History of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Encyclopedia
Saint Kitts and Nevis
has one of the longest written histories in the Caribbean, both islands being amongst Europe's first colonies in the archipelago. Despite being only 2 miles apart and quite diminutive in size, Saint Kitts
and Nevis
were widely recognized as being separate entities with separate identities, until they were forcefully unified in the late 19th century
. These hunter-gatherers for years were mistakenly thought to be the Ciboney
, an Amerindian race from Cuba
. However, archaeological evidence has proven that they were in actuality a group which has been labelled simply "Archaic people". In a few hundred years, these Archaic people disappeared.
Around 1000 B.C., the ceramic
-using and agriculturalist Saladoid
people came to the islands, migrating up the archipelago from the banks of the Orinoco River in Venezuela
. These people were then replaced in 800 A.D. by the Igneri
people, members of the Arawak tribe. They were a peace-loving pro-religious people who migrated up the same path from the Orinoco. They heavily settled it, climaxing to an estimated population of 5,000.
Around 1300 A.D., the Kalinago, or Carib people arrived on the islands. The war-like Kalinago people quickly dispersed the Igneri, and forced them northwards to the Greater Antilles
. They named Saint Kitts
Liamuiga meaning "fertile island", and Nevis
Oualie meaning "land of beautiful waters". The islands of Liamuiga and Oualie marked the furthest the Kalinago ever reached northwards, in terms of permanent residence, and probably would have succeeded in occupying the entire archipelago had the Europeans not come. Both islands, were major bases used by the Kalinago from the South to raid the Eastern Taino
peoples of the Virgin Islands
and Puerto Rico
, and were critically important for the Kalinago trade routes to the North.
under Christopher Columbus
. He named Saint Kitts Sant Jago (Saint James). However, misinterpretations of maps by subsequent Spanish explorers led Saint Kitts to be named San Cristobal (Saint Christopher
), a name originally applied to Saba 20 miles north. Nevis was named "Nuestra Señora de las Nieves", or "Our Lady of the Snows", because the wreath of white clouds that usually covers the top of its volcanic peak reminded the Spaniards of the ancient Catholic miracle Our Lady of the Snows
.
The first non-Spanish settlement attempt in the Caribbean occurred on Saint Kitts, when French
Huguenot
refugees from the fishing town of Dieppe
established a town on a harbour on the island's north coast, which they also named Dieppe, in 1538. However, only months after the founding, the settlement was raided by the Spanish and all the inhabitants were deported. The remains of one of the buildings is now the basement for the Main house in the Golden Lemon Hotel.
The next European encounter occurred in 1607 when Captain John Smith
stopped at Nevis for five days before founding the colony of Virginia
. Captain Smith documented the many hot springs in Nevis, whose waters had remarkable curative abilities against skin ailments and bad health.
In the early 17th century, an English captain, Thomas Warner, set sail with a crew to found a colony on the Guiana
coast. His colony proved a failure as his crew was ravaged by disease, unfamiliar weather conditions, and Carib raids. A friend of Warner's then suggested that he should instead try to colonise one of the islands in the Lesser Antilles because of their favourable conditions. In 1623 Warner abandoned his Guiana post and set sail North through the archipelago. After checking each island, Warner decided that Saint Kitts would prove to be the best-suited site for an English colony, because of its strategic central position ideal for expansion, friendly native population, fertile soil, abundant fresh water, and large salt deposits. He and his family landed on the island and made peace with the local Kalinago peoples, whose leader was Ouboutou Tegremante
. Warner then left his family behind and returned to England to gather more men to officially establish a colony. In 1624, he returned and established the colony of Saint Christopher, the first English colony in the Caribbean. They established a port town at Old Road, downhill from Tegremante's capital village.
In 1625, a French captain, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc
, arrived on the island. He had left France hoping to establish an island colony after hearing about the success of the English on Saint Kitts, but his fleet was destroyed in a clash with the Spanish Armada, leaving him with only his flagship. Warner took pity on the French settlers and allowed them to settle on the island as well, thus making Saint Kitts the site of the first permanent French colony in the Caribbean as well. French settlers lodged themselves in the ruins of the town of Dieppe, which they rebuilt. Warner also willingly accepted the French in an attempt to out-populate the local Kalinago, of whom he was growing suspicious.
