Dominica Emigration and Immigration

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Dominica

Emigration and Immigration

Online Sources

• 1813-1834 Former British Colonial Dependencies, Slave Registers, 1813-1834 at Ancestry, ($), indexed.
• 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.

Background

• The vast majority of Dominicans are of African descent.
• There is a growing mixed population along with a small European origin minority (descendants of French and British colonists along with some people of Irish descent from indentured servants) and there are small numbers of Lebanese, Syrians and Asians.
• Dominica is also the only Eastern Caribbean island that still has a population of pre-Columbian native Kalinago (previously called Caribs), who were exterminated or driven from neighboring islands. As of 2014 there are more than 3,000 Kalinago remaining. They live in eight villages on the east coast of Dominica. This special Carib Territory (now Kalinago Territory) was granted by the British Crown in 1903.
• The population growth rate of Dominica is very low, due primarily to emigration to other countries. In the early 21st century, emigrant numbers for the most popular countries are as follows: the United States (8,560), the United Kingdom (6,739), Canada (605), and France (394).
• Dominica was partially integrated into the federal colony of the Leeward Islands in 1832. Later, in 1871, it became a full part of the Federation of the Leeward Islands. As Leeward Island, with thousands of acres of forested unclaimed land, was open to the people of Montserrat and Antigua. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Rose's Company, which produced Rose's lime juice, saw demand for its product outgrow its ability to supply the product from Montserrat. Their response to the situation was to buy land on Dominica and encourage Montserrat farm labourers to relocate.
• In 1902, on 8 May, the Mount Pelée volcano on Martinique erupted destroying the city of Saint-Pierre. Refugees from Martinique arrived in boats to the southern villages of Dominica and some remained permanently on the island.