St Kitts and its sister island, Nevis, are also known more
formally as the Federation of
St Christopher and Nevis. The west side of St Kitts borders the
Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean.
St Kitts is one of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles and is about 18 miles long and 5 miles wide. It is about 1,300 miles South East of Miami, Florida. It was first sighted by Christopher Columbus in late 1493 and he named the island after the patron saint of travellers - St Christopher.
Sun rise over St Kitts
In 1623 St Kitts became the first island to be colonised by the English when Sir Thomas Warner established Old Road Town. The French were equally ambitious and set up their own settlement on St Kitts in 1625 in the northern and southern parts of the island.
In 1626 the English and French combined forces to massacre the Caribs. By 1700 slaves had been introduced to work in the plantations which were by then growing sugar cane. Independence Square was once the site of the slave market but it is now an attractive park and fountains, surrounded by Georgian buildings.
The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 gave St Kitts to Britain but the French continued to be a problem and they captured the British garrison in 1782. But the Treaty of Versailles in 1783 returned the island to British control. St Kitts finally gained independence in 1983 and became a full member of the Commonwealth.
This is "The Circus" in the centre of Basseterre. It is modelled on Piccadilly Circus in London. the photo shows the Berkeley Memorial Clock.
We visited the Warner Park Cricket Stadium
View of the main bay in Basseterre ...
... we watched pelicans
There was a carnival in Basseterre on the day of our visit.
The main festivities did not start until late afternoon (by which time we were back on board) - but we were entertained by this troupe of dancers over a beer or two
For more photos of our time on St Kitts click St Kitts
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