Dominica is an island country, divided with Haiti, geographically situated as part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. Its area is 750 km2 (290 sq mi), and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 m (4,747 ft) in elevation. 

The population is 11,033,047 in 2022, of which 73% identified as racially mixed; 16% as White; 11% as Black. There are unique communities of 3,000-3,500 Kalinago (Carib) still living on Dominica as the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the Caribbean.  Spanish is the official language in the Dominican Republic.

The Commonwealth of Dominica is one of the Caribbean's few republics. The President is the head of state, while executive power rests with the cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister.

National flower

Sabinea Carinalis is a wild indigenous pant commonly known as Carib Wood. When in bloom it displays bright scarlet flowers along the entire length of its branches, and can be found growing along dry coastal areas.

History

The island was originally settled by the skilled indigenous Taino–Arawak Indians who first settled on this side of the island before Christopher Columbus and the Spaniards arrived. They ran multiple kingdoms–each ruled by a chieftain or cacique–observed class distinctions, and coexisted peacefully. There were several valiant Taino leaders who stood up against Spanish colonization and slavery.

The Taino practised complex agriculture, but were also talented artisans, and believed in medicinal plants and natural remedies. Today, their only remaining signs are in the caverns where they left pictographs and petroglyphs.

It was later colonised by Europeans, predominantly by the French from the 1690s to 1763. The French imported enslaved people from West Africa to Dominica to work on coffee and sugarcane plantations.

This trade was established in 1763 before Dominica became a British colony in 1805. It used Dominica as part of the triangular trade, by which slaves were imported and sold as labour in the islands as part of a trade that included producing and shipping sugar and coffee as commodity crops to Europe. The Hillsborough Estate, which had 71 male and 68 female slaves, was part owned by the Greg family and Thomas Hodgson, a brother-in-law, who owned a slave ship. 

In 1835, following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, the first three men of African descent were elected to the legislative assembly of Dominica. Many slaves from the neighbouring French colonial islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique fled to Dominica. In 1838, Dominica became the first colony of the British West Indies to have an elected legislature controlled by an ethnic African majority. 

In 1865, after much agitation and tension, the plantation owners lobbied for more direct British rule and the colonial office replaced the elective assembly with one made up of one-half members who were elected and one-half who were appointed. Planters, who were allied with colonial administrators, outmanoeuvred the elected legislators on many occasions. In 1871, Dominica became part of the British Leeward Islands and the political power of the ethnic African population progressively eroded, with a Crown colony government re-established in 1896. All political rights were curtailed for blacks and people of colour, who were the overwhelming majority of the population. 

In World War I, many Dominicans, mainly the sons of small farmers, volunteered to fight in Europe for the British Empire. After the war, an upsurge of political consciousness throughout the Caribbean led to the formation of the Representative Government Association. Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom in 1967, and formally on 3 November 1978, Dominica was granted independence as a republic, led by Prime Minister Patrick John. 

The President is the head of state, while executive power rests with the cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister. The unicameral parliament consists of the 30-member House of Assembly, which consists of 21 directly elected members and nine senators, who may either be appointed by the president or elected by the other members of the House of Assembly. 

Geography, climate and environment

Dominica the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, is still being formed by geothermal volcanic activity, with the world's second-largest hot spring, called Boiling Lake. The island has lush mountainous rainforests, and it is the home of many rare plants, animals, and bird species. There are very dry habitats in the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall occurs inland. Dominica is a secure place for whale-watching, particularly during the mating and birthing season. In the north, manatees can be seen at Estero Hondo Marine Reserve and dolphins can be seen in the bay waters of Los Haitises National Park. Bird-watching is a big wildlife attraction, with 32 endemic species.

Dominica is especially vulnerable to hurricanes as the island is located in what is referred to as the hurricane region, In 1979, Hurricane David struck the island as a Category 4 hurricane, causing widespread and extreme damage and in August 2007, Hurricane Dean, a Category 1 hurricane caused some deaths and 100 to 125 homes damaged, with particular damage to the agricultural sector, particularly the banana crop. In August 2015, Tropical Storm Erika caused extensive flooding and landslides across the island, and in 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Maria struck the island and caused losses of approximately £22,688,490

Cultural music, dance and carnival

In addition to the African descendants, there are many immigrant communities such as Jewish, Japanese, French, Italian, who fled persecution during the 20th century as well as Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian communities, who migrated from the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century.

Mas Dominik is Carnival Festival in Dominica with various traditions particular to the combination of cultural traditions alive, such as the traditional creole dance parades and Bwa-Bwa stilt walkers originating from West Africa. The quadrille is an important symbol of French Antillean culture, and  is accompanied by a kind of ensemble called a jing ping band. Dominica's folk tradition includes folk songs called bélé and traditional storytelling called kont, with traditional costumes and headdresses reflecting French and west African influences.

Dominican popular music history can be traced back to the 1940s and '50s, when dance bands like the Casimir Brothers and, later, The Swinging Stars, became famous across the island. The first internationally known bands from Dominica were 1970s groups such as Exile One and the Grammacks. By the 1980s, however, Martinican zouk and other styles were more popular but with the formation of WCK, playing an experimental fusion of cadence-lypso with the island’s jing ping sound, the result became known as bouyon, and re-established Dominica’s popular music.  The World Creole Music festival now in its 12th year is unique in bringing music sung in French Patois across the world to Dominica and is promoted annually in October. 

Food dishes reflect the diversity of the island with catibias, made with grated yuca flour and filled with chicken, or cheese. Sancocho as an entrée or a main dish are chunks of boiled or cooked seafood (could be a mix of octopus, conch, fish, shrimp) with chopped vegetables á la vinaigrette.