The First Botanic Gardens (1765)
As a result of the new islands being ceded to the English crown following the Treaty of Paris 1963, the English Planters in the West Indies became more conscious of the financial benefits that agriculture was certain to bring. As a result they began to establish Botanic Gardens on several islands, where the propagation of specially imported plants and trees was put under the supervision of capable persons.It was envisaged that the study of these imported plants would greatly improve the chances of growing them, thereby eliminating the need to import what they produced for distant foreign lands. The St. Vincent Botanic Gardens were established under that scheme and were started with the clearing of the site in 1763, but the Gardens themselves were opened in 1965.They are believed to be the first such gardens in the Western Hemisphere.
