DOMINICA, the largest and extreme S. British island in the Leeward group of the Lesser Antilles; midway between the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe; area, 291 square miles; pop. about 37,000, mostly negro. The Caribs have become so intermixed with the negroes that the pure Carib, the "Franc Caribs," will soon be non-existent. They are very peaceable and retiring, and live on fish, and vegetables and fruits which they cultivate. Dominica is of volcanic origin, with many hot and sulphurous spring's. The temperature is cool and even chilly in the mountains, but sultry on the coast. Rain falls nearly every month, and the annual rainfall is 83 inches. Nearly one-half of the surface consists of wooded mountains and deep ravines, and at one point the surface at tains an elevation of 6,234 feet.
The rugged, broken, and precipitous character of Dominica is very disadvan tageous to the settler, and has confined agriculture to a narrow strip along the coast. The principal product is sugar,
but fruit, cocoa, and timber also are ex ported, and the fisheries are valuable.
The capital of the island is Roseau, a port on the W. coast, with a population of about 5,000. Dominica is a member of the Leeward Islands colony, and sends representatives to the general legislative council; but it has its own president, treasury, and local legislature. The majority of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics; religious equality now pre vails. Dominica was discovered by Co lumbus, on his second voyage, on Sunday (whence its name Dominica—i. e., "the Lord's Day"), Nov. 3, 1493. It was a source of strife to French and English till 1648, when it was formally declared by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle a neu tral island; but in 1759 it was captured by England, and in 1763 ceded by France, who, however, held it again in 1778-1783, and in 1802-1814, when it was finally re stored to England.