51 years ago today, February 7, 1974 (January 16, 1974 in the lunar calendar), the Central American island country of Grenada broke away from the United Kingdom and established an independent country. Grenada is located at the southernmost tip of the Windward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean Sea, about 160 kilometers south of the coast of Venezuela. It has a tropical maritime climate with an average annual temperature of 26¡æ. Originally inhabited by Indians. It was "discovered" by Columbus in 1498. It belonged to France in 1650. It was occupied by the British in 1762. In 1763, under the Treaty of Paris, France transferred Georgia to Britain. Reoccupied by France in 1779. In 1783, it was officially recognized as British property under the Treaty of Versailles and has since become a British colony. In 1833, it became part of the Windward Islands government and was governed by the Governor of the Windward Islands appointed by the Queen of England. In 1958, Grenada joined the West Indies Federation, which disintegrated in 1962. In 1967, Grenada achieved internal self-government, declared independence on February 7, 1974, became a member of the Commonwealth, and joined the United Nations in the same year. In March 1979, a coup occurred in Grenada and the pro-Western regime fell. With the support of the Soviet Union and Cuba, the pro-Soviet and Cuban tendencies of the new regime in Grenada became increasingly obvious. The United States has always believed that "the Caribbean Sea is the inland sea of the United States." In order to curb the influence of the Soviet Union and Cuba in this region, the United States took advantage of another coup in Georgia and the chaotic situation to gather seven Central American Caribbean countries to launch an armed invasion codenamed "Rage" against Grenada. At 5:00 on October 25, 1979, the US military took helicopters and transport aircraft in batches from three waiting points for shipment in Barbados, the sea and the country to parachute and land on Georgia, opening the curtain of the war. On October 26, 1979, the US military captured the Georgian Army Command. On the 28th, the capital St. George was taken control, and the main fighting basically ended. After that, the US military sent a small team to search and suppress the remnants of the ancient army that had retreated to the mountains of the northern part of Georgia, captured the leader of the ancient army and more than 10 senior Georgian government officials, and seized all weapons and ammunition depots on the island. After the US military took control of Georgia, the Governor General of Grenada appointed by the Queen of England reorganized a new regime, and the US military gradually withdrew.