Carib History

The Caribs of St. Vincent are believed to have lived on the island since about 1300. For hundreds of years, they thrived here by fishing and farming. These Caribs were known as “Red Caribs.” Most scholarly research on the St. Vincent Caribs states that some time before 1700, a wrecked slave ship deposited natives of Africa on the island, where they intermarried with the native Amerindians. These individuals were known as “Black Caribs” or Garifuna. However, other research points to the Afro-Olmecs of the Mende regions of West Africa as being ancestors of the Black Caribs/Garifuna.

More about Carib history can be found on the following websites:

History of the Caribs and Arawaks

The Garifuna (Black Caribs)

The ‘Carib’ Work Stones of Chateaubelair: curio or calendar system?

The History of the Carib Peoples of the Caribbean

SVG Guide’s Our History and People

Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink

The Caribs of St. Vincent