On thisday November 3 1978 dominica republic gain independence from the united kingdom. In 1914–1918 World War I, many Dominicans, mainly the sons of small farmers, volunteered to fight in Europe for the British Empire. After the war, an upsurge of political consciousness throughout the Caribbean led to the formation of the Representative Government Association. Marshaling public frustration with the lack of a voice in governing Dominica, this group won one-third of the popularly elected seats of the legislative assembly in 1924, and one-half in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Dominica was transferred from theLeeward Island Administration.[10] During World War II, some Dominicans volunteered in British and Caribbean forces. Thousands of Free French refugees from Martinique and Guadeloupe escaped to Dominica from the Vichy-controlled French islands and stayed in Roseau and villages.
Until 1958, Dominica was governed as part of the Windwards. Caribbean islands sought independence from 1958 to 1962, and Dominica became a province of the short-livedWest Indies Federation.[10] After the federation dissolved, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom in 1967 and formally took responsibility for its internal affairs. On 3 November 1978, the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence[10] and almost immediately, a republic. The British Crown was no longer the head of state.
In mid-1979, political discontent led to the formation of an interim government. After the 1980 elections, it was replaced by a government led by the Dominica Freedom Party under Prime Minister Eugenia Charles, the Caribbean's first female prime minister. Chronic economic problems were compounded by the severe impact of hurricanes in 1979 and in 1980.
In 1981, Dominica was threatened with a takeover by mercenaries[14] of Operation Red Dog led by Mike Perdue of Houston and Wolfgang Droege of Toronto, who tried to overthrow the government of Eugenia Charles. The North American mercenaries were to help ex-Prime Minister Patrick John and his Dominica Defence Force regain control of the island, in exchange for control over its future development. The United States FBI was tipped off, and the ship hired to transport the mercenaries never left dock. The mercenaries lacked formal military experience or training, and most of the crew had been misled into joining by the ringleader Mike Perdue. White nationalist Don Black was also jailed for his part in the attempt, which violated US neutrality laws.[15]
By the end of the 1980s, the economy recovered. It weakened again in the 1990s due to a decrease in banana prices and worldwide recession.[10]
In the January 2000 elections, the Edison James United Workers Party (UWP) was defeated by the Dominican Labour Party (DLP), led by Roosevelt P. "Rosie" Douglas. Douglas died after only a few months in office and was replaced by Pierre Charles, who died in office in January 2004. Roosevelt Skerrit, also of the DLP, replaced Charles as Prime Minister. Under Prime Minister Skerrit's leadership, the DLP won elections in May 2005 that gave the party 12 seats in the 21-member Parliament to the UWP's 8 seats. An independent candidate affiliated with the DLP won a seat as well. Later, the independent candidate joined the government and one UWP member crossed the aisle, making the total 14 seats for the DLP and 7 for the UWP.[10]
In the December 2009 elections, DLP won 18 of 21 seats. UWP claimed campaign improprieties and boycotted Parliament; by-elections were conducted for two of its seats in July 2010, and the UWP again won the seats.[16] On 17 September 2012 Eliud Thaddeus Williams was sworn in as President, replacing Dr Nicholas Liverpool who was reportedly removed from office due to ill health.
TBT; makes it 37 years .
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