Dieppe Bay Town
Coordinates: 17 ° 25 ′ N , 62 ° 49 ′ W
Dieppe Bay Town is a place in the extreme north of the main island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean island state of St. Kitts and Nevis and one of the two main towns of the Parish Saint John Capisterre . Today (2010) the place has only about 630 inhabitants, but due to its history it has the status of a "town".
history
The place was founded in 1538 as the first European settlement in the eastern Caribbean by French Huguenots from Dieppe and named after their hometown, but destroyed again by the Spaniards after a few months ; the settlers were deported. In 1625 the place was re-established by French settlers under the leadership of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc .
The place is located on Dieppe Bay, a bay protected from the high Atlantic waves by extensive coral reefs in the east and north ; it was a popular anchorage for the corsairs who ambushed Spanish ships. When Pierre Belain and the English captain Thomas Warner divided the island of Saint Kitts (then called Saint Christopher) between France and England in 1627 and France received the north end (Capisterre) and the south end (Basseterre), Dieppe became the capital of the “Capisterre de St . Christophe ”. The southern part of today's Saint John Capisterre Parish belonged to the English center of the island, "British Saint Christopher", and was administered by Saddlers . When England finally took possession of the entire island with the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 , both places remained administrative seats of the new, larger Parish.
The once busy natural harbor , from which tobacco was first shipped in the early colonial times and cane sugar from 1640 onwards, lost its importance after Basseterre became the island's capital in 1727 and trade was based there.
Beach life
The small, palm-fringed beach in Dieppe Bay consists of black sand of volcanic origin, which is said to promote the tanning process of beach guests. Because of the barrier reef only a few hundred meters in front of the beach , the sea is quite calm and therefore suitable for swimming, snorkeling and windsurfing . Manchinel trees , which contain strong toxins , grow near the beach ; They should not be sheltered under them when it rains, as they then secrete a milky white substance that blisters on contact with the skin. From the beach and the local Golden Lemon Inn & Villas, probably the most famous hotel and restaurant on the island, you can see the Atlantic on the right and the Caribbean on the left .
literature
- Frommer's Caribbean Ports of Call. Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2008, ISBN 978-0-470-28971-6 , p. 316
Web links
- St. Christopher National Trust: Heritage Sites (PDF file; 997 kB)
- St. Kitts & Nevis Beaches