Editing History of Dominica (section)

==British colony: 1763–1978==
[[File:Burning of Rousseau.jpg|thumb|Le [[French ship Majestueux (1780)|''Majestueux'']] at the burning of [[Roseau|Rousseau]] on 22 February 1805<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DkgGVTOr2EsC&pg=PA561|title = Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere, 2nd Edition &#91;2 volumes&#93;: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere|isbn = 9781598841015|last1 = Marley|first1 = David F.|date = 11 February 2008| publisher=Abc-Clio }}</ref>]]
As part of the 1763 [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] that ended the [[Seven Years' War]], the island became a British possession.<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web|title=A Plan of the Rosalij Compy. Estates, the Property of His Excelly. Charles O'Harra, the Honble. Leiut. Gov. Will. Stuart, James Clarke & Rob. & Phill.|year=1776|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/25|publisher=[[World Digital Library]]|access-date=18 April 2013}}</ref> In 1778, during the [[American War of Independence]], the French [[Invasion of Dominica (1778)|mounted a successful invasion]] with the active cooperation of the population, which was largely French. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, returned the island to Britain. French invasions in 1795 and 1805 ended in failure.  The 22 February 1805 invasion burned much of [[Roseau]] to the ground.

In 1763, the British established a legislative assembly, representing only the white population. In 1831, reflecting a liberalization of official British racial attitudes, the [[Brown Privilege Bill]] conferred political and social rights on free nonwhites. Three Blacks were elected to the legislative assembly the following year. The abolition of slavery in 1834 enabled Dominica by 1838 to become the only British Caribbean colony to have a Black-controlled legislature in the 19th century. Most Black legislators were small holders or merchants who held economic and social views diametrically opposed to the interests of the small, wealthy English planter class. Reacting to a perceived threat, the planters lobbied for more direct British rule.

In 1865, after much agitation and tension, the colonial office replaced the elective assembly with one composed of one-half elected members and one-half appointed. The elected legislators were outmaneuvered on numerous occasions by planters allied with colonial administrators. In 1871, Dominica became part of the [[Leeward Island Federation]]. The power of the Black population progressively eroded. Crown Colony government was re-established in 1896.

Following World War I, an upsurge of political consciousness throughout the Caribbean led to the formation of the representative government association. Marshaling public frustration with the lack of a voice in the governing of Dominica, this group won one-third of the popularly elected seats of the legislative assembly in 1924 and one-half in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Dominica was transferred from the Leeward Island Administration and was governed as part of the [[Windward Islands|Windwards]] until 1958, when it joined the short-lived [[West Indies Federation]].

In 1961, a Dominica Labor Party government led by [[Edward Oliver LeBlanc]] was elected. After the federation dissolved, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom on February 27, 1967, and formally took responsibility for its internal affairs. LeBlanc retired in 1974 and was replaced by [[Patrick John]] who became the islands' first [[Prime Minister]].