Warner's suspicions proved to be accurate. As the European population on Saint Kitts continued to increase, Tegremante grew suspicious of the foreigners. In 1626, after a secret meeting with Kalinago heads from neighbouring Waitikubuli (Dominica
) and Oualie, it was decided that in a secret raid they would ambush the European settlements. The secret plan was revealed to the Europeans however, by an Igneri
woman named Barbe. Barbe had only recently been brought to St. Kitts as a slave-wife after a raid on an Arawak island. She despised the Kalinago and had fallen in love with Warner, and thus told him of the planned ambush. The Europeans acted by attacking the Kalinago first. At a site now called Bloody Point
, which housed the island's main Kalinago settlement, over 2,000 Kalinago men were massacred, many of whom were from Waitikubuli, who had come overnight planning to attack the Europeans the day after. The many dead bodies were dumped in a river, on the site which housed the Kalinago place of worship. For weeks, blood flowed down the river like water, giving it its nickname, Bloody River
. The remaining Kalinago Indians were deported to Waitikubuli.
After the Kalinago Genocide of 1626
, the island was formally partitioned between the English and French, with the French gaining the ends, Capisterre in the North and Basseterre in the south, and the English gaining the centre. Both powers then proceeded to colonise neighbouring islands from their base. The English settled Nevis (1628), Antigua
(1632), Montserrat
(1632) and later Anguilla
(1650) and Tortola
(1672). The French colonised Martinique
(1635), the Guadeloupe
archipelago (1635), St. Martin
(1648), and St. Barths
(1648) and Saint Croix (1650).
Saint Kitts suffered heavily from a Spanish raid in 1629, from which all of the island's inhabitants fled as the Spaniards pillaged. They returned shortly after, however, and developed a series of fortifications along the Caribbean coast.
The island soon became a centre of production of tobacco
. The planters grew prosperous. However when the colony of Virginia
began to dominate world tobacco production and profits started declining, the island switched to producing sugar
cane, starting in 1640. To provide the large amounts of labour needed for the industry, African slaves were imported in large numbers. The slaves had very harsh living conditions, and thousands perished working the fields.
Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy became governor of the French portion of the island in 1638 Owing greater allegiance to the Knights of St John, he soon refused to accept the authority of the King of France. He died on the island in 1660.
During the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the relationship between the French and English settlers soured, as their home countries warred. Warfare soon broke out on the island itself. The overwhelming French troops attacked the English settlements and gained control of the whole island from 1665-1667. The Treaty of Breda restored the English portion of the island to its owners.
In 1671, English Saint Kitts was joined with Nevis
, Antigua
and Montserrat
to form the Leeward Caribee Island Government, headquartered in Antigua. The island still enjoyed full autonomy, however.
In 1689, during the War of the Grand Alliance
, France re-occupied the entire island, and decimated the English farms. An English retaliation by General Codrington defeated the French forces and deported them to Martinique. The Treaty of Rijswijk in 1697 restored pre-war conditions. The war devastated St. Kitts's economy.
and deported the English and French inhabitants back to their countries. However, the island was returned to England by the Treaty of Madrid in 1630. In 1640, Nevis, like St. Kitts switched over to sugar cane production and its wealth continued to grow. By 1660, it was officially the most profitable colony in the English crown per capita. Its gross profits were great as well, as they surpassed that of all 13 American colonies combined, up until the 19th century, despite being thousands of times smaller. Nevis' riches however, made it a target for pirates and other European nations.
In 1690, a massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the city of Jamestown, then the capital of Nevis. So much damage was done to it that the city was completely abandoned. It is reputed that the whole city sank into the sea, but since then, the land has moved over at least 100 yards to the west. That means that anything left of Jamestown would now be underground. The capital was moved south to the town of Charlestown
, and the island's successful sugar trade quickly bounced back.
Saint Kitts was to face even greater devastation with the turn of the century. The French made one more major attack on English troops in 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession
, as the over 8,000 French troops on the island easily defeated the 1,000 English posts. The French held St. Kitts for 8 years, until the Treaty of Utrecht
was signed (1713). The treaty ceded the entire island of St. Kitts to the British. Upon receiving full control in 1713, the British soon moved the island's capital to the town of Basseterre
in 1727, and St. Kitts quickly took off as a leader in sugar production in the Caribbean.
Whilst conditions on St. Kitts improved, Nevis was seeing a decline. The years of monocrop cultivation, as well as heavy amounts of soil erosion due to the high slope grade on the island, caused its sugar production to continuously decrease. A heavy French raid in 1706 further complicated the situation, and damaged the island's agriculture extensively. It proved to never fully recover.
To make up for sugar losses in Nevis, the island opened its first hotel in 1778. The first such establishment in the Western Hemisphere, the Bath Hotel was constructed over the site of one of the island's famous hot springs. The island thus became the first place in the Americas to officially practice tourism. Nevis's popularity as a destination grew, and it continued to be in the favour of the British elite.
