Editing Saint Kitts and Nevis (section)

== History ==
{{main|History of Saint Kitts and Nevis|British Leeward Islands|Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla|West Indies Federation}}
{{see also|British West Indies|French settlement in Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
[[File:Spanish capture of St Kitts.jpg|thumb|The Spanish capture of Saint Kitts in 1629 by [[Fadrique de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza]]]]

===Pre-colonial period===

The earliest known inhabitants of [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] were pre-ceramic, pre-agricultural peoples 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]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=SKNVibes {{!}} History |url=https://www.sknvibes.com/islandfacts/sitepage.cfm?p=124 |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=www.sknvibes.com}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=History of Liamuiga |url=https://saintkittslocally.weebly.com/history-of-liamuiga.html |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Saint Kitts Locally}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=St Kitts History |url=https://www.beyondships3.com/st-kitts-history.html |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Beyondships Cruise Destinations |language=en}}</ref> Due to the absence of pottery and other durable artifacts, their cultural affiliations remain uncertain.<ref>See for example [http://www.arch.soton.ac.uk/Projects/default.asp?ProjectID=12 Nevis Heritage excavation reports, 2000–2002] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708150627/http://www.arch.soton.ac.uk/Projects/default.asp?ProjectID=12 |date=8 July 2006 }}, Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton. Retrieved 8 August 2006.</ref> Around 100 BCE, the islands saw the arrival of the [[Saladoid]] people, a ceramic-using, agricultural society that migrated northward from the [[Orinoco|Orinoco River]] region in present-day [[Venezuela]]. They introduced agriculture and pottery to the islands and established settled communities.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />

By approximately 800 CE, the [[Igneri]] people, associated with the [[Arawak]] linguistic group, had settled on the islands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Kitts and Nevis Archives |url=https://www.caribbeanmemoryproject.com/st-kitts-and-nevis-archives.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241008064605/https://www.caribbeanmemoryproject.com/st-kitts-and-nevis-archives.html |archive-date=2024-10-08 |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=CARIBBEAN.MEMORY.PROJECT |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> The Igneri were known for their peaceful nature and religious practices, and they continued the agricultural traditions of their predecessors.<ref name=":2" />

Around 1300 CE, the [[Kalinago]] people, also known as the [[Kalinago|Island Caribs]], migrated to Saint Kitts and Nevis.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Timeline of Key Events in St. Kitts and Nevis |url=https://stkittsnevisflag.com/educational-resources/timeline-of-key-events-in-st-kitts-and-nevis/?srsltid=AfmBOoqpEiH_6hrC81N7STehO88tC1Dhs8Gox14ylaizqauqqhng076O |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=St Kitts Nevis Flag |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=McGrath |first=Jim |date=2016-01-14 |title=St Kitts - a very quick history in 317 words |url=https://acrew.com/st-kitts-a-very-quick-history-in-317-words-2/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=ACREW |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Renowned for their seafaring skills and warrior culture, the Kalinago displaced the Igneri and established dominance over the islands. They named [[Saint Kitts]] "Liamuiga," meaning "fertile land," and [[Nevis]] "Oualie," meaning "land of beautiful waters."<ref name="Hubbard">{{cite book|last1=Hubbard|first1=Vincent|title=A History of St. Kitts|date=2002|publisher=Macmillan Caribbean|isbn=9780333747605|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofstkitts00vinc}}</ref><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

===European arrival and early colonial period (1493–1700)===
[[Christopher Columbus]] was the first European to sight the islands in 1493.<ref name="thecommonwealth.org">{{cite web |url=http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/st-kitts-and-nevis/history |title=Commonwealth – History of St Kitts and Nevis |access-date=10 July 2019 |archive-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321210636/http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/st-kitts-and-nevis/history |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="britannica.com"/> The first settlers were the English in 1623, led by [[Thomas Warner (explorer)|Thomas Warner]], who established a settlement at [[Old Road Town]] on the west coast of St Kitts after achieving an agreement with the Carib chief [[Ouboutou Tegremante]].<ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|15–18}}<ref name="britannica.com"/> The French later also settled on St Kitts in 1625 under [[Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc]].<ref name="britannica.com"/> As a result, both parties agreed to partition the island into French and English sectors. From 1628 onward the English also began settling on Nevis.<ref name="britannica.com"/>

