Carib Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St. Vincent until the 18th century. Beginning in 1719, French settlers cultivated various crops worked by African slaves. In 1763, St. Vincent was ceded to Britain. Restored to French rule in 1779, St. Vincent was regained by the British under the Treaty of Versailles in 1783.

From 1763 until independence, St. Vincent passed through various stages of colonial status under the British with slavery being abolished in 1834. A representative assembly was authorized in 1776, Crown Colony government installed in 1877, a legislative council created in 1925, and universal adult suffrage granted in 1951.