By 1776, Saint Kitts had become the richest British colony in the Caribbean, per capita. It retained this status until the late 19th century, despite a myriad of attacks by the French throughout the 18th century, including the battle of St. Kitts
in 1782. The consolidation of British rule was recognized finally under the Treaty of Versailles
in 1783. In 1806, the Leeward Islands Caribee government was split into two groups, with Antigua, Barbuda, Redonda and Montserrat in one group, and St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands in the other. The islands in the new grouping however, were able to keep their great degrees of autonomy. The grouping then split entirely in 1816.
Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1834. Profits from sugar began sinking even further, and this was made even worse with new countries, namely Brazil, Cuba and India beginning to dominate the market. Nevis' economy, as well as that of most Caribbean islands, suffered extensively from this. St. Kitts escaped the plight of its neighbours because of its good soils, and massive projects undertaken to reduce soil erosion.
In 1833, the Leeward Islands were reunited as a single administrative entity, and was renamed the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands in 1871. In 1883, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla were linked under one "presidency," based in St. Kitts. Both Nevis and Anguilla disliked the union, as they had previously had their separate presidencies. An uneasy relationship followed.
Alexander Hamilton
, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, was born in Nevis; he spent his childhood there and on St. Croix, then belonging to Denmark, and now one of the United States Virgin Islands
.
in 1932, tapped the popular frustration that fueled the labor riots of 1935-36
. Rechristened the St. Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union
in 1940 and under the new leadership of Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, the union established a political arm, the St. Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, which put Bradshaw in the Legislative Council in 1946. The Labour Party would go on to dominate political life in the twin-island state for more than thirty years.
The islands remained in the Leeward Islands Federation until they joined the failed West Indies Federation
from 1958 to 1962, in which Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
was a separate state. Robert Bradshaw was the Minister of Finance for the short-lived country.
In 1967, the islands became an Associated State
of Britain.
In the same year Anguilla had a major secession movement supported by St. Kitts political opposition party, The People's Action Movement (PAM). Both forces, working together, invaded the island from an Anguillian base in an attempted coup d'état. Anguilla was able to successfully break away from the union in 1971.
During Bradshaw's long tenure, his government slowly moved into a statist approach to economic development. All sugar lands were bought by the government, as well as the central sugar factory. Opposition to Bradshaw's rule began to build, especially by the families and supporters of former estate owners, who founded the People's Action Movement party in 1964, after frustration over a failed demonstration against a raise in electricity rates. Opposition was especially great in Nevis, who felt that their island was being neglected and unfairly deprived of revenue, investment and services by its larger neighbour. Bradshaw mainly ignored Nevis' complaints, but Nevisian disenchantment with the Labour Party proved a key factor in the party's eventual fall from power.
In 1978 the labour party's longtime leader, Robert Bradshaw, died of Prostate cancer
. He was succeeded by his former deputy, Paul Southwell
, but Southwell himself passed a few months later, in 1979. The party then fell into a crisis of leadership. The position of premier was then handed over to Lee Moore, who, despite being recognized regionally as a legal scholar, seemed unable to lead (he once told a PAM heckler, on Church Street in front of Government Headquarters [House of Parliament] that he will "root like a pig in mud" in the House of Parliament).
Taking advantage of the labour party's confusion, the PAM party was very successful in the 1980 elections, winning 3 seats on St. Kitts, compared to the labour party's 4. The Nevis Reformation Party, under the leadership of Simeon Daniel, won 2 of the 3 seats on Nevis. PAM and NRP then formed a coalition government, naming Kennedy Simmonds, a medical doctor and one of the founders of the PAM, premier (Simmonds had won Bradshaw's former seat in a 1979 by-election). The change in government reduced the demand for Nevis' secession. In 1983, the federation was granted independence from Britain, with a constitution that granted Nevis a large degree of autonomy as well as the guaranteed right of secession. To take advantage of this landmark, early elections were called in 1984, in which the NRP captured all 3 seats on Nevis, and the PAM party capturing 6 seats on St. Kitts, compared to the labour party's 2, despite overall the labour party winning the nationwide popular vote. The new coalition government now had a strong 9 to 2 mandate in parliament.
