Independence Day (Dominica)

Independence Day is a public holiday in the Commonwealth of Dominica, observed on November 3 each year. The holiday commemorates the anniversary of Dominica's independence from the United Kingdom in 1978.

Dominica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. Indigenous people inhabited the island since the fifth century. Christopher Columbus first sighted the island in 1493 and claimed it for Spain, but Spain had little success colonizing it in the following years. The French claimed it for France in 1632 and established the first permanent settlement for wood in 1690. The island became a colony of France in 1727.

In 1763, the French ceded the island and several other Caribbean islands to Britain after the French lost in the Seven Years' War in Europe. Although the French recaptured the island in 1778, the British restored it in 1783.

In 1958, Dominica joined the West Indies Federation, but the federation collapsed in 1962. In 1967, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom and was granted control of internal affairs. The Commonwealth of Dominica gained full independence from the United Kingdom on November 3, 1978.

The following is the list of Independence Day in Dominica from 2022 to 2026.

Please check more public holidays in the Commonwealth of Dominica: