Bequia

⭐ In the context of the Grenadines, Bequia’s name is most closely associated with what linguistic origin and its purported meaning?

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⭐ Core Definition: Bequia

Bequia (/ˈbɛkw/ BEK-wee or /ˈbɛkw/ BEK-way) is the second-largest island in the Grenadines at 7 square miles (18 km). It is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and lies approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the nation’s capital, Kingstown, on the main island, Saint Vincent.

The name Bequia is said to mean "island of the clouds" in the language of the ancient Arawak. The island’s early inhabitants were the Kalinago (Caribs), who lived throughout the Grenadines before the arrival of Europeans.

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In this Dossier

Bequia in the context of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the southern end of the eastern border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. To the north lies Saint Lucia, to the east is Barbados, and Grenada lies to the south.

Spanning a land area of 389 km (150 sq mi), most of its territory consists of the northernmost island of Saint Vincent, which includes the capital and largest city, Kingstown. To the south lie the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, a chain of 32 smaller islands; the remaining southern third make up Grenada. Seven of the islands are inhabited, of which the largest and most populous are Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, and Union Island.

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Bequia in the context of Grenadines

The Grenadines (/ˈɡrɛnədnz/) is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted): Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Union Island, Petit St Vincent, Palm Island and Mayreau, all in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, plus Petite Martinique and Carriacou in Grenada. Several additional privately owned islands, such as Calivigny, are also inhabited. Notable uninhabited islands of the Grenadines include Petit Nevis, formerly used by whalers, and Petit Mustique, which was the centre of a prominent real estate scam in the early 2000s.

The northern two-thirds of the chain, including about 32 islands and cays, is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The southern third of the chain belongs to the country of Grenada. Carriacou is the largest and most populous of the Grenadines.

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Bequia in the context of Petit Nevis

Petit Nevis is a small, privately owned island in the Grenadines, off the coast of Bequia.

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Bequia in the context of Whale meat

Whale meat, broadly speaking, may include all cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and all parts of the animal: muscle (meat), organs (offal), skin (muktuk), and fat (blubber). There is relatively little demand for whale meat, compared to farmed livestock. Commercial whaling, which has faced opposition for decades, continues today in very few countries (mainly Iceland, Japan and Norway), despite whale meat being eaten across Western Europe and colonial America previously. However, in areas where dolphin drive hunting and aboriginal whaling exist, marine mammals are eaten locally as part of a subsistence economy: the Faroe Islands, the circumpolar Arctic peoples (Inuit in Canada and Greenland, related native Alaskans, the Chukchi people of Siberia), other indigenous peoples of the United States (including the Makah of the Pacific Northwest), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (mainly on the island of Bequia), some of villages in Indonesia and in certain South Pacific islands.

Like horse meat, for some cultures whale meat is taboo, or a food of last resort, e.g. in times of war, whereas in others it is a delicacy and a culinary centrepiece. Indigenous groups contend that whale meat represents their cultural survival. Its consumption has been denounced by detractors on wildlife conservation, toxicity (especially mercury), and animal rights grounds.

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Bequia in the context of Rufous-vented chachalaca

The rufous-vented chachalaca (Ortalis ruficauda) is a member of an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian mound builders. It inhabits northeast Colombia and northern Venezuela where it is called guacharaca, and the island of Tobago in Trinidad and Tobago where it is known as the cocrico and is one of the country's two national birds (being featured on the country's coat of arms). It is also found on Bequia and Union Island in the Grenadines where it may have been introduced.

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Bequia in the context of Port Elizabeth, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Port Elizabeth is a town located on the island of Bequia, which is part of the Grenadines island chain. It is the capital of Grenadines Parish. The town was named after Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of her parents.

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