Economic improvement for St. Kitts followed, with the PAM party shifting focus from the sugar industry to tourism. However, much of the island's poorest people, mainly the sugar workers, were neglected. Opposition to PAM began to build from this, as well as on accusations of corruption. In the 1993 elections, both PAM and labour took 4 seats each, whilst on Nevis, a new party, the Concerned Citizens Movement, took 2 seats, beating the NRP's 1. The stalemate on St. Kitts proved unresolvable when the CCM in Nevis refused to form a coalition with PAM. Rioting soon followed on the islands, which was finally resolved in a special set of elections held in 1995, in which the labour party overwhelmingly defeated the PAM party, winning 7 seats compared to PAM's 1. Dr. Denzil Douglas
became the new prime minister of the federation, and retains the post to this day.
On September 21, 1998, Hurricane Georges
severely damaged the islands leaving nearly $500 millions damages and property. Georges was the worst hurricane to hit the regional in the last century.
In 2005, St. Kitts saw the closure of its sugar industry, after 365 years in the monoculture. This was stated as due to the industry's huge losses, as well as market threats by the E.U., who plan to cut sugar prices by large amounts in the near future
Saint Kitts and Nevis
The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....
has one of the longest written histories in the Caribbean, both islands being amongst Europe's first colonies in the archipelago. Despite being only 2 miles apart and quite diminutive in size, Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
and Nevis
Nevis
Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...
were widely recognized as being separate entities with separate identities, until they were forcefully unified in the late 19th century
Pre-Columbian Period (2900 B.C. to 1493 A.D.)
The first settlers to arrive to the islands, almost 3,000 years B.C., were a pre-agricultural, pre-ceramic people, who migrated down the archipelago from FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. These hunter-gatherers for years were mistakenly thought to be the Ciboney
Ciboney
The Ciboney were pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The name Ciboney derives from the indigenous Taíno people which means Cave Dwellers; evidence has shown that a number of the Ciboney people have lived in caves at some time. Over the years, many...
, an Amerindian race from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. However, archaeological evidence has proven that they were in actuality a group which has been labelled simply "Archaic people". In a few hundred years, these Archaic people disappeared.
Around 1000 B.C., the ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
-using and agriculturalist Saladoid
Saladoid
Saladoid culture is a pre-columbian indigenous culture of Venezuela and the Caribbean that flourished from 500 BCE to 545 CE.-Name:They have been given the name of the sites where their unique pottery styles were first recognised. The suffix "oid" has been added in this cultural classification...
people came to the islands, migrating up the archipelago from the banks of the Orinoco River in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. These people were then replaced in 800 A.D. by the Igneri
Igneri
The Igneri were an ethnic group that was once part of the Arawak tribe. They inhabited the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico during the Pre-Columbian era. They are said to have originated in the Orinoco region in Venezuela...
people, members of the Arawak tribe. They were a peace-loving pro-religious people who migrated up the same path from the Orinoco. They heavily settled it, climaxing to an estimated population of 5,000.
Around 1300 A.D., the Kalinago, or Carib people arrived on the islands. The war-like Kalinago people quickly dispersed the Igneri, and forced them northwards to the Greater Antilles
Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
. They named Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
Liamuiga meaning "fertile island", and Nevis
Nevis
Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...
Oualie meaning "land of beautiful waters". The islands of Liamuiga and Oualie marked the furthest the Kalinago ever reached northwards, in terms of permanent residence, and probably would have succeeded in occupying the entire archipelago had the Europeans not come. Both islands, were major bases used by the Kalinago from the South to raid the Eastern Taino
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
peoples of the Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and were critically important for the Kalinago trade routes to the North.
The First Europeans (1493 to 1623)
The first Europeans to see and name the islands were the SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
under Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
. He named Saint Kitts Sant Jago (Saint James). However, misinterpretations of maps by subsequent Spanish explorers led Saint Kitts to be named San Cristobal (Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
), a name originally applied to Saba 20 miles north. Nevis was named "Nuestra Señora de las Nieves", or "Our Lady of the Snows", because the wreath of white clouds that usually covers the top of its volcanic peak reminded the Spaniards of the ancient Catholic miracle Our Lady of the Snows
Dedication of Saint Mary Major
The Dedication of Saint Mary Major, previously known as Dedicatio Sanctæ Mariæ ad Nives , is a liturgical feast day celebrated on August 5 in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. In the Roman Catholic calendar of saints it has the rank of optional memorial, and in the General Roman Calendar of...
.
The first non-Spanish settlement attempt in the Caribbean occurred on Saint Kitts, when French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
refugees from the fishing town of Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
established a town on a harbour on the island's north coast, which they also named Dieppe, in 1538. However, only months after the founding, the settlement was raided by the Spanish and all the inhabitants were deported. The remains of one of the buildings is now the basement for the Main house in the Golden Lemon Hotel.
