History and Attractions of Kingstown

Kingstown is the largest city and port on Saint Vincent Island, the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and its commercial and political center.

Kingstown was founded by French settlers shortly after 1722. In 1763 the British took over the island, and from 1783 the islands became a British colony. The Island became a fully independent state within the British Commonwealth in 1979.

An accidental influx of population occurred in 1635, when a Dutch ship wrecked off Saint Vincent, and the West African slaves who had been passengers freed themselves and landed, merging with the island's Indian inhabitants. This was the time when was born a new ethnic group known as the Black Caribs or Garifuna.

Kingstown's main attraction is the Botanical Gardens of Saint Vincent and Grenadines, which was founded in 1765. They are located at 190 meters above sea level.

In the botanical garden you will also see the national bird - Saint Vincent Parrot (Amazona guildingii).

There are a few churches in Kingstown which were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. In particular, St. George's Cathedral is located on Granville Street. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of the Windward Islands, part of the Province of the West Indies.

St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption, which are the chapel, presbytery, and school in an eclectic 19th-century architectural style, including Gothic spires and Romanesque columns and arches.