Saint Kitts 27737 225260367 2008-07-12T19:18:30Z Invertzoo 4863204 /* See also */ add a see also {{FrPolyIsland | name=Saint Kitts | map=[[Image:Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg|200px]] | country=[[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] | Nationality=sucking balls | archipelago=[[Leeward Islands]] | region=[[Caribbean]] | area=68 sq. mi. <br />168 | coastline= - | peakname=Mt. Liamuiga | peakheight=3,796 ft. <br />1,156 | population=35,000 | date_population= - | density= 538.5 ppl./sq.mi. <br />208.3 }} '''Saint Kitts''' (also known more formally as '''Saint Christopher Island''' (''Saint-Christophe'' in [[French (language)|French]]) is an [[island]] in the [[West Indies]]. The west side of the island borders the [[Caribbean]] Sea, and the eastern coast faces the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Together with the island of [[Nevis]], Saint Kitts constitutes one country: the Federation of [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]]. The island is situated at {{coor dm|17|15|N|62|40|W|}}, about 1,300 miles (2,100 km) southeast of [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], [[Florida]], in the [[United States]]. It has a land area of about 68 sq. miles (168 km²), being 18 by 5 miles (29 by 8 km). Saint Kitts has a population of around 35,000, the majority of whom are mainly of [[African diaspora|African descent]]. The primary language is [[English language|English]], with a literacy rate of approximately 98%. Residents call themselves Kittitians (or Kittians). Saint Kitts is one of the historic centres of the Caribbean. The first successful [[British Empire|British]] colony in the West Indies was founded on the island in 1624, and the island was subsequently used as a base to settle most of the neighbouring islands for Britain. It also became the site of the first successful [[France|French]] colony in the West Indies (with Britain and France splitting the island between them) in 1625, and was then used to settle other Caribbean territories for France. [[Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park]], a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] is the largest fortress ever built in the Eastern Caribbean. The island is also home to the [[Warner Park Sporting Complex|Warner Park Cricket Stadium]], which was used to host [[2007 Cricket World Cup]] matches. This made St. Kitts and Nevis the smallest nation on Earth to ever host a [[World Cup| World Cup event]]. The island is also an education centre, with the [[Ross University|Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine]] [http://www.rossvet.edu.kn], Windsor University School of Medicine, and Robert Ross International University of Nursing. ==Geography== [[Image:StKitts Aerial.jpg|thumb|300px|right|An aerial view of north-west St. Kitts. [[Brimstone Hill]] is visible in the centre-bottom of the picture.]] The capital of the two-island nation, and also its largest port, is the town of [[Basseterre]] on Saint Kitts. There is a modern facility for handling large [[cruise ship]]s here. There is a ring road which goes around the perimeter of the island; the interior of the island is too steep for habitation. St. Kitts is six miles (10 km) away from [[Saint Eustatius]] to the north and two miles (3 km) from [[Nevis]] to the south. St. Kitts has three distinct groups of [[volcanic]] 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 some 3,792 feet (1,156 m) high. ==Brimstone Hill== In February of 1782, a French fleet of nearly 50 ships appeared on the horizon off St. Kitt's and Nevis. Headed by Admiral Count François de Grasse, whose flagship was the exceptionally imposing 130-gun Ville de Paris, the fleet had been dispatched to force the British from the rich sugar colonies of St. Kitts & Nevis--and that meant dislodging them from Brimstone Hill, otherwise known as The Gibraltar of the West Indies. Situated almost 800 feet above sea level, this remarkable fortress is one of the most dramatic spots in the entire Caribbean, both historically and aesthetically. It commands astounding views of the Caribbean, including