3rd November: Dominica Independence Day

Today is Dominica Independence Day. 10 things you didn't know about Dominica:

1. The population was 72,301 at the 2014 census. That means Peterborough has a larger population than Dominica.
2. The name Dominica comes from the Latin word dies Dominica for Sunday, because it was a Sunday when Christopher Columbus first discovered it. The indigenous people, the Caribs, called it Wai‘tu kubuli, which means "Tall is her body".
3. Dominica became a republic almost immediately after independence was granted on 3 November 1978. At the first elections after independence, Eugenia Charles was elected Prime Minister. She was Dominica's first, and so far only, female prime minister, as well as the nation's longest-serving. She was the second female prime minister in the Caribbean after Lucinda da Costa of the Netherlands Antilles, and the first woman elected in her own right as head of government in the Americas. She was the world's third longest-serving female Prime Minister, behind Indira Gandhi of India and Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, and the world's longest continuously serving female Prime Minister ever. Charles was also Dominica's first female lawyer.
4. Its area is 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 metres (4,747 ft).
5. The capital is Roseau, located on the leeward side of the island.
6. The national bird is the Sisserou parrot, a bird only found in Dominica. They are known for being very shy and difficult to spot, and rarely seen in groups of more than three. They mate for life and when one of the pair dies, the remaining one may grieve to death rather than look for a new mate. The bird appears on the national flag.
7. Dominica is home to the ‘Boiling Lake’. This is a flooded fumarole around 195 feet deep, heated by gasses escaping from the molten lava below the earth’s crust. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
8. Dominica was the filming location for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, although in the film, it was known as "Pelegosto," a fictional island.
9. Famous people of Dominican descent include Trisha Goddard, host of Trisha; Moira Stuart, newsreader; Frank Bruno, professional boxer and cricketer Phillip DeFreitas.
10. Dominica is one of the countries in the world where citizenship can be achieved by donating large amounts of money. This meant Dominica had a team in the 2014 Winter Olympics: a husband and wife team, Gary di Silvestri and Angela Morrone di Silvestri who'd spent US$175,000 to register as Dominican citizens and enter the 15 km men's and 10 km women's cross-country skiing events, respectively. They weren't very successful - Angela did not start her race, and Gary pulled out several hundred meters into his. To date, they are Dominica's only Winter Olympic athletes.