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Geography |
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Capital |
Basseterre (pop. about 15,000). |
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Area |
St. Kitts 168 sq. km. (65 sq. mi.); Nevis 93 sq. km. (36 sq. mi.). |
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Terrain |
Generally mountainous; highest elevations are 1,156 m.
(3,792 ft.) at Mt. Liamuiga on St. Kitts and 985 m; (3,232 ft.) at
Nevis peak on Nevis. |
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Climate |
Tropical. |
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People |
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Nationality |
Noun and adjective--Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s). |
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Population |
(2006): 42,696 (31,515 on St. Kitts and 11,181 on Nevis). |
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Groups |
Predominantly of African origin; some of British, Portuguese, and
Lebanese descent. |
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Religions |
Principally Anglican, with Evangelical Protestant and Roman Catholic
minorities. |
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Languages |
English (official). |
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Government &
History |
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Official Name |
Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis |
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Government |
Parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state
within the Commonwealth. |
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Independence |
September 19, 1983. |
At the time of European discovery, Carib Indians inhabited the
islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. Christopher Columbus landed on the
larger island in 1493 on his second voyage and named it after St.
Christopher, his patron saint. Columbus also discovered Nevis on his
second voyage, reportedly calling it Nevis because of its
resemblance to a snowcapped mountain (in Spanish, "nuestra senora de
las nieves" or our lady of the snows). European settlement did not
officially begin until 1623-24, when first English, then French
settlers arrived on St. Christopher's Island, whose name the English
shortened to St. Kitts Island. As the first English colony in the
Caribbean, St. Kitts served as a base for further colonization in
the region.
The English and French held St. Kitts jointly from 1628 to 1713.
During the 17th century, intermittent warfare between French and
English settlers ravaged the island's economy. Meanwhile Nevis,
settled by English settlers in 1628, grew prosperous under English
rule. St. Kitts was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht
in 1713. The French seized both St. Kitts and Nevis in 1782. The
Treaty of Paris in 1783 definitively awarded both islands to
Britain. They were part of the colony of the Leeward Islands from
1871-1956, and of the West Indies Federation from 1958-62. In 1967,
together with Anguilla, they became a self-governing state in
association with Great Britain; Anguilla seceded late that year and
remains a British dependency. The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis
attained full independence on September 19, 1983. |
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