Brief History of St. Kitts

(Extracted from a Community Tours Manual by Leonard Stapleton):

• Around 2,000 BC. the Arawaks and Caribs settled on this island and called it Liamigua (meaning: fertile land). Christopher Columbus made contact with the island on his second voyage in 1493. He called it St. Christopher.

• The Spanish chose not to settle on St. Christopher because it did not possess the mineral wealth they wanted.

• It was not until 1623 that the British began their first settlement in the Caribbean here. The named their mother colony St. Kitts.

• In 1625 the French also co-habited this island and named their mother colony ‘St. Christophe’.

• In 1627 the English and French divided the island into four quarters.

• The northern quarter and the southern quarter belonged to France and were called Capisterre (Top Land) and Basseterre (Low Land) respectively.

• The British owned the middle portion of the island falling between Capisterre and Basseterre. They called their portion ‘Middle Island’ and divided it into two parts – the Old Road Quarter to the west and the Cayon Quarter to the east of the central mountain range.

Would you like to own a copy of ‘Places & Memories’? This book is being introduced into the curriculum of public primary schools in St. Kitts and Nevis. The 141-page publication is an excellent chronicle of the history of St. Kitts and Nevis as told by a citizen of the Federation. ASKaND Chair, Jacqui Daniels, will be travelling to St Kitts and will be meeting with Mr Stapleton, and he has agreed to sell us copies of his book for EC$50. If you would like a copy, please email the Chair at askand2022@gmail.com for payment details. Payments must be made by Friday 9th June.