History of St. Kitts and Nevis

The History of St. Kitts and Nevis covers the history of the Caribbean state of St. Kitts and Nevis , which has been independent from Great Britain since 1983.

Story before Columbus

The first groups settled on St. Kitts and Nevis as early as 3000 years before Christ. In the following millennia, many tribes, such as the Arawak , settled and left the islands after a while. Around 1300 AD the Caribs settled St. Kitts and Nevis. They were the last tribe to live here before colonization.

Colonization by the Europeans (1493–1783)

During his second trip to the Caribbean, Christopher Columbus discovered the islands for Europe. He first named St. Kitts Sant Jago. The name Nevis is derived from the Spanish "Nieves", which means snow, because the summit, Nevis Peak, was overcast with clouds on arrival. A French group of Huguenots from Dieppe first settled down in 1538, but they were quickly expelled. In 1624 the English captain Thomas Warner founded the first British colony in the Caribbean on St. Nevis . At first there were no conflicts with the residents. A year later, under the leadership of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, the French came to the island after hearing how successful the English were with their colony. Thomas Warner allowed the French to inhabit the island and at the same time turned more and more away from the Caribbean inhabitants.

In 1626 they planned a raid on the Europeans to drive them out again. However, the Europeans learned this before the act was carried out and either killed the Caribs or enslaved them. St. Kitts was now wholly in French and British hands, with the latter belonging to the center of the island and the French to the south and north. In the following years many Africans were imported and abused as slaves for the successful production of tobacco and sugar cane . Colonization began on Nevis in 1628 by the British Anthony Hilton, who fled St. Kitts because of a murder plot against him. Tobacco and sugar production quickly developed here, which was also a source of British prosperity. In 1674 Nevis formed a federation of British island colonies along with Montserrat , St. Kitts and Antigua . After a few changes of ownership between France and England, St. Kitts and Nevis finally became British and incorporated into the British Empire in 1783 .

In 1882 Anguilla was annexed to the two countries.

1883 until today

St. Kitts was temporarily the richest British colony by the sugar industry, plunged the global economic crisis 1929/1930 both islands in a major economic crisis. In 1930 parties were formed, such as the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party, and universal suffrage was introduced in 1952. In 1967 the islands became an autonomous territory of the United Kingdom. Anguilla then wanted to leave the Confederation and did so in 1971, with the support of the opposition party of St. Kitts and Nevis, the People's Action Movement. On September 19, 1983, St. Kitts and Nevis finally became independent from Great Britain and became an independent state. Nevis wanted to split in 1998, but failed in a vote due to a two-thirds majority .

Web links

Commons : History of St. Kitts and Nevis - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files