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

Previous
Previous

The Grenadian Revolution, Part 4: A Jewel Shines Through

Next
Next

The Grenadian Revolution, Part 2: The Rise of Gairyism