n.
officially Commonwealth of Dominica
Island republic of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique .
Area: 285 sq mi (739 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 71,700. Capital: Roseau . The majority of the people are of African or mixed African and European descent. Languages: English (official), French patois. Religion: mainly Roman Catholicism. Currency: Eastern Caribbean dollar. A mountainous island, it is broken midway by a plain drained by the Layou River. It has a warm tropical climate with heavy rainfall. Among the poorest of the Caribbean nations, its main crop is bananas. A developing tourist trade was helped by the establishment in 1975 of Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a unique tropical mountain wilderness, but the country was ravaged by hurricanes in 1979 and 1980. With financial help from Britain, it is trying to protect its coastline. It is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and its head of government is the prime minister. At the time of Christopher Columbus 's arrival in 1493, it was inhabited by the Carib s. With its steep coastal cliffs and inaccessible mountains, it was one of the last islands to be explored by Europeans, and the Caribs remained in possession until the 18th century; it was then settled by the French and ultimately taken by Britain in 1783. Subsequent hostilities between the settlers and the native inhabitants resulted in the Caribs' near extinction. Incorporated with the Leeward Islands in 1833 and with the Windward Islands in 1940, it became a member of the West Indies Federation in 1958. Dominica became independent in 1978. See also West Indies .