Baliceaux is a small

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island and is one of the Grenadines chain of islands which lie between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

. Politically, it is part of the nation of

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

History

‘Discovered’ by Spanish navigators during the fifteenth century, this island of 1,35 km² has a long and interesting history. It got prominence during wars 1769–1795 within the Caribbean region. Island highest point ''Gun Hill'', almost 126 meters above sea level, served as an observation station for soldiers between 1772–1797. In the 1790s, the British army banished about 5,000 Black Caribs to Baliceaux following the defeat of the rebellion of Carib Chief Joseph Chatoyer in Saint Vincent. Due to starvation, disease, and sickness from exposure to the elements on the undeveloped island, more than half of the Garifuna people died on Baliceaux. Unsuccessful in their first attempt to eradicate the Garifuna population by way of exile to the barren island, The British exiled approximately 2,500 survivors to the island of Roatan, Honduras. Their descendants live today as the

Garifuna people The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and traditionally speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language. The Garifuna ...

in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the United States. The graves and remains of those who died on Baliceaux have never been officially marked or excavated; the island is essentially a graveyard. Due to this sensitive history and the obvious physical challenges, the development of the island is unpopular and unlikely. To commemorate these events every year in March ''Pilgrimage to Balliceaux'' is held. It coincides with ''National Hero's Day'' in St. Vincent. The privately-owned was offered for sale in 2023, with an asking price of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

30m; the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines intended in 2025 to acquire the island for the nation. In March 2025, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,

Ralph Gonsalves Ralph Everard Gonsalves (born 8 August 1946) is a Vincentian politician who has served as prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) since 2001.

, announced in parliament that the government had acquired Baliceaux due to its historical and cultural significance to the Garifuna people. He stated that the former owners would be given 'fair compensation within a reasonable time'."

References

Private islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Wars involving Saint Vincent and the Grenadines {{SaintVincent-geo-stub

History

See also

References