Bequia ( or ) is the largest island in the Grenadines at . It is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is approximately from the nation's capital, Kingstown, on the main island, Saint Vincent. Bequia means "island of the clouds" in the ancient Arawak. The island's name was also 'Becouya' as part of the Grenadines.
Bequia has a history of whaling which was introduced by the Yankee whalers in the 19th century. Its people are only allowed to catch up to four humpback whales per year using traditional hunting methods. The limit is rarely met, with no catch some years.
Geography
Bequia is a small island, measuring with a population of approximately 5,300. The native population are primarily a mixture of people of African, Scottish and Kalinago descent. A substantial number of white Barbadians also settled the Mount Pleasant area of Bequia in the 1860s. Many of their descendants still inhabit the area. Other highly populated areas include the island capital, Port Elizabeth, which hosts the ferry terminal and Paget Farm, which hosts the airport. There are also villages at Lower Bay, La Pompe, Hamilton and Belmont. Other prominent areas of Bequia include Spring, the site of a former coconut plantation and home to agricultural animals, Industry Bay and Park Bay, where the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary is located.
The island's hills are much lower than the peaks of St. Vincent, to the north, so they do not receive as many rain showers.
Princess Margaret, who had a home on nearby Mustique, visited Bequia in the 1950s and had a beach renamed in her honour. Princess Margaret Beach is next to Port Elizabeth and is situated inside Admiralty Bay on the west coast. The beach was originally known as Tony Gibbons, and continues to be known by that name locally, though the origin of this name is uncertain. Also on the west coast are the island's main port and a large natural harbour.
Tourism
Bequia is popular among cruising yachts, expats and tourists. One of the busiest times of the year is the annual Easter Regatta and Music Fest.
Two scuba diving stores run dive trips to 28 identified dive sites around Bequia. There are several wrecks and shallow caves accessible to advanced divers. It is not unusual to see Hawksbill turtles, lobsters, moray eels and many kinds of fish when diving around Bequia.
History
Runaway and shipwrecked slaves inhabited the island of St. Vincent in the 17th century. According to an early account of the French West Indies, which considered Bequia as part of Grenada, Bequia was too inaccessible to colonize and Kalinago and Arawaks used the island for fishing and farming. A few Portuguese and Dutch slave ships en route to Sint Eustatius from West Africa reportedly shipwrecked on the Grenadine reefs. As a result of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713-1715), which brought an end to the War of Spanish Succession and established peace between the Spanish and British Empires, Great Britain obtained the lucrative monopoly over the Asiento slave trade.
Bequia was under French control in the 18th century and during the Seven Years' War with England, the island was used by the fleets of their Spanish and Dutch allies to take on supplies, while British ships were banned. The 1763 Treaty of Paris produced a significant re-alignment in the map of the Caribbean; St. Vincent and the Grenadine islands, including Grenada, were given to the British in exchange for Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Lucia. The name Petit Martinique comes from this era, as does Petit Saint Vincent. In 1779, the French seized the island, despite the treaty, but were forced to relinquish control to Britain again soon after.
The early 18th century saw the development of a sugar industry and the production of related products including molasses and rum. Other major produce included coffee, indigo and arrowroot. At one point in time, the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines were the single largest producer of arrowroot starch in the world. Currently, Hairoun and Vincy strong rum are major export products primarily to the European Union.
Under a programme instituted by Great Britain to give land to indigent settlers, James Hamilton, father of Alexander Hamilton, moved from St. Croix to Bequia in 1774 where he remained until 1790. The land granted to Hamilton lies along the shore of Southeast Bay. Despite his son's frequent gifts of money and entreaties to immigrate or at least visit him, neither visited the other.