Saint Kitts

State of Saint Kitts
Nickname: "Sugar City"
Map showing Saint Kitts and Nevis

Geography
Location	Caribbean Sea
Coordinates	17°15′N 62°40′W / 17.250°N 62.667°W / 17.250; -62.667
Archipelago	Leeward Islands
Total islands	1
Major islands	1
Area	176 km² (68 sq mi)
Length	29 km (18 mi)
Width	8 km (5 mi)
Highest elevation	1,156 m (3,793 ft)
Highest point	Mount Liamuiga
Administration
Saint Kitts and Nevis
2 divisions of St.Kitts
Largest settlement	Basseterre (pop. 15,500)
Demographics
Population	46,000
Density	208.33 /km² (539.57 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	African descent, mulatto, Indo-Pakistani, British, Portuguese, Lebanese^[1]

Saint Kitts, also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island, 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. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The island is one of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. It is situated about 2,100 km (1,300 mi) southeast of Miami, Florida. The land area of St. Kitts is about 168 km² (65 sq mi), being approximately 29 km (18 mi) long and on average about 8 km (5.0 mi) across.

Saint Kitts has a population of around 45,000, the majority of whom are mainly of African descent. The primary language is English, with a literacy rate of approximately 98%. Residents call themselves Kittitians.

Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest fortress ever built in the Eastern Caribbean. The island of Saint Kitts is home to the Warner Park Cricket Stadium, which was used to host 2007 Cricket World Cup matches. This made St. Kitts and Nevis the smallest nation to ever host a World Cup event. Saint Kitts is also home to several institutions of higher education, including Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Windsor University School of Medicine, and the University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Geography

The capital of the two-island nation, and also its largest port, is the town of Basseterre on Saint Kitts. There is a modern facility for handling large cruise ships there. A ring road goes around the perimeter of the island with smaller roads branching off it; the interior of the island is too steep for habitation.

Saint Kitts is 10 km (6.2 mi) away from Sint Eustatius to the north and 3 km (1.9 mi) from Nevis to the south. St. Kitts has three distinct groups of volcanic peaks: the North West or Mount Misery Range; the Middle or Verchilds Range and the South East or Olivees Range. The highest peak is Mount Liamuiga, formerly Mount Misery, a dormant volcano 1,156 m high.

Parish Images

Main article: Parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis

There are nine parishes on the island of St. Kitts:

Economy

St. Kitts & Nevis uses the Eastern Caribbean dollar, which maintains a fixed exchange rate of 2.7-to-one with the United States dollar.^[2] The US dollar is almost as widely accepted as the Eastern Caribbean dollar.^[3]

For hundreds of years, St. Kitts operated as a sugar monoculture, but due to decreasing profitability, the government closed the industry in 2005. Tourism is a major and growing source of income to the island, although the number and density of resorts is less than on many other Caribbean islands. Transportation, non-sugar agriculture, manufacturing and construction are the other growing sectors of the economy.^[4]

St. Kitts is dependent on tourism to drive its economy. Tourism has been increasing since 1978. In 2009, there were 587,479 arrivals to Saint Kitts compared to 379,473 in 2007, which represents an increase of just under 40% growth in a two-year period. As tourism grows, the demand for vacation property increases in conjunction.

St. Kitts & Nevis also acquires foreign direct investment from their unique citizenship by investment program, outlined in their Citizenship Act of 1984.^[5] Interested parties can acquire citizenship if they pass the government's strict background checks and make an investment into an approved real estate development. Purchasers who pass government due diligence and make a minimum investment of US$400,000, into qualifying government approved real estate, are entitled to apply for citizenship of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Many projects are approved under the citizenship by investment program, and the main qualifying projects of interest can be found within the Henley Estates market overview .^[6]

In addition to this, in hopes of expanding tourism, the country hosts its annual St. Kitts Music Festival.

History

Battle of St. Kitts, 1782, as described by an observer in a French engraving titled "Attaque de Brimstomhill".

Main article: History of Saint Kitts and Nevis

During the last Ice Age, the sea level was 200 feet (61 m) lower and St. Kitts and Nevis were one island along with Sint Eustatius (also known as Statia).

St. Kitts was originally settled by pre-agricultural, pre-ceramic "Archaic people", who migrated south down the archipelago from Florida. In a few hundred years they disappeared, to be replaced by the ceramic-using and agriculturalist Saladoid people around 100 BC, who migrated to St. Kitts north up the archipelago from the banks of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. Around 800 AD, they were replaced by the Igneri people, members of the Arawak group.

Around 1300, the Kalinago, or Carib people arrived on the islands. These war-like people quickly dispersed the Igneri, and forced them northwards to the Greater Antilles. They named Saint Kitts "Liamuiga" meaning "fertile island", and would likely have expanded further north if not for the arrival of Europeans.

A Spanish expedition under Christopher Columbus discovered and claimed the island for Spain in 1493. A short-lived French Huguenot settlement was established at Dieppe Bay in 1538.

