Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a country consisting of the volcanic island of St Vincent and the 32 smaller islands that constitute the Grenadines. After initial unsuccessful attempts by the British and Dutch to claim the territory it was first colonised by the French who introduced enslaved peoples from West Africa to work on the plantations. British control was confirmed by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, but the British and French continued to struggle for dominance until the early nineteenth century. Gained its independence from the UK in 1979 as a Commonwealth Realm. Current population c. 110,000.