Descendants of enslaved Africans and Indigenous people interned on Baliceaux in 18th century hail ‘historic victory’

Members of the Garifuna community are celebrating “a historic and long-awaited victory” after the Caribbean nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) announced the purchase of a privately owned island where thousands of their ancestors perished from disease and starvation.

The uninhabited island of Baliceaux has long held great significance for the Garifuna people, the descendants of enslaved Africans and Indigenous Kalinago and Arawak people.