The first English colony was established in 1623, followed by a French colony in 1625. The English and French briefly united to massacre the local Kalinago (preempting a Kalinago plan to massacre the Europeans),^[7] and then partitioned the island, with the English colonists in the middle and the French on either end. In 1629, a Spanish force sent to clear the islands of foreign settlement seized St. Kitts. The English settlement was rebuilt following the 1630 peace between England and Spain.

The island alternated repeatedly between English (then British) and French control during the 17th and 18th centuries, as one power took the whole island, only to have it switch hands due to treaties or military action. Parts of the island were heavily fortified, as exemplified by the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Brimstone Hill and the now-crumbling Fort Charles.

Since 1783, St. Kitts has been affiliated with the Kingdom of Great Britain, which became the United Kingdom.

Slavery

The island originally produced tobacco; but it changed to sugar cane in 1640, due to stiff competition from the colony of Virginia. The labour-intensive cultivation of sugar cane was the reason for the large-scale importation of African slaves. The importation began almost immediately upon the arrival of Europeans to the region.

The purchasing of enslaved Africans was outlawed in the British Empire by an Act of Parliament in 1807. Slavery was abolished by an Act of Parliament which became law on 1 August 1834. This emancipation was followed by four years of apprenticeship, put in place to protect the planters from losing their labour force.

August the 1st is now celebrated as a public holiday and is called Emancipation Day. In 1883, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla were all linked under one presidency, located on St. Kitts, to the dismay of the Nevisians and Anguillans. Anguilla eventually separated out of this arrangement, in 1971, after an armed raid on St. Kitts.^[8]

Sugar production continued to dominate the local economy until 2005, when, after 365 years of having a mono-culture, the government closed the sugar industry. This was due to huge losses and European Union plans to greatly cut sugar prices.

Transportation

Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport serves St. Kitts. British Airways flies in twice a week from London and daily connections from Miami and New York are available.

The Basseterre Ferry Terminal facilitates travel between St. Kitts and sister island Nevis.

The narrow-gauge (30 inches^[9]) St Kitts Scenic Railway circles the island and offers passenger service from its headquarters near the airport, although the service is geared more for tourists than as day-to-day transportation for residents. Built between 1912 and 1926 to haul sugar cane from farms to the sugar factory in Basseterre, since 2003 the railway has offered a 3.5 hour, 30-mile circle tour of the island on specially designed double-decker open-air coaches, with 12 miles of the trip being by bus.^[10]

Notable residents

Saint Kitts is or was the residence of:

Joan Armatrading, singer/songwriter.
George Astaphan, born in St. Kitts, was a physician who gave steroids to the sprinter Ben Johnson.
Imruh Bakari, born in St. Kitts, film maker and writer
Robert Bradshaw was a major political figure in St. Kitts from 1932 to his death in 1978.
Burt Caesar, born in St. Kitts, actor, broadcaster and director.
Pogus Caesar is a British artist, television producer and director.
Kim Collins is a former world champion sprinter (2003).
Felix Dexter was an actor, comedian, and writer.
Bertil Fox was born in St. Kitts, became a professional bodybuilder and was convicted of murder.^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]
Keith Gumbs is an International football player who currently plays as a striker for the Liga Indonesia side Sriwijaya FC.
Sir James Harford was Administrator of Saint Christopher from 1940 to 1946.
Atiba Harris is a Kittitian footballer who currently plays for Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer.^[15]
Virgil Hodge is a female sprinter specialising in the 200 metres event.
Konris Maynard is a Calypso musician.
Major-General Sir Robert Nickle was governor of Saint Christopher from 1830.
Tiandra Ponteen is a female sprinter specialising in the 200 metres and the 400 metres.
Lord Hercules George Robert Robinson was governor of Saint Christopher from 1855 to 1859.
Cuthbert Sebastian was the oldest de facto head of state in the world. He served as Governor-General of St Kitts-Nevis from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2012, his retirement.
Joseph Matthew Sebastian was a major political figure in St. Kitts from 1918 to his death in 1944.
Julius Soubise was a freed Afro-Caribbean slave who became a well-known fop in the UK during the 1760s and 1770s.
Neil Strauss writer.
Desai Williams is a former sprinter who won a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics.
Caryl Phillips was born in St. Kitts and is a novelist playwright and essayist, winning the literary awards: Commonwealth Writers' Prize (2003, 2006); James Tait Black Memorial Prize (1994).

Gallery

View from Sir Timothy's Hill
Southeast Peninsula (Saint Kitts). The island on the left is Nevis.
St. Kitts at dawn as seen from a ship entering the port of Basseterre
Downtown Basseterre
Downtown Basseterre
Fishing boat, Basseterre harbour
Flamingo Tongue snail Cyphoma gibbosum on a Sea Fan
Divers and anemone on the MV River Taw wreck
Juvenile Black or Grey Angelfish with a sunken van behind it
Diver and fish, MV River Taw wreck
Diver and sponges
Royal Gramma or Fairy Basslet
Brimstone Hill Fortress
Cannon battery at Brimston Hill
Cannon at Brimstone Hill
Ruins at Brimstone Hill
Battle of St. Kitts in January 1782
Flying towards the north end of the island, looking down part of the west or Caribbean coast

