Dominica is named after the Latin word for Sunday. But who would name a country after a day? Columbus did, because he spotted the island on a Sunday in 1493. The French and the Spanish were early birds to set up colonies in Dominica. By 1763, the island came under British control.
The French wouldn’t simply give up their colony which had fertile soil suitable for cultivation. The British conquered the island in an expedition in 1761. In addition to that, Britain won the Seven Years War defeating France, Spain and Portugal. France had to give up the island to the British because of this, in the Treaty of Paris of 1763.
After setting up colonies, the British started to bring slaves to work in plantations. Many slaves died under the inhuman treatment of the British masters. In 1833, slavery was abolished which improved the lives of plantation workers. Dominicans gained authority one step at a time and in 1978, they gained full independence and control over their affairs. Since then, Dominica is a parliamentary democracy that has elected representatives.
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