Nevis, Montserrat, Saba, St. Martin and St. Barts. Brimstone Hill sprawls over 38 acres, and its massive Fort George citadel is defended by seven-foot-thick walls of black volcanic stone--then better known as brimstone. In 1782 Brimstone Hill had been under nearly continuous construction (by slave labor) for almost nine decades. The 8,000-man French siege force, supported by de Grasse's substantial fleet, calmly set to its task. After a month of almost continuous bombardment, and despite staunch resistance by Brimstone's 1,000 British troops, the French succeeded finally in punching 40-foot holes in the citadel's thick walls. Knowing their situation finally to be without hope, the British surrendered. The French siege commander, the Marquis de Bouille, paid tribute to their heroic defense by allowing the British garrison to leave Brimstone Hill as an undefeated force, in full uniform and with standards held aloft. One year later, when the Treaty of Versailles returned St. Kitts to British rule, the same honor was accorded to the French garrison. Brimstone Hill was abandoned in 1851, and the fort suffered neglect and vandalism for the next century. In 1965, when the site became a national park, intensive restoration returned the imposing fortress perched atop the hill to its original grandeur. Tours of Brimstone Hill are conducted daily, and highlights include the hospital, ammunition stores, artillery officer's quarters, the Prince of Wales Bastion, and the Citadel of Fort George. ==Parishes== [[Image:Saint Kitts-Nevis.geohive.gif|thumb|230px|left|Parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis]] {{main|Parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis}} There are nine [[parish]]es on the island of St. Kitts: * [[Christ Church Nichola Town]] * [[Saint Anne Sandy Point]] * [[Saint George Basseterre]] * [[Saint John Capisterre]] * [[Saint Mary Cayon]] * [[Saint Paul Capisterre]] * [[Saint Peter Basseterre]] * [[Saint Thomas Middle Island]] * [[Trinity Palmetto Point]] ==Economy== Kittitians use the [[Eastern Caribbean dollar]] which maintains a fixed exchange rate of 2.67-to-one with the [[United States dollar]]. The US dollar is just as widely accepted as the Eastern Caribbean dollar. For hundreds of years, St. Kitts operated as a [[sugar]] [[monoculture]]. 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 other Caribbean islands. [[Transportation]], non-sugar agriculture, manufacturing and construction are the other growing sectors of the economy [http://www.gov.kn/pdf/200512_13%20Budget%20Address%20FY%202006.pdf]. In addition to this, in hopes of expanding tourism, the country hosts its annual [[St. Kitts Music Festival]]. ==History== [[Image:StKitts Brimstomhill.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Battle of St. Kitts]], 1782, as described by an observer in a French engraving titled "Attaque de Brimstomhill".]] {{main|History of Saint Kitts and Nevis}} During the last [[Ice Age]], the sea level was 200 feet (60&nbsp;m) lower and St. Kitts and Nevis were one island with [[Saint Eustatius]] (also known as Statia) and [[Saba]]. St. Kitts was originally settled by pre-agricultural, pre-ceramic "Archaic people", who migrated down the archipelago from Florida. In a few hundred years they disappeared, to be replaced by the [[ceramic]]-using and [[agriculturalist]] [[Saladoid]] people around 100 BC, which migrated to St. Kitts up the archipelago from the banks of the [[Orinoco River]] in [[Venezuela]]. Around 800 AD, they were replaced by the [[Igneri]] people, members of the [[Arawak]] tribe. Around 1300, the [[Kalinago]], or Carib people arrived on the islands. These war-like people quickly dispersed the Igneri, and forced them northwards to the [[Greater Antilles]]. They named Saint Kitts "Liamuiga" meaning "fertile island", and would likely have expanded further north if not for the arrival of Europeans. Early European contact with St. Kitts included the [[Spain|Spanish]] under [[Christopher Columbus]], and a [[France|French]] Huguenot settlement at Dieppe in 1538. The first permanent settlement was an [[England|English]] colony in 1623, followed by a French