Saint Kitts and Nevis

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The capital city is Basseterre, located on the larger island of Saint Kitts. Basseterre is also the main port for passenger entry (via cruise ships) and cargo. The smaller island of Nevis lies approximately 3 km (1.6 nmi; 1.9 mi) to the southeast of Saint Kitts, across a shallow channel called the Narrows.

The British dependency of Anguilla was historically also a part of this union, which was known collectively as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. However, Anguilla chose to secede from the union in 1967, and remains a British overseas territory.

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Etymology

The Kalinago, the pre-European inhabitants of Saint Kitts, called the island Liamuiga, roughly translating as 'fertile land'.

It is thought that Christopher Columbus, the first European to see the islands in 1493, named the larger island San Cristóbal, after Saint Christopher, his patron saint and that of travellers. New studies suggest that Columbus named the island Sant Yago (Saint James), and that the name San Cristóbal was in fact given by Columbus to the island now known as Saba, 32 km (20 mi) northwest. Saint Kitts was well documented as San Cristóbal by the 17th century.

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History

The earliest known inhabitants of Saint Kitts and Nevis were pre-ceramic, pre-agricultural people who arrived as early as 3000 BCE. These groups, often referred to as "Archaic people," were hunter-gatherers who migrated down the archipelago from Florida. Due to the absence of pottery and other durable artifacts, their cultural affiliations remain uncertain. Around 100 BCE, the islands saw the arrival of the Saladoid people, a ceramic-using, agricultural society that migrated northward from the Orinoco River region in present-day Venezuela. They introduced agriculture and pottery to the islands and established settled communities.

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Geography

The country consists of two main islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, separated at a distance of 2 miles (3 km) by a shallow channel called The Narrows.

The capital city is Basseterre, located on the larger island of Saint Kitts. Basseterre is also the main port for passenger entry (via cruise ships) and cargo.

Both main islands are of volcanic origin, with large central peaks covered in tropical rainforest. The majority of the population live along the flatter coastal areas.

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Government and politics

Saint Kitts and Nevis is a sovereign, democratic, and federal state. It is a Commonwealth realm, a constitutional monarchy with the king of Saint Christopher and Nevis, Charles III, as its head of state. The King is represented in the country by a governor-general, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party of the House, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state.

St. Kitts and Nevis has a unicameral legislature, known as the National Assembly.

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Economy

Saint Kitts and Nevis is a twin-island federation whose economy is characterised by its dominant tourism, agriculture, and light manufacturing industries. Sugar was the primary export from the 1940s on, but rising production costs, low world market prices, and the government's efforts to reduce dependence on it have led to a growing diversification of the agricultural sector. In 2005, the government decided to close down the state-owned sugar company, which had experienced losses and was a significant contributor to the fiscal deficit.

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Demographics

The population of Saint Kitts and Nevis is around 53,000 (July 2019 est.) and has remained relatively constant for many years. At the end of the 19th century there were 42,600 residents, the number slowly rising to a little over 50,000 by the mid-twentieth century. Between 1960 and 1990, the population dropped from 50,000 to 40,000, before rising again to its current level. Approximately three-quarters of the population live on Saint Kitts, 15,500 of them in Basseterre.

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Culture

Saint Kitts and Nevis is known for a number of musical celebrations including Carnival (18 December to 3 January on Saint Kitts). The last week in June features the St Kitts Music Festival, while the week-long Culturama on Nevis lasts from the end of July into early August.

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Notable people

Alexander Hamilton (born 1755 or 1757), statesman and Founding Father of the United States

John Gorrie, a Nevisian-born American who largely invented mechanical refrigeration

Paul Bilzerian (born 1950), financier convicted of securities fraud

Sir Edmund Wickham Lawrence (1932-2025), the third governor-general of Saint Kitts and Nevis

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