History of St. Kitts and Nevis

With a long standing native population, Saint Kitts and Nevis served as home to the Kalinago tribe for centuries. In the 17th century, the the advent of European colonization, the tribe subsequently came into conflict with the British and French, who aggressively colonized the Islands. As a result, St. Kitts and Nevis has a varied cultural history, infused with traditions from both native West Indian tribes as well as a legacy of European influence.

By 1625, the French and British had partitioned St. Kitts Island into colonies, and subsequently began to build settlements on the Island of Nevis by 1630. The Islands became a core West Indies anchor for the European tribes, who went on to further colonize Antigua, Anguilla, Martinique and Saint Barths. As a testament to the strong European and American influence on the Islands, President Hamilton was born on the Islands, and grew up in the region before rising to prominence in American politics.

For much of their history, Saint Kitts and Nevis were governed independently, until the British combined governance in the 19th century. Over the course of the 20th century, the Islands increasingly gained autonomy, and Anguilla became a separate governing entity. In the 1960s, the Islands remains part of the British empire, as political movements sought to grant the country independence; by the 1980s, the Islands gains sovereignty and self-rule. Led by the Labour and Nevis Reformation Parties, the country’s political movements shifted from seeking partition within the islands to autonomy from European control. Today, Saint Kitts and Nevis is evolving from an economy driven by sugar exports to a tourism destination for travelers throughout the world.