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North & Central America and Caribbean
Saint Christopher and Nevis |
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Last reviewed: 14 January 2009 |
Country information
HISTORY
At the time of European discovery, the islands of St Kitts and Nevis were inhabited by Carib Indians. 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 snow-capped mountain (in Spanish, Nuesta Senora de las Nieves, or our lady of the snows).
European colonisation 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 colonisation in the region. St Kitts was held jointly by the English and French from 1628-1713. During the 17th century, intermittent warfare between French and English settlers ravaged its 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.
Both St Kitts and Nevis were seized by the French 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 later that year and remains a British dependency. The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis attained full independence on 19 September 1983.
BBC News Country Timeline: St Kitts and Nevis