The next European encounter occurred in 1607 when Captain John Smith
John Smith of Jamestown
Captain John Smith Admiral of New England was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania and friend Mózes Székely...
stopped at Nevis for five days before founding the colony of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Captain Smith documented the many hot springs in Nevis, whose waters had remarkable curative abilities against skin ailments and bad health.
Saint Kitts, 1623 to 1700
The Guianas
The Guyanas or the Guianas refers to a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories:* French Guiana, an overseas department of France;...
coast. His colony proved a failure as his crew was ravaged by disease, unfamiliar weather conditions, and Carib raids. A friend of Warner's then suggested that he should instead try to colonise one of the islands in the Lesser Antilles because of their favourable conditions. In 1623 Warner abandoned his Guiana post and set sail North through the archipelago. After checking each island, Warner decided that Saint Kitts would prove to be the best-suited site for an English colony, because of its strategic central position ideal for expansion, friendly native population, fertile soil, abundant fresh water, and large salt deposits. He and his family landed on the island and made peace with the local Kalinago peoples, whose leader was Ouboutou Tegremante
Ouboutou Tegremante
Tegremante was the ouboutou or chief of his clan on St Kitts by the time Thomas Warner arrived by 1624. His village is suspected to be just above on Highland Old Road, where the settlers lived. It was located close to the sea and either on the banks of the Wingfield or East Rivers. They depended...
. Warner then left his family behind and returned to England to gather more men to officially establish a colony. In 1624, he returned and established the colony of Saint Christopher, the first English colony in the Caribbean. They established a port town at Old Road, downhill from Tegremante's capital village.
In 1625, a French captain, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc
Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc
thumb|220px|Pierre Belain d'EsnambucPierre Bélain, Sieur d'Esnambuc was a French trader and adventurer in the Caribbean, who established the first permanent French colony, Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique in 1635....
, arrived on the island. He had left France hoping to establish an island colony after hearing about the success of the English on Saint Kitts, but his fleet was destroyed in a clash with the Spanish Armada, leaving him with only his flagship. Warner took pity on the French settlers and allowed them to settle on the island as well, thus making Saint Kitts the site of the first permanent French colony in the Caribbean as well. French settlers lodged themselves in the ruins of the town of Dieppe, which they rebuilt. Warner also willingly accepted the French in an attempt to out-populate the local Kalinago, of whom he was growing suspicious.
Warner's suspicions proved to be accurate. As the European population on Saint Kitts continued to increase, Tegremante grew suspicious of the foreigners. In 1626, after a secret meeting with Kalinago heads from neighbouring Waitikubuli (Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
) and Oualie, it was decided that in a secret raid they would ambush the European settlements. The secret plan was revealed to the Europeans however, by an Igneri
Igneri
The Igneri were an ethnic group that was once part of the Arawak tribe. They inhabited the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico during the Pre-Columbian era. They are said to have originated in the Orinoco region in Venezuela...
woman named Barbe. Barbe had only recently been brought to St. Kitts as a slave-wife after a raid on an Arawak island. She despised the Kalinago and had fallen in love with Warner, and thus told him of the planned ambush. The Europeans acted by attacking the Kalinago first. At a site now called Bloody Point
Bloody Point
Bloody Point is a headland in Trinity Parish, Saint Kitts. The Stone Fort or Bloody River runs towards Bloody Point. In 1626, English and French settlers killed most of the Carib population at Bloody point....
, which housed the island's main Kalinago settlement, over 2,000 Kalinago men were massacred, many of whom were from Waitikubuli, who had come overnight planning to attack the Europeans the day after. The many dead bodies were dumped in a river, on the site which housed the Kalinago place of worship. For weeks, blood flowed down the river like water, giving it its nickname, Bloody River
Bloody River
Bloody River or Stone Fort River is a river or ghaut in Saint Kitts which starts from the South East Range, flows west of the village of Challengers and exits at Bloody Point. Also, it is where 2000 Caribs were massacred and blood ran down the river for three days in 1626....
. The remaining Kalinago Indians were deported to Waitikubuli.
After the Kalinago Genocide of 1626
Kalinago Genocide of 1626
The Kalinago Genocide of 1626 occurred in the West Indian island of St. Kitts at Bloody Point. The Caribs realized that many more Europeans would come and settle in St.Kitts. The Caribs decided that the European settlers had to be destroyed. Large numbers of Caribs from Dominica and other...