References

↑ Ben Cahoon (2000). "Saint Kitts and Nevis". WorldStatesmen. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
↑ "USD/XCD Chart". XE.com. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
↑ St Kitts Tourism Authority Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD$). U.S. bills are accepted by most stores and businesses and change is given in E.C. currency. U.S. coins are not accepted.
↑ (PDF) http://web.archive.org/web/20071203030453/http://www.gov.kn/pdf/200512_13%20Budget%20Address%20FY%202006.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ "Citizenship-by-Investment Introduction". Henley Estates. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
↑ "Citizenship-by-Investment Download". Henley Estates. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
↑ "Top 10 attractions in St Kitts". The Guardian. October 1, 2013.
↑ "Introduction ::Anguilla".
↑ Schwartzman, M. T. "St. Kitts Railway: One Sweet Ride," Cruise Travel, December 2005, accessed 15 December 2012.
↑ St. Kitts Scenic Railway, official site, accessed 15 December 2012.
↑ "A letter from Bertil: Bertil Fox is serving a life sentence for double murder on the island of St. Kitts. In this FLEX exclusive, he gives his version of what happened on that fateful day in 1997". Flex. 2005.
↑ "The Muscle Murders". CNN. 18 May 1998.
↑ "BERTIL FOX: STARS OF BODYBUILDING | MRO Fansite | History of Mr. and Masters Olympia | The Best Bodybuilders, Muscle Gallery, Bodybuilder, photos, links, pics, videos, biography, news, interview". Schwarzenegger.it. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
↑ Archived 26 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Archived 29 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Saint Kitts.

Government of Saint Kitts & Nevis - Official Site
Saint Kitts & Nevis Media Portal
Christmas Sports in Saint Kitts/Nevis

Parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts	Christ Church Nichola Town Saint Anne Sandy Point Saint George Basseterre Saint John Capisterre Saint Mary Cayon Saint Paul Capisterre Saint Peter Basseterre Saint Thomas Middle Island Trinity Palmetto Point

Nevis	Saint George Gingerland Saint James Windward Saint John Figtree Saint Paul Charlestown Saint Thomas Lowland

Sovereign Military Order of Malta topics

Roman Catholic chivalric order and sovereign subject of international law, founded in 1099 in Jerusalem,

Kingdom of Jerusalem

Organisation

Auxiliaries

Malteser International
Military Corps: Air Force (Historically: Navy)

Culture

Society

Distinctions

History,
including
major
territories,
premises,
and battles
of the
Knights
Hospitaller

Rome

Palazzo Malta (capital) (1869)
Villa del Priorato di Malta (1869)

Malta

Fortifications	Birgu ( Fort St. Angelo (2001)) Senglea (Fort St. Michael)^ Mdina Valletta (Fort St. Elmo) Cittadella Floriana Lines Santa Margherita Lines Cottonera Lines Fort Ricasoli Fort Manoel Fort Chambray Fort Tigné others

Palaces	Grand Master's Palace Palazzo Vilhena Verdala Palace San Anton Palace

Churches	Church of St. Lawrence Conventual Church of St. John

Auberges in Birgu	Auberge d'Allemagne^ Auberge d'Angleterre Auberge d'Aragon Auberge d'Auvergne et Provence Auberge de Castille et Portugal Auberge de France Auberge d'Italie^

Auberges in Valletta	Auberge d'Allemagne^ Auberge d'Aragon Auberge d'Auvergne^ Auberge de Bavière Auberge de Castille Auberge de France^ Auberge d'Italie Auberge de Provence

Caribbean

Saint Kitts (1651-1665)
Saint Martin (1651-1665)
Saint Barthélemy (1651-1665)
Saint Croix (1660-1665)

Rhodes

Holy Land

Military
history

Crusades	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th

Battles	Siege of Jerusalem (1187) Battle of Arsuf (1191) Siege of Acre (1291) Siege of Rhodes (1480) Siege of Rhodes (1522) Invasion of Gozo (1551) Siege of Tripoli (1551) Great Siege of Malta (1565) Battle of Lepanto (1571) French invasion of Malta (1798)

Extant extraterritoriality (with year of proclamation)
World Heritage Site, UNESCO
^ Demolished or sparse remains
Pope portal
Catholicism portal
See also: Chivalric orders under protection of the Holy See

Territories of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

1708–1757 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Minorca 1798–1802 Minorca 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State

North America

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century

1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1623–1883 Saint Kitts *(Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis *(Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua *(Antigua & Barbuda) 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 British Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country¹ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stikine Territory 1866–1871 Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada² 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize) 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Newfoundland³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Canada's name.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America

1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) Since 1833 Falkland Islands⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands⁵

4. Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1903–1976 Seychelles 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon)⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania)⁶ 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1954–1960 Nigeria 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century

1685–1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra) 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757–1947 Bengal (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1786–1946 Penang (Malaysia) 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra) 1819–1826 British Malaya (West Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements (Malaysia and Singapore) 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1848–1946 Labuan (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) 1874–1963 British Borneo (East Malaysia and Brunei)	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison 1878–1960 Cyprus	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate 1920–1932 Iraq⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century

1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1901 Cook Islands⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)

14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

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