The Island was originally known as ‘Camerhogue’, but Columbus renamed it Concepcion and passing Spanish sailors found it to be so evocative of Andalucia with its lush green mountainous scenery, that they called it Granada.

The Carib Indians successfully defended the Island from the aggressive attacks of the European invaders. Several attempts were made to settle from the early 17th Century, including an unsuccessful English invasion in 1609, followed by the French in 1638, but it was not until 1650 that a subsequent French expedition landed and made initial friendly contact.

Hostilities soon broke out however between the Caribs and the French when the latter endeavoured to exert their control over the Island. The Caribs fought a succession of battles but finally succumbed and the few remaining Indian defenders then jumped to their deaths from a precipice in the north of the island which the French named “Le Morne de Sauters” (Leapers Hill).

Despite foreign aggression, the Island was held by the French for the next ninety years. In St George’s Harbour, Fort George and Fort Frederick are historic reminders of fierce battles that took place between the French and the English at that time and still today, they command the strategic points of the horse-shoe bay.