ABSTRACT
Eric Matthew Gairy had emigrated to Aruba, where he worked as a primary school teacher and part-time trade union organizer. The latter activity resulted in his expulsion from Aruba in December 1949. On February 21, 1951, Gairy led thousands of impoverished rural followers in a massive demonstration to York House, the seat of Grenada's parliament and highest court at the capital, St. George's. Elections held during October 1951 demonstrated that Gairy had become the most popular politician on Grenada. In 1957, the Grenadian voters expressed their disappointment with Gairy by bringing to power the Grenada National Party, which claimed to represent all strata of society. The new status of associate statehood as well as the concurrent election of Eric Gairy as prime minister represented a watershed in modern Grenadian history. Gairy's enhanced position scarcely impressed the other Caribbean heads of state, which held the Grenadian leader in contempt.
