St. Kitts and Nevis History

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The History of St. Kitts and Nevis


Below is a brief history of St. Kitts and Nevis. To find information other than history for St. Kitts and Nevis then visit the St. Kitts and Nevis Country Page.

  • St. Kitts and Nevis Government
  • St. Kitts and Nevis People
  • St. Kitts and Nevis Geography
  • St. Kitts and Nevis Economy
    St. Kitts and Nevis History
    At the time of European discovery, Carib Indians inhabited the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. Christopher Columbus landed on the larger island in 1493 on his second voyage and named it after St. Christopher, his patron saint. Columbus also discovered Nevis on his second voyage, reportedly calling it Nevis because of its resemblance to a snowcapped mountain (in Spanish, "nuestra senora de las nieves" or our lady of the snows). European colonization did not begin until 1623-24, when first English, then French colonists arrived on St. Christopher's Island, whose name the English shortened to St. Kitt's Island. As the first English colony in the Caribbean, St. Kitts served as a base for further colonization in the region.

    The English and French held St. Kitts jointly from 1628 to1713. During the 17th century, intermittent warfare between French and English settlers ravaged the island's economy. Meanwhile Nevis, settled by English settlers in 1628, grew prosperous under English rule. St. Kitts was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The French seized both St. Kitts and Nevis in 1782.

    The Treaty of Paris in 1783 definitively awarded both islands to Britain. They were part of the colony of the Leeward Islands from 1871-1956, and of the West Indies Federation from 1958-62. In 1967, together with Anguilla, they became a self-governing state in association with Great Britain; Anguilla seceded late that year and remains a British dependency. The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis attained full independence on September 19, 1983.

    source: http://www.state.gov
  • St. Kitts and Nevis Government
  • St. Kitts and Nevis People
  • St. Kitts and Nevis Geography
  • St. Kitts and Nevis Economy