Panoramic View of the City of Basseterre from Zante, looking North.
Basseterre was founded in 1627 by theFrench, underPierre Belain d'Esnambuc. It was the capital of the French colony of Saint-Christophe. The colony was the most northern and most southern parts of the island of St. Kitts. The middle part was held by Britain. WhenPhillipe de Longviliers de Poincy was made the French governor of St. Kitts in 1639, the town turned into a large, successful port, commanding Eastern Caribbean trade and colonisation. De Poincy then quickly made Basseterre capital of the entire French West Indies colony, which included the islands ofGuadeloupe andMartinique. It was the capital until his death in 1660. The city was made capital of the entire island of St. Kitts in 1727. This is when the French were pushed off the island and theBritish took full control.
The city of Basseterre has one of the most tragic histories of any Caribbean capital, destroyed many times by colonial wars, fire, earthquakes, floods, riots and hurricanes. Despite all of this, a large number of well-restored buildings still exist in downtown Basseterre.
The city of Basseterre is on a 2 miles (3.2 km) bay on the southwestern shore of St. Kitts, Basseterre Bay. The city is in the largeBasseterre Valley, almost completely surrounded by lush green hills and mountains. It is mostly low-lying, which is one explanation for the name which the French gave it, Basseterre English:low land. However, the name Basseterre is also due to the fact that the island is on the lee of winds of the island, and is thus a safe anchorage. The name Capesterre, given to the region to the North, was dubbed so as it was facing the wind. Basseterre is surrounded by theOlivees Mountains to the north and theConaree-Morne peaks to the east. The city is drained by theCollege River and theWestbourne River, which are locally known as "ghauts" and are dry most of the year. They even form streets in downtown Basseterre. This engineering folly has proven quite disastrous though, as College River has been the scene of many disastrousfloods in Basseterre history. Port Zante, in the centre of the bay, is on 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land reclaimed from the sea in 1995.
Under theKöppen climate classification, Basseterre features atropical rainforest climate. Temperatures remain constant throughout the course of the year, 27 °C year-round. Basseterre has nodry season; all 12 months on average sees more than 6 centimetres (2.4 in) of precipitation. On average, 17 centimetres (6.7 in) of rain falls on the city annually.
Basseterre is a very small town which is laid out in a grid pattern. It has four main streets running east-west: Bay Road, Liverpool Row, Central Street and Cayon Street. The main street running north to south is Fort Street/Bank Street, which is home to the bulk of the island's main shops and banks. The city has 2 centres, atThe Circus, which is geared towards tourism purposes, and theIndependence Square, which contains the cathedral, courthouse and most of the older buildings.
Basseterre is the main commercial and industrial centre of St. Kitts. It is also the country's main port of entry, for both sea and air travel, as well as the road and rail transport hub. It houses the administration buildings for the federal government (those for the island of Nevis are inCharlestown). It also houses the headquarters of theEastern Caribbean Central Bank, as well as the headquarters for many other regional financial institutions.
Despite its small size, Basseterre played host to Carifesta VII (the Caribbean Festival of Arts) in 2000, outbidding rivals many times its size. The city was able to outbid theUnited States of America, to host matches for the2007 World Cricket Cup. TheWarner Park Sporting Complex was the site of the allocated first round matches of the tournament. This made St. Kitts and Nevis the smallest country in the world ever to host a World Cup event.
The city of Basseterre is a financial centre in the Eastern Caribbean. It has the headquarters of theEastern Caribbean Central Bank, as well as theEastern Caribbean Securities Exchange, which lists securities for companies and corporations in the region. The city is also headquarters for the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank, the largest bank in the Eastern Caribbean, in terms of assets.
The city is also a major Eastern Caribbean industrial centre, its main exports being bass, electronics, beverages, clothing, and salt. The sugar industry closed in 2005. This was due to overwhelming debts and further predicted hardships from major price cuts planned by theEU. There are specified industrial estates which carry out sub-sonic technology, food processing, light engineering,bass (instrument) engineering and rum distilling.
Like many countries in the Eastern Caribbean St Kitts and Nevis uses theEast Caribbean dollar ($EC). The exchange rate is fixed at $EC 1 = $US 2.70
Basseterre is hub for all major roads on the island of St. Kitts. Driving is done on the left. The speed limit in the city is 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) everywhere, with special caution to be taken around school zones.
Public Buses have a green license plate starting with the letter "H"There are 5 main bus routes on St. Kitts:
Basseterre to Sandy Point travelling West, starting at the Ferry Terminal,
Basseterre to Capesterre travelling West, starting at the Ferry Terminal,
Basseterre to St. Peter's travelling North, starting at College Street Ghaut,
Basseterre to Molyneux travelling East, starting at Baker's Corner and
Basseterre to Saddler's travelling East, starting at Baker's Corner.
All bus fees are EC$2.50 for a trip 5 miles (8.0 km) and under, EC$3.00 for a trip 5 to 5 to 10 miles (8.0 to 16.1 km), and EC$3.75 for any longer trip. (EC dollars. 1 US = 2.7 EC)
No public buses travel southwards to the main resort areas in Frigate Bay and the South East Peninsula.
Taxis have yellow license plates starting with the letter "T" or "TA". The taxi station in Basseterre is at the Circus. The taxis will take you just about anywhere for a pre-calculated price.
The Deep Water Harbour in Basseterre is capable of both hosting and berthing ofcruise ships or the handling of cargo. It is to the extreme east of Basseterre Bay.
Port Zante, in the centre of the Bay, is for use of docking cruise ships only. The Port can accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world. It also has a marina facility.
The bay is also home to the busy ferry operation between Basseterre and Charlestown on Nevis Island. There are many trips daily served by as much as 6 ferries. There is also a ferry services between Basseterre andOranjestad,Statia andSt. Maarten also exists, but the trips are irregular.
St. Kitts' 58 kilometres (36 mi) of narrow (0.762m)-gauge railway centre in Basseterre, and swoop the island in a circular pattern. The railway lines, originally built to transport sugar cane to the central sugar factory in Basseterre, are now used to transport tourists via the "St. Kitts Scenic Railway Train" which currently runs from Sandy Point to Basseterre, travelling East.[1]