, the island was formally partitioned between the English and French, with the French gaining the ends, Capisterre in the North and Basseterre in the south, and the English gaining the centre. Both powers then proceeded to colonise neighbouring islands from their base. The English settled Nevis (1628), Antigua
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
(1632), Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
(1632) and later Anguilla
Anguilla
Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...
(1650) and Tortola
Tortola
Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. Local tradition recounts that Christopher Columbus named it Tortola, meaning "land of the Turtle Dove". Columbus named the island Santa Ana...
(1672). The French colonised Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
(1635), the Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
archipelago (1635), St. Martin
Saint Martin
Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...
(1648), and St. Barths
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...
(1648) and Saint Croix (1650).
Saint Kitts suffered heavily from a Spanish raid in 1629, from which all of the island's inhabitants fled as the Spaniards pillaged. They returned shortly after, however, and developed a series of fortifications along the Caribbean coast.
The island soon became a centre of production of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. The planters grew prosperous. However when the colony of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
began to dominate world tobacco production and profits started declining, the island switched to producing sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
cane, starting in 1640. To provide the large amounts of labour needed for the industry, African slaves were imported in large numbers. The slaves had very harsh living conditions, and thousands perished working the fields.
Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy became governor of the French portion of the island in 1638 Owing greater allegiance to the Knights of St John, he soon refused to accept the authority of the King of France. He died on the island in 1660.
During the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the relationship between the French and English settlers soured, as their home countries warred. Warfare soon broke out on the island itself. The overwhelming French troops attacked the English settlements and gained control of the whole island from 1665-1667. The Treaty of Breda restored the English portion of the island to its owners.
In 1671, English Saint Kitts was joined with Nevis
Nevis
Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...
, Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
and Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
to form the Leeward Caribee Island Government, headquartered in Antigua. The island still enjoyed full autonomy, however.
In 1689, during the War of the Grand Alliance
War of the Grand Alliance
The Nine Years' War – often called the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th century fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch...
, France re-occupied the entire island, and decimated the English farms. An English retaliation by General Codrington defeated the French forces and deported them to Martinique. The Treaty of Rijswijk in 1697 restored pre-war conditions. The war devastated St. Kitts's economy.
Nevis, 1628 to 1700
The history of Nevis was less tumultuous. The island was colonised by Anthony Hilton and 80 settlers from Saint Kitts in 1628. The island quickly grew very profitable from tobacco trading, and was able to secure prime investment from Britain. It was able to evade much of the conflict and devastation that nearby Saint Kitts suffered, and its riches were so great it was nicknamed "Queen of the Caribees." In 1629 during the Anglo-Spanish war of 1625, the Spanish occupied both islandsBattle of St. Kitts (1629)
The Battle of St. Kitts or St. Cristopher was a successful Spanish expedition that seized the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis from the English and French during the Anglo-Spanish War .-Background:...
and deported the English and French inhabitants back to their countries. However, the island was returned to England by the Treaty of Madrid in 1630. In 1640, Nevis, like St. Kitts switched over to sugar cane production and its wealth continued to grow. By 1660, it was officially the most profitable colony in the English crown per capita. Its gross profits were great as well, as they surpassed that of all 13 American colonies combined, up until the 19th century, despite being thousands of times smaller. Nevis' riches however, made it a target for pirates and other European nations.
In 1690, a massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the city of Jamestown, then the capital of Nevis. So much damage was done to it that the city was completely abandoned. It is reputed that the whole city sank into the sea, but since then, the land has moved over at least 100 yards to the west. That means that anything left of Jamestown would now be underground. The capital was moved south to the town of Charlestown
Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Charlestown is the capital of the island of Nevis, in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Leeward Islands, West Indies. Charlestown is situated on the leeward side of the island of Nevis, near the southern end of Pinneys Beach....
, and the island's successful sugar trade quickly bounced back.
Saint Kitts and Nevis, 1700 to 1883
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, as the over 8,000 French troops on the island easily defeated the 1,000 English posts. The French held St. Kitts for 8 years, until the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
was signed (1713). The treaty ceded the entire island of St. Kitts to the British. Upon receiving full control in 1713, the British soon moved the island's capital to the town of Basseterre
Basseterre
Basseterre , estimated population 15,500 in 2000, is the capital of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands...
in 1727, and St. Kitts quickly took off as a leader in sugar production in the Caribbean.
Whilst conditions on St. Kitts improved, Nevis was seeing a decline. The years of monocrop cultivation, as well as heavy amounts of soil erosion due to the high slope grade on the island, caused its sugar production to continuously decrease. A heavy French raid in 1706 further complicated the situation, and damaged the island's agriculture extensively. It proved to never fully recover.
