 Map showing Saint Kitts and Nevis | |
 Location of Saint Kitts among theLeeward Islands. | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Caribbean Sea |
| Coordinates | 17°19′N62°43′W / 17.31°N 62.72°W /17.31; -62.72 |
| Archipelago | Leeward Islands |
| Total islands | 8 |
| Major islands | 2 |
| Area | 174 km2 (67 sq mi) |
| Length | 29 km (18 mi) |
| Width | 8 km (5 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,156 m (3793 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Liamuiga |
| Administration | |
| 2 divisions of Saint Kitts | |
| Largest settlement | Basseterre (pop. 15,500) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 34,918[1] (2011) |
| Pop. density | 208.33/km2 (539.57/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | African descent,Indian,Irish,British,Portuguese,Lebanese |
Saint Kitts, officiallySaint Christopher, is anisland in theWest Indies. The west side of the island borders theCaribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces theAtlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island ofNevis constitute one country: the Federation ofSaint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts and Nevis are separated by a shallow 3-kilometre (2 mi) channel known as "The Narrows".
Saint Kitts became home to the first Caribbean British and French colonies in the mid-1620s.[2][3] Along with the island of Nevis, Saint Kitts was a member of theBritish West Indies until gaining independence on 19 September 1983.[4]
The island is one of theLeeward Islands in theLesser Antilles. It is situated about 2,100 km (1,300 mi) southeast ofMiami,Florida, US. The land area of Saint 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 about 40,000, the majority of whom are ofAfrican descent. The primary language isEnglish, with a literacy rate of approximately 98%.[5] Residents call themselvesKittitians. The island is named after the ChristianSaint Christopher; "Kit" was formerly a common diminutive of "Christopher".
Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, aUNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest fortress ever built in the Eastern Caribbean. The island of Saint Kitts is home to theWarner Park Cricket Stadium, which was used to host2007 Cricket World Cup matches. This made Saint Kitts and Nevis the smallest nation to ever host aWorld Cup event. Saint Kitts is also home to several institutions of higher education, includingRoss University School of Veterinary Medicine,Windsor University School of Medicine, and theUniversity of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The capital of the two-island nation, and also its largest port, is the town ofBasseterre on Saint Kitts. There is a modern facility for handling largecruise 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.[citation needed]
Saint Kitts is 10 km (6.2 mi) away fromSint Eustatius to the north and 3 km (1.9 mi) fromNevis to the south. St. Kitts has three distinct groups ofvolcanic 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 metres (3,793 ft) high.[6]
The youngest volcanic centre isMt. Liamuiga, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) in diameter and rising to an elevation of 1,155 metres (3,789 ft). Its last eruption was 1,620 years ago, corresponding with the Steel Dust series ofpyroclastic deposits on the western flank. The Mansion Series of pyroclastic deposits and andesite with basalt layers occur on the northern flank, along withmudflows. This volcano has a crater 900 metres (3,000 ft) wide and 244 metres (801 ft) deep, plus two distinct parasitic domes consisting primarily ofandesite, Brimstone Hill and Sandy Point Hill which is coalesced with Farm Flat. Brimstone Hill is noted for havinglimestone on its flanks, which was dragged upward with the formation of the dome 44,400 years ago. Mt. Liamuiga partially overlays the Middle Range to the southeast. This Middle Range is anotherstratovolcano 976 m in height with a small summit crater containing a lake. Next in line is the 900 metres (3,000 ft) South East Range, 1Myr in age, consisting of four peaks. Ottley'sdome and Monkey Hill dome are on the flanks, while the older volcanoes represented by Canada Hills, and Conaree Hills lie past the airport and Basseterre on the southeast flank. The Salt Dome Peninsula contains the oldest volcanic deposits, 2.3–2.77 Myr in age, consisting of at least ninePelean domes rising up to 319 metres (1,047 ft) in height, which includes Williams Hill andSt. Anthony's Peak.[7][8][9][10]
During thelast ice age, the sea level was up to 91 metres (300 ft) lower and St. Kitts and Nevis were one island along withSaba andSint Eustatius (also known as Statia).[11]
