St. George's

St. George's was founded by the French in 1650, the year Jacques Dyel du Parquet, governor of Martinique, began the colonisation of Grenada — a campaign that virtually exterminated the island's Carib population. The first settlement, Port Louis, stood at the eastern edge of the harbour, but it flooded and was plagued by malaria, so a new town, Ville de Fort Royal, was built beside the promontory where a wooden fort had gone up in 1666. A stone star fort with four bastions replaced it between 1705 and 1710. The harbour, a flooded side crater of the volcano that formed the island, sheltered on the leeward coast, made the town the island's port from the start.

When Grenada passed to Britain in 1763 the town was renamed St. George's, after England's patron saint, and Fort Royal became Fort George. The French recaptured the island in 1779, attacking from inland rather than the sea, and began Fort Frederick on Richmond Hill before the 1783 peace returned Grenada to Britain, which finished the chain of hilltop forts. A great fire swept the town in 1775. In the 1880s St. George's became the capital of the British Windward Islands colony, and it remained the capital at independence in 1974.

Fort George was renamed Fort Rupert after the 1979 revolution, and Maurice Bishop was executed in its courtyard during the factional coup of October 1983, days before the United States-led invasion; the old name returned afterwards. Hurricane Ivan in 2004 damaged most of the island's homes and wrecked churches and York House, the parliament building, which was abandoned for new premises. The Anglican church stood in ruins for a decade before being restored. Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 left about 95 per cent of the island's residents without power.

The town's culture is Afro-Caribbean and Anglophone with a French Catholic layer, visible in the cathedral on the ridge and in the capital's Grenadian Creole French name, Sen Jòj. Churches of several denominations stand within a few hundred yards of each other on Church Street, and Sunday services remain central to life in the parish.

Carnival, now called Spicemas, is the year's great event, held over two weeks in August with the big parades on the last two days. Soca, calypso and reggae, the music of Grenada's carnival, fill the town, and jab-jabbers daubed in tar embrace as many bystanders as they can catch.

Sport draws crowds too. The National Cricket Stadium, formerly Queen's Park, has hosted Grenadian cricket since the 19th century, Test matches and the 2007 Cricket World Cup, and the neighbouring athletics stadium is named after the sprinter Kirani James. The Christ of the Abyss statue on the Carenage recalls the loss of the Italian liner Bianca C., which was destroyed by fire in the port of St. George's: in 1961 the city of Genoa presented the statue in gratitude for the rescue efforts.

St. George's Parish, which includes the town, the Grand Anse strip and the airport peninsula, had about 35,600 people at the 2001 count, making it the most populous parish in Grenada. The capital holds the government offices, the courts, the main hospital and the port, and minibuses converge on the town bus terminal from every corner of the island, making it the hub of the island's transport.

Tourism shapes the economy. Cruise liners call at the terminal north of Fort George, yachts clear customs in the harbour, and since the 1980s most hotels, restaurants and dive operators have grown up along Grand Anse rather than in the old town. The parish is also home to St. George's University, a private medical school and international university. Spices remain part of the economy too, and nutmeg, mace, cinnamon and cloves are sold in the town's market.

Rebuilding after storms is a recurring part of town life. After Hurricane Ivan, the official recovery took over five years, and the rebuilt cricket stadium hosted World Cup matches in 2007. Some damaged landmarks, such as York House, have never been restored, while others, such as the Anglican parish church and the cathedral, have been restored or rebuilt.

Grenadian cooking is spice-forward Creole, and the national dish, oil down, is cooked across the island: breadfruit, salted meat, dumplings and vegetables simmered in coconut milk until the milk is absorbed and only a little coconut oil is left at the bottom of the pot. Callaloo leaves are often laid on top to hold in the steam and add flavour. Indian and Amerindian influences run through the rest of the island's food.

Spices are everywhere. Nutmeg and mace come from the same fruit — the lacy red covering of the seed becomes mace, the seed itself nutmeg — and both turn up in cakes, sauces, drinks and desserts. Cinnamon and cloves season meat and baking, and sugar cane is still turned into rum. The produce market in the town is the place to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and bags of spices, and to see what is in season.

Fish is the other staple. Restaurants on the Carenage and along Grand Anse serve the day's catch, and up the west coast in Gouyave the streets close to traffic for Fish Friday, a weekly festival of fried and grilled fish dishes and entertainment founded to support the fishing town.