The French and English, intent on exploitation of the island's resources,<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Patrick|editor-last=Taylor |display-editors=etal |date=2010|title=The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions, Volume 1 A-L.|location=Urbana, IL, Chicago, IL, and Springfield, IL|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|page=886}}</ref> encountered resistance from the native Caribs (Kalinago), who waged war during the first three years of the settlements' existence.<ref>Cobley, 1994, p. 28.</ref><ref name=cobley27>Cobley, 1994, p. 27.</ref> The Europeans resolved to rid themselves of this problem. An ideological campaign was waged by colonial chroniclers, dating back to the Spanish, as they produced literature which denied the Kalinagos' humanity (a literary tradition carried through the late-seventeenth century by such authors as [[Jean-Baptiste du Tertre]] and Pere Labat).<ref name=cobley27 /> In 1626 the Anglo-French settlers joined forces to [[Kalinago Genocide of 1626|massacre the Kalinago]] at a place that became known as [[Bloody Point]], allegedly to preempt a Carib plan to expel or kill all European settlers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jonnard|first=Claude M.|date=2010|title=Islands in the Wind: The Political Economy of the English East Caribbean.|location=Bloomington, IN|publisher=iUniverse|page= number not available}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Jean-Baptiste|last=Du Tertre|author-link=Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre|title= Histoire générale des Antilles habitées par les François, 2 vols. Paris: Jolly, 1667, I:5–6}}</ref> Thereafter, the English and French established large sugar plantations which were worked by imported African slaves. This made the planter-colonists rich, but drastically altered the islands' demographics as black slaves soon came to outnumber Europeans.<ref name="thecommonwealth.org"/><ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|26–31}}

A Spanish expedition of 1629 sent to enforce Spanish claims [[Battle of St. Kitts (1629)|destroyed the English and French colonies]] and deported the settlers back to their respective countries. As part of [[Anglo-Spanish War (1625-1630)|the war]] settlement in 1630, the Spanish permitted the re-establishment of the English and French colonies.<ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|19–23}} Spain later formally recognised Britain's claim to St Kitts with the [[Treaty of Madrid (1670)]], in return for British cooperation in the fight against piracy.<ref name="SP 108/470">{{cite web|title=Treaty between Great Britain and Spain for the settlement of all disputes in America|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3466433|website=The National Archives|publisher=gov.uk|access-date=10 July 2019|archive-date=10 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710221049/https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3466433|url-status=live}}</ref>

As Spanish power declined, Saint Kitts became a key base for English and French expansion in the Caribbean. From St Kitts the British settled the islands of [[Antigua]], [[Montserrat]], [[Anguilla]] and [[Tortola]], and the French settled [[Martinique]], the [[Guadeloupe]] archipelago and [[Saint Barthélemy]]. During the late 17th century, France and England fought for control over St Kitts and Nevis, fighting wars in [[Battle of Nevis|1667]],<ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|41–50}} [[Nine Years' War#Asia and the Caribbean|1689–90]]<ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|51–55}} and [[War of the Spanish Succession|1701–13]]. The French renounced their claim to the islands with the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713.<ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|55–60}}<ref name="britannica.com"/> The islands' economy, already shattered by war, was further harmed by natural disasters: In 1690 an earthquake destroyed Jamestown, capital of Nevis, forcing the construction of a new capital at [[Charlestown, Nevis|Charlestown]]. Further damage was caused by a hurricane in 1707.<ref name=Vincent>{{cite book|last1=Hubbard|first1=Vincent|title=Swords, Ships & Sugar|date=2002|publisher=Premiere Editions International, Inc.|location=Corvallis|isbn=9781891519055}}</ref>{{rp|105–108}}

===British colonial period (1700–1983)===
The colony had recovered by the turn of the 18th century, and St Kitts had become the richest British Crown Colony per capita in the Caribbean as result of its slave-based [[sugar industry]] by the close of the 1700s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beyondships3.com/st-kitts-history.html|title=St Kitts History|website=Beyondships Cruise Destinations|access-date=27 November 2017|archive-date=8 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608151001/https://www.beyondships3.com/st-kitts-history.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The 18th century also saw Nevis, formerly the richer of the two islands, being eclipsed by St Kitts in economic importance.<ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|75}}<ref name=Vincent/>{{rp|126,137}} [[Alexander Hamilton]], the future U.S. secretary of the Treasury, was born on Nevis in 1755 or 1757.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chernow|first=Ron|url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderhamilto00cher/page/17/mode/2up|title=Alexander Hamilton|date=2004|publisher=Penguin Press|isbn=1-59420-009-2|location=New York|pages=17|oclc=53083988}}</ref>

