The Grenadian Revolution, Part 3: Aliens, Mongoose & the 1970’s
At the beginning of the 1970’s decade, Grenada's representative Jennifer Hosten, won the Miss World pageant and almost four years later, the country achieved one of its greatest fete: independence from the United Kingdom. Still, in the midst of this independence, the country was experiencing islandwide strikes and protests due to its economic deterioration and domestic repression in the hands of its premier now first prime minister, Eric Gairy. These were highlighted by the many cases of Gairy’s alleged bribes and corruption, real estates scams, extortion deals, sex scandals, international partnership for his own self interest, and his now growing obsession with religion and flying saucers. But even most alarming, they would have to wake up everyday and come face to face with the reality of one of the most famous institutions of Gairyism: the Mongoose Gang, Gairy's allegedly secret police which came down on anyone and anything that stood in his way of power.
Additional Knowledge
BOOKS
Black Power in the Caribbean by Kate Quinn
Big Revolution, Small Country: The Rise and Fall of the Grenada Revolution by Jay R. Mandle
Caribbean Revolutions and Revolutionary Theory: An Assessment of Cuba, Nicaragua and Grenada by Brian Meeks
Grenada: A History of Its People by Beverley A. Steele
Grenada: Tale of Uncle Gairy by Frank McDonald
Grenada: The Peaceful Revolution by Catherine Sunshine and Philip Wheaton
Grenada: The Jewel Deposited by Gordon K. Lewis
Reform and Revolution in Grenada, 1950 to 1981 by David Lewis
The Hero and the Crowd in a Colonial Polity by A.W. Singham
FICTIONAL BOOKS
Angel” A Novel by Merle Collins
ACADEMIC PAPERS
A Caribbean Story: Grenada's Journey - Possibilities, Contradictions, Lessons by Merle Collins
Charismatic Leadership and Popular Support: A Comparison of the Leadership Styles of Eric Gairy And Maurice Bishop by Pedro A. Noguera
Between Populism and Leninism: The Grenadian Experience by Colin Henfrey
Grenada: Eric Matthew Gairy and the Politics of Extravagance by Frank McDonald
Grenada In Contemporary Historiography by Ron Sookram
Grenada: Maxi-Crisis for Mini-State by Tony Thorndike
Ressentiment and the Gairy Social Revolution by Oliver Benoit
Shifts in Grenadian Migration: An Historical Perspective by Gail R. Pool
The Grenada General Election of 1976 by Patrick Emmanuel
What Happened? Grenada: A Retrospective Journey by Merle Collins
ARTICLES
Independent: ‘We’re not Ugly! We’re Not Beautiful! We’re Angry!’ The Feminists Who Flour Bombed the 1970 Miss World Pageant
Guardian: ‘I Heard The Signal – And Threw My Flour Bombs’: Why The 1970 Miss World Protest Is Still Making Waves
History Extra: Misbehaviour At Miss World: What Happened at the 1970 Beauty Pageant
Time: The First Black Miss World Looks Back on Her Tumultuous Win 50 Years Later
LETTERS
Institute of Current World Affairs - Grenada: Eric Mathew Gairy and the Politics of Extravagance (1969) by Frank McDonald
DOCUMENTARIES
Grenada: Colonialism and Conflict directed by Valerie Scoon
The Story of Sir Eric Gairy directed by Bev Sinclair
Universal Crowns - Miss World 1970: Beauty Queens and Bedlam
Caribbean Resources Institute - Grenada: The Future Coming Towards Us (1983)
MOVIES
Misbehaviour (2020), screenplay by Gaby Chiappe and Rebecca Frayn, directed by Philippa Lowthorpe,
PODCAST
Lest We Forget - Cindy Breakspeare, Michael Manley & Apartheid
BBC Witness History - The Miss World Protest