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Like many islands in the Caribbean, St. Kitts is a volcanic island formed through the meeting of the Atlantic Oceanic Plate and the Caribbean Plate. It has resulted in the impressive Mount Liamuiga which rises to 3793 ft (1,156m). The mountain got its name from the second known human colonists of the islands – the warlike Carib Indians. These aggressive colonists succeeded in removing their predecessors, the Arawaks, by killing and/or eating them and generally frightening them away. However the Caribs’ days were already numbered. The only warning  of this was the passing of Columbus’ ship in 1493, who named the island after his patron Saint, St. Christopher.

The first European colony was spearheaded by Englishman Sir Thomas Warner at Old Road, landing on 28th January, 1624. It was the English who abbreviated the name of the island to St. Kitts. The French arrived a year later in the form of Pierre Belain d’Esnambue and his crew courtesy of a unsuccessful encounter with a Spanish ship. The English and French were responsible for wiping out the Caribs at Bloody Point in 1626 near the village of Challengers on St. Kitts’ West Coast. The English settled on the island of Nevis, a few miles to the South, two years later.

St. Kitts was a sugar colony, regardless of who had control. Intermittent warfare ensued over the next 100 years, the French exiling the English from St. Kitts in 1664 only to lose it to them in 1689. France captured the island in 1706 only to lose it again soon after in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Brimstone Hill Fortress , nick named “The Gibraltar of The West Indies” due to its intimidating size and its position 800 feet atop a hillock, was besieged by the French in 1782. Hopelessly outnumbered an attacked repeatedly from every side, the English dug in and surrendered some nine months later. The French were so impressed that they allowed the English to march out in their colours.

During the 19th Century the British made various administrative changes throughout the Caribbean and in 1880 the British put St. Kitts and Nevis under one administrative umbrella.

On September 19, 1983 St. Kitts and Nevis gained independence from Britain. The twin island Federation remains a member of The Commonwealth and preserves many of the traditions of Britain – a passion for cricket, stable government and always driving on the left. It has also preserved much of the colonial architecture in the capital Basseterre making it one of the most beautiful capitals in the Caribbean.