[[File:BrimstoneHill01.jpg|thumb|right|The fortress on Brimstone Hill, focus of the successful French invasion of 1782]]
As Britain became embroiled in [[American Revolutionary War|war with its American colonies]], the French decided to use the opportunity to [[Siege of Brimstone Hill|re-capture St Kitts]] in 1782; however St Kitts was given back and recognised as British territory in the [[Treaty of Versailles (1783)]].<ref name="britannica.com"/><ref name="thecommonwealth.org"/>

The African slave trade was terminated within the British Empire in 1807, and slavery outlawed completely in 1834. A four-year "apprenticeship" period followed for each slave, in which they worked for their former owners for wages. On Nevis 8,815 slaves were freed, while St Kitts freed 19,780.<ref name=Vincent/>{{rp|174}}<ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|110,114–117}}

Saint Kitts and Nevis, along with Anguilla, were federated in 1882. In the first few decades of the 20th century economic hardship and lack of opportunities led to the growth of a labour movement; [[the Great Depression]] prompted sugar workers to go on strike in 1935.<ref name="Paravisini104">Paravisini-Gebert, p.104</ref> The 1940s saw the founding of the [[Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party|St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party]] (later renamed the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, or SKNLP)<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMZMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA606|title=Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience|last1=Appiah|first1=Kwame Anthony|last2=Gates|first2=Henry Louis Jr.|date=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517055-9|page=606|chapter=Bradshaw, Robert Llewellyn}}</ref> under [[Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw]]. Bradshaw later became Chief Minister and then Premier of the colony from 1966 to 1978; he sought to gradually bring the sugar-based economy under greater state control.<ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|151–152}} The more conservative-leaning [[People's Action Movement]] party (PAM) was founded in 1965.<ref name=N1>[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', pp576-578 {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}</ref>

After a brief period as part of the [[West Indies Federation]] (1958–62), the islands became an [[Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla|associated state]] with full internal autonomy in 1967.<ref name="britannica.com"/> Residents of Nevis and Anguilla were unhappy with St Kitts's domination of the federation, and Anguilla unilaterally declared independence in 1967.<ref name="thecommonwealth.org"/><ref name="britannica.com"/> In 1971 Britain resumed full control of Anguilla, but it was formally separated in 1980.<ref>{{cite book |last=Minahan |first=James |date=2013 |title= The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfrWCQAAQBAJ| pages=656–657|publisher=Abc-Clio |isbn=9780313344978 }}</ref><ref name=Hubbard/>{{rp|147–149}}<ref name="britannica.com"/> Attention then focused on Nevis, with the [[Nevis Reformation Party]] seeking to safeguard the smaller island's interests in any future independent state. Eventually it was agreed that the island would have a degree of autonomy with its own [[Premier of Nevis|Premier]] and [[Nevis Island Assembly|Assembly]], as well as the constitutionally-protected right to unilaterally secede if a referendum on independence resulted in a two-thirds majority in favour.<ref>See section 3 and 4 about Nevis Island Legislature and Administration in ''The Saint Christopher and Nevis Constitution Order 1983''. Published online by [http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Kitts/kitts83.html Georgetown University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820122204/http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Kitts/kitts83.html |date=20 August 2017 }} and also by [http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/bnccde/sk&n/centre/nevis.html University of the West Indies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210085350/http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/bnccde/sk%26n/centre/nevis.html |date=10 December 2008 }}. Retrieved 8 August 2006.</ref><ref name=DD>[http://www.sudd.ch/event.php?lang=en&id=kn011977 Nevis (St Kitts and Nevis), 18 August 1977: Separation from St Kitts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710231140/https://www.sudd.ch/event.php?lang=en&id=kn011977 |date=10 July 2019 }} Direct Democracy {{in lang|de}}</ref>

