This article is about the island in the West Indies. For the Canadian city sometimes referred to as St. Kitts, see St. Catharines “ ideal Christopher Island ” and “ Île Saint-Christophe ” redirect hera. For other islands with these names, see Saint Christopher Island ( disambiguation ) Island in the West Indies ; contribution of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west slope of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern seashore faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbor island of Nevis constitute one country : the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts and Nevis are separated by a shallow 3-kilometre ( 2 nautical mile ) channel known as “ The Narrows “. Saint Kitts became family to the first base Caribbean British and french colonies in the mid-1620s. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Along with the island of Nevis, Saint Kitts was a member of the british West Indies until gaining independence on 19 September 1983. [ 5 ] The island is one of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. It is situated about 2,100 km ( 1,300 michigan ) southeasterly of Miami, Florida, US. The land area of Saint Kitts is about 168 km2 ( 65 sq nautical mile ), being approximately 29 km ( 18 mile ) farseeing and on average about 8 km ( 5.0 nautical mile ) across. Saint Kitts has a population of about 40,000, the majority of whom are of african descent. The primary coil language is english, with a literacy rate of approximately 98 %. [ 6 ] Residents call themselves Kittitians. Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest fortress always built in the western Caribbean. The island of Saint Kitts is home to the Warner Park Cricket Stadium, which was used to host 2007 Cricket World Cup matches. This made Saint Kitts and Nevis the smallest nation to ever host a World Cup event. Saint Kitts is besides home to several institutions of higher education, including Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Windsor University School of Medicine, and the University of Medicine and Health Sciences .

geography [edit ]

The capital of the two-island state, and besides its largest port, is the town of Basseterre on Saint Kitts. There is a advanced facility for handling boastfully cruise ships there. A ring road goes around the margin of the island with smaller roads branching off it ; the inside of the island is excessively steep for habitation. Saint Kitts is 10 kilometer ( 6.2 secret intelligence service ) away from Sint Eustatius to the north and 3 kilometer ( 1.9 mile ) from Nevis to the south. St. Kitts has three discrete 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 bill is Mount Liamuiga, once Mount Misery, a abeyant vent 1,156 thousand high gear .

geology [edit ]

The youngest volcanic center is Mt. Liamuiga, 5 kilometer in diameter and rising to an aggrandizement of 1155 m. Its final outbreak was 1620 years ago, corresponding with the Steel Dust series of pyroclastic deposits on the westerly flank. The Mansion Series of pyroclastic deposits and andesite with basalt layers occur on the northerly flank, along with mudflows. This vent has a crater 900 thousand wide and 244 thousand deep, plus two clear-cut parasitic domes consisting chiefly of andesite, Brimstone Hill and Sandy Point Hill which is coalesced with Farm Flat. Brimstone Hill is noted for having limestone on its flanks, which was dragged up with the formation of the dome 44,400 years ago. Mt. Liamuiga partially overlays the Middle Range to the southeast. This Middle Range is another stratovolcano 976 meter in altitude with a belittled summit volcanic crater containing a lake. next in line is the 900 molarity South East Range, 1 Myr in age, consisting of four peaks. Ottley ‘s attic 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 old age, consisting of at least nine Pelean domes rising up to 319 m in altitude, which includes Williams Hill and St. Anthony ‘s Peak. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ]

history [edit ]

french and english partitions of west St. Kitts. Note the location of Fort Charles and the sulfur mine further to the west . french and english partitions of east St. Kitts. Note the location of Fort Basseterre. During the concluding Ice Age, the ocean level was up to 300 feet ( 91 thousand ) lower and St. Kitts and Nevis were one island along with Saba and Sint Eustatius ( besides known as Statia ). [ 11 ] St. Kitts was originally settled by pre-agricultural, pre-ceramic “ antediluvian people ”, who migrated south down the archipelago from Florida. In a few hundred years they disappeared, to be replaced by the ceramic -using and agriculturist Saladoid people around 100 BC, who migrated to St. Kitts north 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 group. Around 1300, the Kalinago, or Carib people arrived on the islands. These agriculturalists quickly dispersed the Igneri, and forced them northwards to the Greater Antilles. They named Saint Kitts “ Liamuiga ” meaning “ fat island ”, and would likely have expanded further north if not for the arrival of Europeans. A spanish dispatch under Christopher Columbus arrived and claimed the island for Spain in 1493. The first base English colony was established in 1623, followed by a french colony in 1625. The english and french concisely united to massacre the local Kalinago, [ 12 ] and then partitioned the island, with the english colonists in the middle and the french on either end. In 1629, a spanish military unit sent to clear the islands of alien settlement seized St. Kitts. The english colonization was rebuilt following the 1630 peace between England and Spain. The island alternated repeatedly between English ( then British ) and french control during the 17th and 18th centuries, as one power took the wholly island, only to have it switch hands due to treaties or military action. Parts of the island were heavily fortified, as exemplified by the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Brimstone Hill and the now-crumbling Fort Charles. Since 1783, Saint Kitts has been affiliated with the Kingdom of Great Britain, which became the United Kingdom .

