Royal Clipper

Union Island, 'Grenadines

1.16.22 - 1.16.22 85 °F

After a night and morning of cruising we anchored off the beautiful island cove of Union Island in the Grenadines. Although there was not much on the island, it was a nice beach afternoon in the crystal clear Caribbean Sea.

Union Island is part of the nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It has a surface of 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi) and lies about 200 km (120 miles) west-southwest of Barbados and is within view of the islands of Carriacou and the mainland of Grenada, which lies directly south.

Clifton and Ashton are the two principal towns. The island is home to just under 3,000 residents. The official language is English, however French and German are spoken by some merchants in Clifton as well.

After the original settlers, Arawak and Caribs, the island has been in the possession of French and English slave traders and plantation owners. They brought hundreds of Africans to the island, mostly from regions of Africa that are now Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Ghana. Sea island cotton was an important export crop.

When slavery was abolished, people still relied on farming and fishing. As a result, a lot of men went to sea to work on freighters to support their families. Union Island was the center of some political unrest in the late 1970s when a group of residents were in favour of secession from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and merger with southern neighbor Grenada. The insurrection was put down by forces of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Government.