An island republic of the West Indies. Its capital is Roseau. It was discovered in 1493 by Columbus and held at different times by the French and the British in the 18th century. A member of the West Indies Federation, it achieved internal self-government in 1967 but became independent in 1978. It was named by Columbus who discovered it on Sunday, Domingo in Spanish, from the Latin Dominica dies, the Lord's Day. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p338 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p151).
