an estimated US$ 110 million (EC$ 297 million) worth of damage. Agriculture, and in particular the nutmeg industry, suffered serious losses, but that event caused changes in crop management and it is hoped that as new nutmeg trees mature, the industry will gradually rebuild. On July 1, 2024, Hurricane Beryl (2024) struck

15210-543: The two communities. This lasted until 1654 when the island was completely subjugated by the French. Warfare continued during the 1600s between the French on Grenada and the Caribs of present-day Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines . Chocolate was brought to Grenada in 1714 with the introduction of cocoa beans . The French named their new colony La Grenade, and the economy was initially based on sugar cane and indigo , worked by African slaves. The French established

15340-604: The west by those of Archidona and Antequera and to the East by those of Guadix , Baza and Huéscar. The fertile soil of the Vega, apt for agriculture, is irrigated by the water streams originated in Sierra Nevada , as well as minor secondary ranges, all drained by the catchment basin of the Genil River , that cuts across the city centre following an east to west direction. The Monachil ,

15470-568: Was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris . British rule continued until 1974 (except for a brief French takeover between 1779 and 1783). However, on 3 March 1967, it was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs as an Associated State , and from 1958 to 1962, Grenada was part of the Federation of the West Indies , a short-lived federation of British West Indian colonies . Independence

15600-465: Was from Granada; on his invitation Judah ha-Levi spent several years there as his guest. Ibn Gabirol ’s patrons and hosts were the Jewish viziers of Granada, Samuel ha-Nagid and his son Joseph. After Samuel's death, his son Joseph took over after his position but proved to lack his father's diplomacy, bringing on the 1066 Granada massacre , which ended the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain . From

15730-563: Was granted on 7 February 1974 under the leadership of Eric Gairy , who became the first prime minister of Grenada as a sovereign state . The new country became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. In March 1979, the Marxist–Leninist New Jewel Movement overthrew Gairy's government in a bloodless coup d'état and established the People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), headed by Maurice Bishop as prime minister. Bishop

15860-477: Was granted on 7 February 1974 under the leadership of Eric Gairy, who became the first prime minister of Grenada . Grenada opted to remain within the Commonwealth , retaining Queen Elizabeth as Monarch , represented locally by a governor-general . Civil conflict gradually broke out between Eric Gairy's government and some opposition parties, including the Marxist New Jewel Movement (NJM). Gairy and

15990-561: Was its Great Mosque (on the site of the present-day Granada Cathedral ) and the commercial district known as the qaysariyya (the Alcaicería ). Next to this was the only major madrasa built in al-Andalus, the Madrasa al-Yusufiyya (known today as the Palacio de la Madraza ), founded in 1349. Other monuments from this era include the al-Funduq al-Jadida ("New Inn" or caravanserai , now known as

16120-546: Was later arrested and executed by members of the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA), which was used to justify a U.S.-led invasion in October 1983. Since then, the island has returned to a parliamentary representative democracy and has remained politically stable . A Governor General represents the Head of State. The country is currently headed by King Charles III , King of Grenada , and 14 other commonwealth realms . The origin of

16250-527: Was part of the Federation of the West Indies . After the federation's collapse, Grenada was granted full autonomy over its internal affairs as an Associated State on 3 March 1967. Herbert Blaize of the Grenada National Party (GNP) was the first Premier of the Associated State of Grenada from March to August 1967. Eric Gairy served as Premier from August 1967 until February 1974. Independence

16380-469: Was quickly superseded by the Alhambra Decree , issued only a few months later on March 31, which instead forced all Jews in Spain to convert or be expelled within four months. Those who converted became known as conversos (converts). This move, along with the progressive erosion of other guarantees provided by the surrender treaty, raised tensions and fears within the remaining Muslim community during

16510-466: Was rapid, and within four days the Americans had removed the military government of Hudson Austin. The invasion was criticised by the governments of Britain, Trinidad and Tobago , and Canada. The United Nations General Assembly condemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law" by a vote of 108 to 9, with 27 abstentions. The United Nations Security Council considered a similar resolution, which

16640-555: Was supported by 11 countries. However, the United States vetoed the motion. After the invasion, the pre-revolutionary Grenadian constitution came into operation once again. Eighteen members of the PRG/PRA were arrested on charges related to the murder of Maurice Bishop and seven others. The 18 included the top political leadership of Grenada at the time of the execution, along with the entire military chain of command directly responsible for

16770-631: Was the Jewish district in the time of the Nasrid Granada. (The centuries since the Jewish population were so important that Granada was known in Al-Andalus under the name of "Granada of the Jews", Arabic : غرناطة اليهود Gharnāṭah al-Yahūd .) It is today a district made up of many Granadinian villas, with gardens opening onto the streets, called Los Cármenes . This district contains the Carthusian monastery of

16900-442: Was the presence of Cuban construction workers and military personnel building a 10,000-foot (3,000 m) airstrip on Grenada. Bishop had stated the purpose of the airstrip was to allow commercial jets to land, but some US military analysts argued that the only reason for constructing such a long and reinforced runway was so that it could be used by heavy military transport planes. The contractors, American and European companies, and

#836163