Dominica

the Dominica flag features the sisserou parrot, a bird found only on the island of Dominica.

Until this moment, I had no idea that Dominica was a different country from the Dominican Republic. Shows how much I need to do this project! I saw the flag once, which is really cool, and was wondering what country it was from. Now I know...

Dominica is an island nation on the Caribbean, one of the Lesser Antilles. The capital is Roseau, and the population is about 72,301. 

Before colonization, the island was inhabited mainly by the Kalinago/Arawak people. Spain colonized Dominica, then France, then England. When the island was under French control, France imported a lot of African slaves, which became the majority population. The majority of the population is still of African descent today. Dominica became independent from Britain in 1978.

Due to Dominica's mountainous topography, European powers historically chose other islands with easier terrain to build ports and cities. Because of this, Dominica largely escaped the big resort culture of other islands. This led to Dominica being known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean." Large swaths of pristine wilderness, coral reefs and beaches are protected from high-impact tourism in order to keep the island natural. 

Boiling Lake, the second largest hot spring in the world

Dominica's economy has a rising banking industry, being a popular tax haven, but mainly relies on agriculture and eco-tourism. It's main agricultural export is bananas, and soap is its primary industrial export. 

Eugenia Charles, first democratically elected black female head of state in the world.

FUN FACTS: The second woman head of state in the Caribbean was Mary Eugenia Charles, who was elected Prime Minister of Dominica in 1980. Charles was also the first democratically elected black female head of state in the world.