A self-governing state of the Windward Islands in the West Indies, comprising Saint Vincent and the northern islets of the Grenadines. Its capital is Kingstown. It is one of the original homes of the Carib Indians supposed to have been sighted by Columbus in 1498. It was in English hands from 1627 till held by the French 1779-83. Saint Vincent subsequently became a British possession and, with other nearby British territories, was administered by the Governor of the Windward Islands till 1959. It attained a measure of independence in 1969 but achieved full independence as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 1979. Saint Vincent was the 4th century Spanish martyr on whose feast day Columbus discovered the island. Grenadines is derived from the Spanish kingdom of Granada. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1054 & The Europa World Year Book 1993, p2441).