Editing History of Dominica (section)

==Early European contacts==
[[Christopher Columbus]] named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it - a Sunday ('Dominica' in Latin) - which fell on 3 November 1493 on his [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|second voyage]].

Daunted by fierce resistance from the Caribs and discouraged by the absence of gold, the Spanish did not settle the island.  Many of the remaining Carib people live in Dominica's [[Carib Territory]], a {{convert|3700|acre|km2|0|adj=on}} district on Dominica's east coast.

In 1632, the French [[Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique]] claimed Dominica along with all the other 'Petite Antilles' but no settlement was attempted. Between 1642 and 1650 a French missionary [[Raymond Breton]] became the first regular European visitor to the island. In 1660 the French and English agreed that both Dominica and St. Vincent should not be settled, but instead left to the Caribs as neutral territory. Dominica was officially neutral for the next century, but the attraction of its resources remained; rival expeditions of English and French foresters were harvesting timber by the start  of the 18th century.<ref name=bn>{{citation-attribution|1="Background note: Dominica". [[U.S. Department of State]] (July 2008). }}</ref>