Scotts Head is a village on the southwest coast of
Dominica, in
Saint Mark Parish. In 2001, its population was 721. Predominantly a fishing village, Scotts Head overlooks
Soufrière Bay, which is protected as the
Soufrière Scotts Head Marine Reserve. It is also a popular snorkelling and diving site for tourists.
The village shares its name with the Caribbean's only
tied island, a small peninsula with a rising headland that extends westward from the village at Dominica's southwest tip. The
Carib name of the peninsula is Cachacrou, literally "that which is being eaten (by the sea)";[1] this is possibly a reference to its location at the convergence of the
Caribbean Sea to its north and the
Atlantic Ocean to its south.
Each year, in June or July, the Scotts Head village holds an annual feast in honour of
Saint Peter.[4][5] The Scotts Head village also is host to Dive Fest, the Caribbean's longest-running diving festival.[6] The festival includes
scuba diving and
freediving events, as well as food, entertainment, and competitions.[7][8]
Scotts Head is the start of the first segment of the
Waitukubuli National Trail, the longest hiking trail in the Caribbean at 115 miles (185 km) long.[9][10][11] From Scott's head, hikers can hike 7 km (4.4 miles) to Soufrière Estate in about 4-6 hours.[9] Additionally, Scotts Head is the start of the Waitukubuli Sea Trail,[12][13] the first sea kayaking trail in the Caribbean.[14][12]
History
Scotts Head was originally called Cashacrou by the Kalinago people of Dominica.[15] It was later renamed after Captain
George Scott,[16] who had served in the British invasion force that captured Dominica from the French in 1761 and then became lieutenant governor of Dominica from 1764 to 1767.[17] Scott oversaw the construction of Fort Cachacrou on the headland of the Scotts Head peninsula; the bulk of this fortification has collapsed down the cliff into the water, though some ruins remain, including a small cannon.
When the French
retook Dominica in 1778 (only to hand it back in 1783 as a concession in the
Treaty of Versailles), the fort at Scotts Head was the first invasion point and the site of the first skirmish.[18][19][20] In anticipation of the invasion, French inhabitants of Dominica visited British troops at the fort on 6 September, getting them drunk and then spiking the cannons with sand.[18][19][20] French fleets sailed between three and four o'clock on 7 September from
Martinique, the French-controlled island directly to Dominica's south. When the French stormed the fort in the morning, the British were taken by surprise.[21][22] Once the fort was captured, the French fired a celebration signal, which was the first notice of the invasion the British had in the capital of
Roseau to the north.[23]