History of Saint Kitts and Nevis - Saint Kitts and Nevis, 1700 To 1883

Saint Kitts and Nevis, 1700 To 1883

Saint Kitts was to face even greater devastation at the start of the 20th century. The French made one more major attack on English troops in 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession, as the over 8,000 French troops on the island easily defeated the 1,000 English posts. The French held St. Kitts for 8 years, until the Treaty of Utrecht was signed (1713). The treaty ceded the entire island of St. Kitts to the British. Upon receiving full control in 1713, the British soon moved the island's capital to the town of Basseterre in 1727, and St. Kitts quickly took off as a leader in sugar production in the Caribbean.

Whilst conditions on St. Kitts improved, Nevis was seeing a decline. The years of monocrop cultivation, as well as heavy amounts of soil erosion due to the high slope grade on the island, caused its sugar production to continuously decrease. A heavy French raid in 1706 further complicated the situation, and damaged the island's agriculture extensively. It proved to never fully recover.

To make up for sugar losses in Nevis, the island opened its first hotel in 1778. The first such establishment in the Western Hemisphere, the Bath Hotel was constructed over the site of one of the island's famous hot springs. The island thus became the first place in the Americas to officially practice tourism. Nevis's popularity as a destination grew, and it continued to be in the favour of the British elite.

By 1776, Saint Kitts had become the richest British colony in the Caribbean, per capita. It retained this status until the late 19th century, despite a myriad of attacks by the French throughout the 18th century, including the battle of St. Kitts in 1782. The consolidation of British rule was recognized finally under the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. In 1806, the Leeward Islands Caribee government was split into two groups, with Antigua, Barbuda, Redonda and Montserrat in one group, and St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands in the other. The islands in the new grouping however, were able to keep their great degrees of autonomy. The grouping then split entirely in 1816.

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1834. Profits from sugar began sinking even further, and this was made even worse with new countries, namely Brazil, Cuba and India beginning to dominate the market. Nevis' economy, as well as that of most Caribbean islands, suffered extensively from this. St. Kitts escaped the plight of its neighbours because of its good soils, and massive projects undertaken to reduce soil erosion.

In 1833, the Leeward Islands were reunited as a single administrative entity, and was renamed the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands in 1871. In 1883, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla were linked under one "presidency," based in St. Kitts. Both Nevis and Anguilla disliked the union, as they had previously had their separate presidencies. An uneasy relationship followed.

Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, was born in Nevis; he spent his childhood there and on St. Croix, then belonging to Denmark, and now one of the United States Virgin Islands.