(1/6) Happy National Hero's Day!
Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' sole national hero.
📷: Painting by Calvert Jones
Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' sole national hero.
📷: Painting by Calvert Jones
(2/6)Chatoyer was a Garifuna (Black Carib) chief who led a resistance against the British Colonial Government. The first Carib War started in 1772 after tensions flared between the indigenous people and the British, who were trying at all cost to take control of Saint Vincent.
(3/6)The battle led to the signing of a peace treaty in 1773 that made sure that the Garifuna people would be left alone and the two parties would live in harmony. This was the first time that Britain had been forced to sign an accord with non-white people in the Caribbean.
(4/6)It became apparent that Britain had no intention of obeying the treaty and the Second Carib War began on March 14, 1795, led by the brave and mighty chief. He died in battle at Dorsetshire Hill.
(5/6)Following his death, the British Army exiled about 5000 Garifuna to Balliceaux Island. Half of them died on the island and those who remained were deported to Roatan Island off the coast of Honduras.
(6/6) Today, the Garifuna people reside in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala Nicaragua and the US. Yurumein, the Garifuna name for Saint Vincent, is recognised as their ancestral home.
Chatoyer is recognized with a monument (Obelisk) at Dorsetshire Hill, where he died.
Chatoyer is recognized with a monument (Obelisk) at Dorsetshire Hill, where he died.
