In a rare imaginative lapse, Columbus simply named Dominica for the day he discovered it in 1493: Sunday. He didn't stick around long and, for over two centuries, interest in Dominica was virtually non-existent, so much so that a 1660 treaty between the British and French left it to the resident Caribs . The French rescinded the deal when they colonized Dominica in the 1720s, starting a near-century-long tug-of-war with the British, who finally trumped them in 1805. Even so, French influence has remained strong, abetted by Dominica's position between Martinique and Guadeloupe .

Little of note happened in the ensuing century, until Dominica received its independence in 1978, introducing a period of political instability that continues to this day. The island's first prime minister, Patrick John, was forced to resign in 1979 after making a questionable land deal with US developers. That same year, Hurricane David devastated much of the island's meagre infrastructure, and rebuilding was left to John's successor, Eugenia Charles, the Caribbean's first woman prime minister , who did so while surviving two coups against her. Subsequent leadership has been dogged by embezzlement and corruption charges, and though a beloved politician, Roosevelt "Rosie" Douglas, was elected prime minister in 2000, his sudden death just eight months later left the country under a coalition government, one that has inspired frequent political protests.