The history of Bequia is tightly wrapped around the movement of people through the Caribbean.
There are around 4500 inhabitants on the island today and the ethnic diversity of their faces bear testament to this migration.
The diversity of their heritage also speaks volumes about the type of people who live here. Bequians pride themselves on being very friendly.
"We are a people who welcome tourists. This comes from our traditions. We were isolated for a long time. We were boat builders and the first people we saw came on boats, so it was cool. Most islands in the Caribbean just start up tourism. Tourism happen to us naturally."
"Don't be afraid when you come to Bequia to speak to people; they're ready to answer you, man."
Nollie Simmonds
The first inhabitants of Bequia were Amerindian Arawak people, and later the Caribs. In 1675 a slave ship sank off the Bequia coast and the surviving escaped slaves mixed with the Carib population.
The 1700's saw an influx of French and English settlers together with people who had already been slowly southward through the Caribbean island chain for several hundred years; former Portuguese nationals who could trace their roots back to the Iberian Peninsular in the time of Columbus.
African slaves brought in to work Bequia's cotton and sugar plantations during the late 1700s and early 1800s added to the racial mix. Click here to listen to Bequia local, Nollie Simmonds describe his family history...
Boats and the sea
The sea has dominated the economy and culture of Bequia. Despite cotton and sugar plantations and widespread local agriculture, it is boat building, fishing whaling and seamanship that defined peoples' lives for generations. They still do today.
"The culture of boat building still lives in the souls of the people here"
Nollie Simmonds
Read more about Bequia's boat building culture here
Bequia is one of a handful of communities that have been granted licences by the International Whaling Commission to hunt whales. The islanders still use hand-held harpoons and open boats to hunt, techniques unchanged in over 100 years.
Learn more about Bequia's whaling traditions here
The original double-ended wooden whaling boats were subsequently used as the model for the local fishing boats, built on the island beaches.
Although nearly all the fishing is now done from small craft with out-board motors, the old style boats are still raced each Easter.
Read more about Bequia's Easter Regatta here
"If you are going to come here find out about the place, find out about the history and the culture and it might relate to you differently."
Nollie Simmonds
Find a holiday in Bequia
Read more about Bequia and culture on the islands