History of the Northern Islands : Discover

Discover : History of the Northern Islands

History of Anguilla

2 A.D The sole freshwater source of the island is a sacred place of pilgrimage for the Arawak Indians.
1493 Christopher Columbus names the island “Anguille” (French for “eel”), due to its longish shape.
1650 English colonisation, followed by a short period of French occupation in the 18th century.
1816 Anguilla constitutes a sole entity with St Kitts, Nevis and the British Virgin Islands.
1848/1850 Inhabitants of Anguilla seek work in Saint Maarten, where a large labour force is required after the abolishment of slavery.
1967 Anguilla breaks away from the autonomous colony formed with Saint-Kitts and Nevis. As the United Kingdom reveals reluctance to accept the change, Anquillians burn down the governor’s palace and declare their Independence.
1969 Troubled by the possibility of Cuban influence, Great Britain delegates an army in order to re-establish its sovereignty. The “rebels” welcome English contingents with flowers.
1971 Autonomy.
1980 Official secession from the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis. Status of associated territory to the United Kingdom.
1980 New Constitution.

In 1995, Anguilla became associated member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, an establishment based on cooperation, consulting and counselling. Its major fields of activity are trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural catastrophes.
Its nine member states are: Anguilla (under British rule), Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat (under British rule), Saint Christophe and Nieves, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands (under British rule).

History of Saba

1000 Proved habitation at The Bottom.
1493 Christopher Columbus approaches the shores of Saba on the 13 November.
1632 Arrival of the English, who find nothing but a deserted island.
1635 Pierre Belain d’Esnambuc declares possession of the island in the name of the King.
1640 Dutch fishermen exploit the vast coral banks of Saba situated South-West of the Island, establishing this area as their base. Later on, Dutch peasants from Saint Eustatius move to the interior of the island, soon to be followed by English colonists from other islands.
1672 The English occupy Saba, and stay for 7 years.
1701 Father Labat visits the island and draws up the first detailed description of Saba in history. The population of the island at the time was 512 inhabitants, of whom 176 were slaves.
1781 The French drive away the English and stay for 3 years.
1816 The island finally becomes Dutch territory, following a brief period of English administration.
1863 Abolishment of slavery.
1870 Many inhabitants emigrate towards the United States.
1917 Second immigration wave, towards Aruba and Curacao.
1932 A mountain path links Windwardside and Zion’s Hill (Hell’s gate).
1938 Construction work begins on the road leading from Fort Bay.
1947 The first vehicle arrives on the island.
1948 Construction of the island’s only road of 24 km is completed.
1950 Prince Bernard visits the island.
1963 Construction of the runway, instalment of electricity.
1998 Hurricane George devastates the island.
1999 Hurricane Lenny hits Saba, causing great damage to the island still under shock of George. Today, Saba is in the process of being officially approved as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

History of Saint Kitts and Nevis

The official name of Saint Kitts is Saint Christophe, but the island is better known by its English nickname, Kitts. It is separated from Nevis by a narrow stretch of sea of 3 km: the Narrows. Although he never actually set foot on the island, it was yet again Christopher Columbus who decided on its appellation, naming it either after himself, or after the protecting saint of travellers, a question to remain forever unanswered. The island is 37 km long and 8 km wide at its largest point.

As for Nevis, its name derives from the Spanish word: Las Nieves (The Snows), quite a surprise considering the latitudes concerned… No, Columbus was not down with sunstroke, but was in fact deeply inspired by the cloudy summit of Nevis Peak (985m).

In the beginning of the 17th century, St Kitts’ first inhabitants, the American Indians consented to share the island with a French community of Huguenots, who reclaimed the land to cultivate primarily food crops, essential for their survival, later proceeding to grow tobacco (petun) for the purpose of commercial activity. Culture of sugar cane and indigo were soon to follow. A handful of English arrived in 1624, led by Thomas Warner, and living together proved to be increasingly difficult, as the interests of the individual groups were often extremely different. Colonists claimed more and more space, soon the entire island, until bloody confrontation became inevitable. The original inhabitants vanished forever from the island’s history after “The Battle of Bloody Point”. A signboard installed at the site of the massacre commemorates the tragic fate of this culture.

Louis XIV turned the French part of the island over to the English in 1713, but English hegemony was not duly accepted until 1783, with the ratification of the Treaty of Paris. The islands became powerful and rich colonies, thanks to the steady flow of slave work force in the 1630s, bringing prosperity to cotton, tobacco and sugar cane plantations.