slavery [edit ]

The island in the first place produced tobacco, but it changed to sugar cane in 1640 due to besotted competition from the colony of Virginia. The labor-intensive cultivation of sugar cane was the reason for the large-scale importing of African slaves. The import began about immediately upon the arrival of Europeans to the region. [ 13 ] The buying of enslave Africans was outlawed in the british Empire by an Act of Parliament in 1807. Slavery was abolished by an Act of Parliament which became jurisprudence on 1 August 1834. This emancipation was followed by four years of force enslavement, [ dubious – discuss ] put in place to protect the “ planters ” ( grove owners ) from losing their unblock labor storm. [ citation needed ] 1 August is now celebrated as a public vacation and is called Emancipation Day. In 1883, Saint Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla were all linked under one presidency, located on Saint Kitts, to the discouragement of the Nevisians and Anguillans. Anguilla finally separated out of this agreement, in 1971, after an arm raid on Saint Kitts in 1967. [ 14 ] sugar production continued to dominate the local economy until 2005, when, after 365 years of having a mono-culture, the government closed the sugar diligence. This was ascribable to huge losses and European Union plans to greatly cut carbohydrate prices. [ citation needed ]

politics [edit ]

For purposes of govern, the island is divided into nine parishes :

economy [edit ]

Saint Kitts & Nevis uses the eastern Caribbean dollar, which maintains a cook change rate of 2.7-to-one with the United States dollar. [ 15 ] The US dollar is about as widely accepted as the eastern Caribbean dollar. [ 16 ]

For hundreds of years, Saint Kitts operated as a sugar monoculture, but due to decreasing profitableness, the government closed the diligence in 2005. tourism is a major and growing source of income to the island, although the total and concentration of resorts is less than on many other Caribbean islands. Transportation, non-sugar department of agriculture, manufacture and structure are the early growing sectors of the economy. [ 17 ] 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, which represents an increase of merely under 40 % increase in a biennial period. As tourism grows, the demand for vacation property increases in conjunction. Saint Kitts & Nevis besides acquires foreign direct investment from their unique citizenship by investment course of study, outlined in their Citizenship Act of 1984. [ 18 ] concerned parties can acquire citizenship if they pass the politics ‘s nonindulgent background checks and make an investment into an approve real estate of the realm development. Purchasers who pass government due diligence and make a minimum investment of US $ 400,000, into qualify 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 investing program, and the main qualify projects of matter to can be found within the Henley Estates commercialize overview. [ 19 ] The area hosts an annual St. Kitts Music Festival .

fare [edit ]

Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport serves Saint Kitts. day by day connections from Charlotte, Miami and New York are available. The Basseterre Ferry Terminal facilitates travel between Saint Kitts and sister island Nevis. The narrow-gauge ( 30 inches [ 20 ] ) St. Kitts Scenic Railway circles the island and offers passenger service from its headquarter near the airport, although the service is geared more for tourists than as daily transportation system for residents. Built between 1912 and 1926 to haul sugar cane from farms to the sugar factory in Basseterre, since 2003 the railway has offered a 3.5-hour, 30-mile lap tour of the island on particularly designed bus alfresco coaches, with 12 miles of the trip being by bus. [ 21 ]

luminary residents [edit ]

Saint Kitts is or was the residence of :

gallery [edit ]

  • position from Sir Timothy ‘s Hill
  • Southeast Peninsula ( Saint Kitts ). The island on the left is Nevis .
  • St. Kitts at dawn as seen from a ship entering the port of Basseterre
  • Downtown Basseterre
  • Diver and fish, MV River Taw wreck
  • Brimstone Hill Fortress
  • Ruins at Brimstone Hill
  • Battle of St. Kitts in January 1782
  • Flying towards the north end of the island, looking down part of the west or Caribbean slide

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]