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 theceramic-using andagriculturalistSaladoid people around 100 BC, who migrated to St. Kitts north up the archipelago from the banks of theOrinoco River inVenezuela. Around 800 AD, they were replaced by theIgneri people, members of theArawak group.[12]
Around 1300 AD, theKalinago, or Carib people arrived on the islands. These agriculturalists quickly dispersed the Igneri, and forced them northwards to theGreater Antilles. They named Saint Kitts "Liamuiga" meaning "fertile island", and would likely have expanded further north if not for the arrival of Europeans.[citation needed]
ASpanish expedition underChristopher Columbus arrived and claimed the island for Spain in 1493.[13]
The firstEnglishcolony was established in 1623, followed by aFrench colony in 1625. The English and French briefly united to pre-empt a Kalinago ambush. Theymassacred the local Kalinago,[14] and then partitioned the island, with the English colonists in the middle and the French on either end.In 1629, aSpanish force sent to clear the islands of foreign settlementseized St. Kitts. The English settlement was rebuilt following the1630 peace between England and Spain.[citation needed]
The island alternated repeatedly betweenEnglish (thenBritish) andFrench 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. Actions includedthe Siege of Brimstone Hill andthe Battle of Saint Kitts. Parts of the island were heavily fortified, as exemplified by theUNESCO World Heritage Site atBrimstone Hill and the now-crumblingFort Charles.
Since 1783, Saint Kitts has been affiliated with theKingdom of Great Britain, which became theUnited Kingdom.[15]
The island originally producedtobacco, but farmers switched tosugarcane in 1640 because of stiff competition from the colony ofVirginia. The labour-intensive cultivation of sugar cane was the reason for the large-scale importation ofAfricanslaves. The importation began almost immediately upon the arrival of Europeans to the region even though sugarcane wasn't cultivated for another two hundred years on the island, leading some to discredit the earliest claims of imported African labour.[16]
Thepurchasing of enslaved Africans was outlawed in theBritish Empire by an Act of Parliament in 1807.[17]Slavery was abolished by an Act of Parliament which became law on 1 August 1834. This emancipation was followed by four years of forced enslavement (1834-1838) against which the nominally freed Africans on St. Kitts revolted and martial law was declared with British warships sent from Antigua to force the rebels back to the plantations.[18] The four years of forced enslavement was referred to as the apprenticeship system and was put in place to protect the "planters" (plantation owners) from losing their free labour force.[19]
1 August is now celebrated as a public holiday and is calledEmancipation Day. In 1883, Saint Kitts,Nevis, andAnguilla were all linked under one presidency, located on Saint Kitts, to the dismay of the Nevisians and Anguillans. Anguilla left this arrangement in 1971, after an armed raid on Saint Kitts on the 10th of June 1967.[20]
Sugar production continued to dominate the local economy until 2005, when, after 365 years of having amonoculture, the government closed thesugar industry. This decision was made because of huge losses andEuropean Union plans to greatly cut sugar prices.[citation needed]
For purposes of governing, the island is divided into nineparishes:
Saint Kitts & Nevis uses theEastern Caribbean dollar, which maintains a fixed exchange rate of 2.7-to-one with theUnited States dollar.[21] The US dollar is almost as widely accepted on the island as the Eastern Caribbean dollar.[22]
For hundreds of years, Saint Kitts operated as asugarmonoculture, 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.[23]
Saint 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, a growth of just under 40% in a two-year period. As tourism grows, the demand for vacation property increases in conjunction.[citation needed]
Saint Kitts & Nevis also acquires foreign direct investment from their unique citizenship-by-investment programme, outlined in their Citizenship Act of 1984.[24] 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 Saint Kitts and Nevis. Many projects are approved under the citizenship-by-investment programme.
The country hosts an annualSt. Kitts Music Festival.
Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport serves Saint Kitts.
The Basseterre Ferry Terminal facilitates travel between Saint Kitts and sister island Nevis.[25]
Thenarrow-gauge (30 inches[26])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 transport 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.[27]
Saint Kitts is or was the residence of:
Catholicorder of chivalry andsovereign subject ofinternational law, founded in 1099 inJerusalem,  Kingdom of Jerusalem | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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