To make up for sugar losses in Nevis, the island opened its first hotel in 1778. The first such establishment in the Western Hemisphere, the Bath Hotel was constructed over the site of one of the island's famous hot springs. The island thus became the first place in the Americas to officially practice tourism. Nevis's popularity as a destination grew, and it continued to be in the favour of the British elite.
By 1776, Saint Kitts had become the richest British colony in the Caribbean, per capita. It retained this status until the late 19th century, despite a myriad of attacks by the French throughout the 18th century, including the battle of St. Kitts
Battle of St. Kitts
The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle that took place on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet under the Comte de Grasse.-Background:When Hood...
in 1782. The consolidation of British rule was recognized finally under the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
in 1783. In 1806, the Leeward Islands Caribee government was split into two groups, with Antigua, Barbuda, Redonda and Montserrat in one group, and St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands in the other. The islands in the new grouping however, were able to keep their great degrees of autonomy. The grouping then split entirely in 1816.
Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1834. Profits from sugar began sinking even further, and this was made even worse with new countries, namely Brazil, Cuba and India beginning to dominate the market. Nevis' economy, as well as that of most Caribbean islands, suffered extensively from this. St. Kitts escaped the plight of its neighbours because of its good soils, and massive projects undertaken to reduce soil erosion.
In 1833, the Leeward Islands were reunited as a single administrative entity, and was renamed the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands in 1871. In 1883, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla were linked under one "presidency," based in St. Kitts. Both Nevis and Anguilla disliked the union, as they had previously had their separate presidencies. An uneasy relationship followed.
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, was born in Nevis; he spent his childhood there and on St. Croix, then belonging to Denmark, and now one of the United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
.
Saint Kitts and Nevis 1883 to present
Sugar production continued to dominate the lives of the islanders. The dominance by estate owners of the island's only and extremely limited natural resource, the land, and the single-minded application of that resource to one industry precluded the development of a stable peasant class. Instead, the system produced a large class of wage labourers generally resentful of foreign influence. The nature of the sugar industry itself—the production of a nonstaple and essentially nonnutritive commodity for a widely fluctuating world market—only served to deepen this hostility and to motivate Kittitian labourers to seek greater control over their working lives and their political situation. The collapse of sugar prices brought on by the Great Depression precipitated the birth of the organized labour movement in St. Kitts and Nevis. The Workers League, organized by Thomas Manchester of Sandy PointSandy Point Town
Sandy Point is the second largest town of St. Kitts. It is situated on the north-west coast of St.Kitts and is the capital of Saint Anne Sandy Point Parish....
in 1932, tapped the popular frustration that fueled the labor riots of 1935-36
British West Indian labour unrest of 1934–1939
TheBritish West Indian labour unrest of 1934–1939 encompassed a series of disturbances, strikes and riots in the United Kingdom's Caribbean colonies. These began as the Great Depression wore on and ceased on the eve of World War II...
. Rechristened the St. Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union
St. Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union
The Saint Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union was originally founded in 1932 as the St. Kitts Workers' League. It was renamed to its current name in 1940. It has a close relationship with the ruling Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party ....
in 1940 and under the new leadership of Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, the union established a political arm, the St. Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, which put Bradshaw in the Legislative Council in 1946. The Labour Party would go on to dominate political life in the twin-island state for more than thirty years.
The islands remained in the Leeward Islands Federation until they joined the failed West Indies Federation
West Indies Federation
The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom...
from 1958 to 1962, in which Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla was historically an overseas territory of the United Kingdom located in the Caribbean Sea. This entity later became a province to the short lived West Indies Federation in 1958...
was a separate state. Robert Bradshaw was the Minister of Finance for the short-lived country.
In 1967, the islands became an Associated State
Associated state
An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between a political territory with a degree of statehood and a nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted...
of Britain.
In the same year Anguilla had a major secession movement supported by St. Kitts political opposition party, The People's Action Movement (PAM). Both forces, working together, invaded the island from an Anguillian base in an attempted coup d'état. Anguilla was able to successfully break away from the union in 1971.
During Bradshaw's long tenure, his government slowly moved into a statist approach to economic development. All sugar lands were bought by the government, as well as the central sugar factory. Opposition to Bradshaw's rule began to build, especially by the families and supporters of former estate owners, who founded the People's Action Movement party in 1964, after frustration over a failed demonstration against a raise in electricity rates. Opposition was especially great in Nevis, who felt that their island was being neglected and unfairly deprived of revenue, investment and services by its larger neighbour. Bradshaw mainly ignored Nevis' complaints, but Nevisian disenchantment with the Labour Party proved a key factor in the party's eventual fall from power.