Nevis became known as “the Queen of the Caribbean”, due to the sugar industry in desperate need of work force. A slave market was established on the island, where more than 10.000 Africans were bought and sold. Nevis rapidly acquired considerable wealth, and its reputation spread in Europe, where even its hot sulphurous springs and their curative powers were a subject of discussion. Admiral Haratio Lord Nelson, charged with the mission of enforcing respect for the Treaty of Versailles on the seas of the Caribbean, married a young Nevisian, Fanny Nisbet in St Kitts on the 11 March, 1787. Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), great federalist and one of the three Founding Fathers of the American Republic (along with John Jay and James Madison) was also born on this island: in Charlestown on the 11 January, 1757.

After the abolishment of slavery, the two islands met the same fate as most Caribbean colonies: economic troubles set in, companies went bankrupt, and the sugar industry diminished and eventually totally disappeared from Nevis in the 60s. Today, similarly to Guadeloupe and Martinique, Saint Kitts continues to exploit sugar cane with the aid of subventions, to avoid rocketing numbers of unemployment.

In 1983 the two islands became independent and joined the Commonwealth as a democratic federation under constitutional monarchy: the Queen of England remains official head of the government, even though her reign is entirely symbolic, and power is executed by the British Prime Minister. Great Britain and the Queen are represented by a governor, and the country’s administration is divided between him/her and a local parliament (National Assembly of 11 members elected for 5 years by universal suffrage). The nation’s flag was chosen in the same year: green and red, respectively for fertility and independence, divided by a rising black diagonal bend, symbolizing unity, and two stars representing the two islands.

Today, the islands’ economy is essentially based on tourism and financial services (due to a legislation in favour of off-shore companies), complemented by minor industrial activity, in particular the assembly of electric products. Foreign trade is primarily conducted with the United Sates and Canada (export of computers and pieces, organic chemical products, optical instruments), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and obviously the United Kingdom. Hurricanes Luis (September 1995) and George (September 1998) caused great damage to the region, which it took the two islands considerable time and energy to surmount.

In August 1998, a referendum was organised in Nevis in order to decide on the future of the island, as defined by the constitution. Due to insufficient participation, Nevis remained member of the Federation of Saint Christophe and Nieves (Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis). It is important to mention that in a recent study conducted by the U.S. State, the U.S. expressed its doubt concerning the role of Saint-Kitts and Nevis, as well as Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Grenada and especially Saint Vincent des Grenadines in the traffic of drugs between Columbia and the United States. Finally, a reminder: Kim Collins, world champion in Paris (Saint-Denis, 25 August, 2003) of the 100-meter sprint, running the record of 10.07 seconds is also a native of the island! His first reaction after the race was: “I think beer will flow freely back home…”

History of Saint Eustatius

1493 : The small island of Sint Eustatius, also referred to as Statia (or Saint-Eustache in French) is discovered by Christopher Colombus. The island is situated among the « Leeward Islands », along with Saba and Saint Maarten. The arrival of the Europeans brought about the almost immediate annihilation of the native Caribbean population.
1632 : Statia joins the Dutch West India Company, a major force in the West Indian commercial sphere, based essentially on slave trade. Due to expanding commercial activity, the island enters a period of prosperity in the 18th century, and is nicknamed “The Golden Rock” with reference to its flourishing economy.
1768 : Francis Claude Amour, Marquis of Bouillé is appointed governor of Guadeloupe, and defends the French West Indies from the English during the American War of Independence. He conquers the islands of Dominica, St Eustatius, St Kitts and Nevis. An anecdote is connected to his name: the famous creole song “Adieu foulards, adieu Madras” was first sung on the boats of the Marquis, in particular during cast off on the transatlantic ships “Le Colombie” and “Le Flandre”.
1776 : The island salutes to an American ship bearing the flag of stars and stripes, and thus becomes the first country to officially recognize the independent state of the United States of America. (Statia also played an important role in the provisioning of George Washington’s troops during the War of Independence.)
St Eustatius remained under French occupation for three years, passing respectively under Dutch and British rule. More than 20 different occupations followed (Spanish, English, French and Dutch) in the course of 80 years of war, until the island finally became part of the Dutch West Indies in 1816.
1954 : Administrative autonomy (part of the Netherlands Antilles)