Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1882–1983 | |||||||||||||||
| Motto: "Unity in Trinity" | |||||||||||||||
| Anthem: God Save the Queen (1882–1901; 1952–83) God Save the King (1901–52) | |||||||||||||||
Location of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla among theLeeward Islands. | |||||||||||||||
| Status | Colony of the United Kingdom (1882–1967) Associated state of the United Kingdom (1967–1983) | ||||||||||||||
| Capital | Basseterre | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | English (official) Saint Kitts Creole Anguillian Creole | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| Queen | |||||||||||||||
• 1882–1901 (first) | Victoria | ||||||||||||||
• 1952–83 (last) | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||||||||
• 1882–1885 (first) | Charles Monroe Elridge | ||||||||||||||
• 1981-1983 | Clement A. Arrindell | ||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Legislative Council | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
• Established | 16 June 1882 | ||||||||||||||
| 27 February 1967 | |||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 19 September 1983 | ||||||||||||||
| Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | ||||||||||||||
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Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (orSaint Christopher, Nevis, and Anguilla) was a British colony in theWest Indies from 1882 to 1983, consisting of the islands ofAnguilla (until 1980),Nevis, andSaint Christopher (or Saint Kitts). From 1882 to 1951, and again from 1980, the colony was known simply asSaint Christopher and Nevis. Saint Christopher and Nevis gained independence in 1983 as theFederation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, while Anguilla remains a British overseas territory.
The islands of Saint Christopher and Nevis had been British colonies since the 17th century, but were administered separately until the 1880s. A union of Saint Christopher and Nevis had been proposed as early as 1867, when CaptainJames George Mackenzie was appointedLieutenant-Governor of Saint Christopher with a mandate to seek to combine the administrations of the two neighboring islands. This proposal met with strong opposition, however, and was withdrawn the following year.[1] In 1871, Saint Christopher and Nevis became presidencies within theFederal Colony of the Leeward Islands. Anguilla was attached to Saint Christopher as a dependency the same year. In 1882, the Leeward Islands legislature passed legislation merging the two presidencies as the combined Presidency of Saint Christopher and Nevis.[2] In 1951, the name was changed to include Anguilla.
TheLeeward Islands Colony was disbanded in 1958, due to frequent tension between its members. From 1958 to 1962, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla formed a province of theWest Indies Federation,electing two members to the House of Representatives and also having two senators, appointed by theGovernor-General.[3]
In 1967, the territory of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla was granted full internal autonomy, as anAssociated State of the United Kingdom. The UK retained responsibility for defence and external affairs, while a new judicial system was established, headed by theWest Indies Associated States Supreme Court (although thePrivy Council remained the highest court of appeal).
Later in 1967, Anguilla's leaders expelled the Federation's police from the island, and declared the island's independence as theRepublic of Anguilla. On 7 November 1970, a commission led byHugh Wooding, formerChief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago, published a report that unanimously rejected both the idea of an independent Anguilla and Anguilla's becoming a separate British colony, and recommended that the island should instead remain a part of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla.[4] The report was welcomed byRobert Llewellyn Bradshaw while the Council of Anguilla rejected it.[4]Foreign and Commonwealth Office British MinisterJoseph Godber stated in theHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom that his government would analyze the report in light of discussions with all interested parties and that no decision unacceptable to the people of Anguilla would be made.[4] A series of interim agreements followed that resulted in direct rule of the island from Britain, although it was not formally separated from St. Kitts and Nevis until December 1980, when it was made a separateCrown colony.[5][6]
Nevis had also attempted to separate from the federation on several occasions. The island's leaders were unsuccessful in this effort, they did secure greater autonomy for Nevis in the years leading up to independence, which occurred in September 1983 after a delay of several years to allow for negotiations.[7] SirFrederick Albert Phillips, the first governor of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, wrote in 2013:[2]
It is generally acknowledged that the federation failed on several counts. It failed to live up to the promise of greatly improved administration; it failed to produce economies in the administration of the federating islands as one composite unit; and it failed in that it did not produce any significantly greater output in terms of social development.

From 1882 to 1958, the federation's administrator was under the wider jurisdiction of theGovernor of the Leeward Islands. From 1958 to 1962, the administrator was responsible to theGovernor-General of the West Indies Federation.[8]
The national football team debuted in 1938, in a friendly againstGrenada, but played only sporadically. It has played more regularly since independence.[9] Incricket, theAnguilla,Nevis, andSaint Kitts national teams competed separately at regional level, although combined teams were occasionally fielded in the past.[10] Delegations from Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla were sent to several editions of theCARIFTA Games, winning medalsin 1977 and1983. At the1978 Commonwealth Games inEdmonton, Alberta, Canada, the federation sent four competitors (two runners and two cyclists, all male), but failed to win a medal.[11]