In 1978 the labour party's longtime leader, Robert Bradshaw, died of Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
. He was succeeded by his former deputy, Paul Southwell
Paul Southwell
Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell was the second Premier and first Chief Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. He also worked as a teacher, police officer, and trade unionist.- Early life and career :...
, but Southwell himself passed a few months later, in 1979. The party then fell into a crisis of leadership. The position of premier was then handed over to Lee Moore, who, despite being recognized regionally as a legal scholar, seemed unable to lead (he once told a PAM heckler, on Church Street in front of Government Headquarters [House of Parliament] that he will "root like a pig in mud" in the House of Parliament).
Taking advantage of the labour party's confusion, the PAM party was very successful in the 1980 elections, winning 3 seats on St. Kitts, compared to the labour party's 4. The Nevis Reformation Party, under the leadership of Simeon Daniel, won 2 of the 3 seats on Nevis. PAM and NRP then formed a coalition government, naming Kennedy Simmonds, a medical doctor and one of the founders of the PAM, premier (Simmonds had won Bradshaw's former seat in a 1979 by-election). The change in government reduced the demand for Nevis' secession. In 1983, the federation was granted independence from Britain, with a constitution that granted Nevis a large degree of autonomy as well as the guaranteed right of secession. To take advantage of this landmark, early elections were called in 1984, in which the NRP captured all 3 seats on Nevis, and the PAM party capturing 6 seats on St. Kitts, compared to the labour party's 2, despite overall the labour party winning the nationwide popular vote. The new coalition government now had a strong 9 to 2 mandate in parliament.
Economic improvement for St. Kitts followed, with the PAM party shifting focus from the sugar industry to tourism. However, much of the island's poorest people, mainly the sugar workers, were neglected. Opposition to PAM began to build from this, as well as on accusations of corruption. In the 1993 elections, both PAM and labour took 4 seats each, whilst on Nevis, a new party, the Concerned Citizens Movement, took 2 seats, beating the NRP's 1. The stalemate on St. Kitts proved unresolvable when the CCM in Nevis refused to form a coalition with PAM. Rioting soon followed on the islands, which was finally resolved in a special set of elections held in 1995, in which the labour party overwhelmingly defeated the PAM party, winning 7 seats compared to PAM's 1. Dr. Denzil Douglas
Denzil Douglas
Denzil Llewellyn Douglas has been Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis since July 1995. He leads the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party. He is the longest serving Prime Minister Saint Kitts and Nevis has ever had....
became the new prime minister of the federation, and retains the post to this day.
On September 21, 1998, Hurricane Georges
Hurricane Georges
Hurricane Georges was a very destructive, powerful and long-lived Cape Verde-type Category 4 hurricane. Georges was the seventh tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season...
severely damaged the islands leaving nearly $500 millions damages and property. Georges was the worst hurricane to hit the regional in the last century.
In 2005, St. Kitts saw the closure of its sugar industry, after 365 years in the monoculture. This was stated as due to the industry's huge losses, as well as market threats by the E.U., who plan to cut sugar prices by large amounts in the near future
See also
- British colonization of the AmericasBritish colonization of the AmericasBritish colonization of the Americas began in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas...
- French colonization of the AmericasFrench colonization of the AmericasThe French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, and continued in the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France founded colonies in much of eastern North America, on a number of Caribbean islands, and in South America...
- History of the AmericasHistory of the AmericasThe history of the Americas is the collective history of the American landmass, which includes North and South America, as well as Central America and the Caribbean. It begins with people migrating to these areas from Asia during the height of an Ice Age...
- History of the British West Indies
- History of North AmericaHistory of North AmericaThe history of North America is the study of the past, particularly the written record, oral histories, and traditions, passed down from generation to generation on the continent in the Earth's northern hemisphere and western hemisphere....
- History of the CaribbeanHistory of the CaribbeanThe history of the Caribbean reveals the significant role the region played in the colonial struggles of the European powers since the 15th century. In the 20th century the Caribbean was again important during World War II, in decolonization wave in the post-war period, and in the tension between...
- List of Prime Ministers of Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Politics of Saint Kitts and NevisPolitics of Saint Kitts and NevisThe politics of Saint Kitts and Nevis takes place in the framework of an independent federal parliamentary democratic Commonwealth Realm with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented in St. Kitts and Nevis by a governor-general...
- Spanish colonization of the AmericasSpanish colonization of the AmericasColonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...