colony in 1625. The British and French briefly united to [[Kalinago Genocide of 1626|massacre the local Kalinago]] (preempting a Kalinago plan to massacre the Europeans), and then partitioned the island, with the English in the middle and the French on either end. The island alternated repeatedly between English and French control over the century, as one power took the whole island, only to have it switch hands due to treaties or further military action. Parts of the island were heavily fortified, as exemplified by UNESCO World Heritage Site at [[Brimstone Hill]] and the now-crumbling [[Fort Charles (Saint Kitts)|Fort Charles]]. The island became British for the final time in 1783. ===African slavery=== The island originally produced [[tobacco]], but changed to [[sugar cane]] in 1640 due to stiff competition from the colony of [[Virginia]]. The labour-intensive farming of sugar cane was the reason for the large-scale importation of [[African]] [[slave]]s. The importation began almost immediately upon the arrival of Europeans to the region. The purchasing of enslaved Africans was outlawed in the [[British Empire]] by an Act of Parliament in 1807. Slavery was abolished by an Act of Parliament that became law on 1 August 1834. This emancipation was followed by four years of apprenticeship, put in place to protect the plantation owners from losing their labour force. The 1st August is now celebrated as a public holiday and is called [[Emancipation Day]]. In 1883 St. Kitts, [[Nevis]] and [[Anguilla]] were all linked under one presidency, located on St. Kitts, to the dismay of the Nevisians and Anguillans. Anguilla eventually separated out of this arrangement in 1971, after an armed raid on St. Kitts. Sugar production continued to dominate the local economy until 2005, when, after 365 years as a monoculture, the government closed the sugar industry. This was due to the industry's huge losses and [[European Union]] plans to cut sugar prices by large amounts in the near future. * Lord [[Hercules George Robert Robinson]] was governor of Saint Christopher from 1855 to 1859. * [[Robert Bradshaw (politician)|Robert Bradshaw]] was a major political figure in St. Kitts from 1932 to his death in 1978. * [http://website.lineone.net/~stkittsnevis/official_name.htm Official Name: The Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis] * [http://www.swagga.com/story2.htm The History of St. Kitts Nevis: a Black Perspective] ==Transportation== [[Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport]] serves St. Kitts. == Gallery == <gallery> Image:Stkitts-view-lookingatsea.jpg|The peninsula on the south-east tip of St. Kitts. The island on the left is [[Nevis]]. Image:3643_aquaimages.jpg|Downtown Basseterre Image:3649_aquaimages.jpg|Downtown Basseterre Image:3668_aquaimages.jpg|Fishing boat, Basseterre harbor Image:3476_aquaimages.jpg|Flamingo Tongue shell on a Sea Fan Image:3537_aquaimages.jpg|Divers and anemone on the MV River Taw wreck Image:3584_aquaimages.jpg|Juvenile Black or Grey Angelfish with a sunken van behind it Image:3624_aquaimages.jpg|Diver and fish, MV River Taw wreck Image:3682_aquaimages.jpg|Diver and sponges Image:3757_aquaimages.jpg|Royal Gramma or Fairy Basslet </gallery> ==See also== * [[Culture of St. Kitts and Nevis]] * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sc-map.png Map of Saint Kitts] * [[Nevis]], the sister island to St. Kitts ==External links== * [http://www.stkittstourism.kn/ Saint Kitts Tourism Authority] - Official Site * [http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/kitts.htm Christmas Sports in Saint Kitts/Nevis] * [http://www.stkittsmusicfestival.net/ Saint Kitts Music Festival] [[Category:Lesser Antilles]] [[Category:Geography of Saint Kitts and Nevis]] [[cy:Saint Kitts]] [[da:Saint Kitts]] [[de:St. Kitts]] [[et:Saint Kitts]] [[es:Isla de San Cristóbal]] [[fr:Île Saint-Christophe]] [[gd:Naomh Crìstean (eilean)]] [[gl:Saint Kitts]] [[it:Saint Kitts]] [[he:סנט קיטס]] [[lt:Sent Kitsas]] [[nl:Saint Kitts]] [[ja:セントクリストファー島]] [[no:Saint Kitts]] [[pl:Saint Kitts]] [[pt:São Cristóvão (ilha)]] [[ru:Сент-Китс]] [[fi:Saint Kitts]] [[sv:Saint Kitts]]