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Culture

St Kitts’ first known inhabitants, the Arawaks, were aggressively displaced by the warlike Carib Indians, who named the island Liamuiga, meaning ‘fertile land’. It was in 1624 that the English first arrived on what had by then, thanks to Christopher Columbus, become known as St Christopher’s. Together with French settlers, the English succeeded in wiping out the Carib. Yet the next 100 years or so would see the English and French repeatedly in battle against one another, with the islands eventually returned permanently into English hands in 1783.

In the 1700s, sugar was the most important crop in the world, and there’s nowhere better to grow sugar cane than the Caribbean islands. European settlers cut through the forests to plant sugar cane, taking full advantage of the rich volcanic soil and ideal climate and importing slaves from Africa in great numbers, to work the land. By 1775, there were 68 sugar plantations on St Kitts alone, with sugar products being sold across the world.

With the abolition of slavery and the rise of the beet sugar crops in Europe, the face of the sugar industry changed. Today, whilst sugar is still grown on the island, many of the plantations and factories are in ruins, or have been turned over to the now thriving tourist industry.

In 1983 St Kitts and Nevis gained independence from Britain, whilst the twin island Federation remains a member of The Commonwealth. Today the architecture and rich cultural heritage of St Kitts and Nevis embraces Carib, African and European/Colonial influences. With folk festivals, culture festivals, carnivals, masquerade and music events, you are never more than a few days away from enjoying a colourful, exuberant expression of the islands’ rich and diverse heritage.