===Post independence era (1983–present)===
[[File:TimothyHarris.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Timothy Harris, Prime Minister 2015–2022]]
St Kitts and Nevis achieved full independence on 19 September 1983.<ref name="britannica.com"/><ref name="thecommonwealth.org"/> [[Kennedy Simmonds]] of the PAM, Premier since 1980, duly became the country's first [[List of Prime Ministers of Saint Kitts and Nevis|Prime Minister]]. St Kitts and Nevis opted to remain within the [[British Commonwealth]], at that time retaining Queen Elizabeth as [[Monarchy of St Kitts and Nevis|Monarch]], represented locally by a [[Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis|Governor-General]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Constitution of Saint Christopher and Nevis |url=https://www.gov.kn/the-constitution/ |access-date=2 February 2025 |website=Official Website of St Kitts and Nevis}}</ref>
Kennedy Simmonds went on to win elections in [[1984 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election|1984]], [[1989 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election|1989]] and [[1993 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election|1993]], before being unseated when the SKNLP returned to power in 1995 under [[Denzil Douglas]].<ref name="thecommonwealth.org"/><ref name="britannica.com"/>

In Nevis, growing discontent with their perceived marginalisation within the federation<ref>''General Election in St Kitts and Nevis 3 July 1995: The Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group''. Commonwealth Observer Group, Commonwealth Secretariat, 1995. {{ISBN|0-85092-466-9}}, p.3.</ref> led to a [[Nevis independence referendum, 1998|referendum to separate]] from St Kitts in 1998, which though resulting a 62% vote to secede, fell short of the required two-thirds majority to be legally enacted.<ref>{{cite news |title= Nevis islanders apparently vote not to break away |date= 11 August 1998 |agency= Associated Press |newspaper= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D6gaAAAAIBAJ&pg=4918,21223&dq=saint+kitts+nevis+referendum+1998&hl=en }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="thecommonwealth.org"/><ref name="britannica.com"/>

In late-September 1998, [[Hurricane Georges]] caused approximately $458,000,000 in damages and limited GDP growth for the year and beyond. Meanwhile, the sugar industry, in decline for years and propped up only by government subsidies, was closed completely in 2005.<ref name="britannica.com"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Haiti - Hurricane Georges Fact Sheet #6 - Antigua and Barbuda |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/antigua-and-barbuda/caribbean-dominican-republic-haiti-hurricane-georges-fact-sheet-6 |website=ReliefWeb |date=30 September 1998 |language=en |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006180626/https://reliefweb.int/report/antigua-and-barbuda/caribbean-dominican-republic-haiti-hurricane-georges-fact-sheet-6 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2012, Saint Kitts and Nevis was declared free of [[malaria]], according to the [[World Health Organization]].

The [[2015 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election]] was won by [[Timothy Harris]] and his recently formed [[People's Labour Party (Saint Kitts and Nevis)|People's Labour Party]], with backing from the PAM and the Nevis-based [[Concerned Citizens' Movement]] under the '[[Team Unity (Saint Kitts and Nevis)|Team Unity]]' banner.<ref name=CE>[http://www.caribbeanelections.com/blog/?p=4598#more-4598 Team Unity wins St Kitts and Nevis 2015 general election] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923200627/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/blog/?p=4598 |date=23 September 2015 }} Caribbean Elections, 17 February 2015</ref>

In June 2020, Team Unity coalition of the incumbent government, led by Prime Minister Timothy Harris, won general [[2020 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election|elections]] by defeating Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Reporter |first1=WIC News |title=Election 2020 - Landslide victory for Team Unity in St Kitts and Nevis |url=https://wicnews.com/caribbean/live-results-update-st-kitts-and-nevis-general-elections-161128229/ |work=WIC News |date=6 June 2020 |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331113001/https://wicnews.com/caribbean/live-results-update-st-kitts-and-nevis-general-elections-161128229/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[2022 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election|snap general elections held in August 2022]], the SKNLP again won, and [[Terrance Drew]] became the fourth prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Salmon |first1=Santana |title=St. Kitts Nevis new PM sworn into office |url=https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/uncategorized/st-kitts-nevis-new-pm-sworn-into-office/ |work=CNW Network |date=8 August 2022}}</ref>

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