St. Kitts and Nevis, two tropical islands surrounded by a vivid blue sea, offers visitors the calmness of their deserted beaches and the charm of their ancient colonial mansions, now converted into hotels (map)

An absolute peace reigns in these two little islands, authentic heavenly places. Before sunrise, you can hear the roosters crowing, the bray of donkeys, and the bark of dogs resting in front of the wooden country houses. At that early hour, a chorus of birds starts to trill; it is like an invitation to begin the day with energy, though, there will always be someone that prefers to sleep. Then a slight breeze arises, bringing the grumble of the spinning leaves. The rain drops of a live short tropical storm, make the tin roofs of their houses tinkle, and wake up the sensual perfume that comes from the white leaves of the Antilles frangipani.

The sun lights, with its first rays, the golden sandy beaches; the bougainvilleas, the hibiscus and the African tulips fill the landscape with red, violet and white. Furthermore next to a fountain, a papaw inclined over the road provides shade to a fat dark skin pig. Temperature rises quickly and heat soaks everything. The spiral volutes of the morning mist vanish from the bananas, and the wooden boards of the houses’ soil start to crack with the first steps of the early risers.

St. Kitts and Nevis two islands of volcanic origin rest in the northern part of the arc formed by the Leeward islands, offering visitors the possibility of passing some dream days, and to breathe the atmosphere of the Old Caribbean; their quiet beaches and the rests of the ancient British plantations are proof of that. The Caribbean Indians and the Arawak knew St. Kitts, the largest of both islands, with the name of Liamuiga (the fertile island). Now, both populations have jointly, around 46,000 inhabitants, living in a 250 square km. Economy depends mainly on tourism and sugar. The truth is that this diminutive country has accepted the challenge of maintaining a self-sufficient economy, and that its past passionate history.

The First British Settlement
In a poetic mood, Columbus baptized, in 1493, the island of Nevis with the distinguish name of Our Lady of the Snows, and St. Kitts, as San Cristobal (The name of a Spaniard saint). The first years after the island was discovered, the native Caribbean Indians continued enjoying their cohiba tobacco and a diet consisting of turtles, iguanas and some other animals, without being bothered by the Europeans presence.

In 1623, the first British pioneers arrived, led by sir Thomas Warner. A while later, arrived a group of French people. The peaceful island, then, become the battlefield of unending confrontations between both, fighting for the control of the island, and that only joint forces in 1626, to annihilate the Caribbeans, in the battle of Bloody Point. After a century and a half of disputes, in 1783, the treaty of Versailles, granted the British the island sovereignty.

Queen of the Little Antilles
Sugar and tobacco plantations began, slowly, to emerge in the island, with lots of slaves, brought from Africa, working in them. The owners ordered to built splendid mansions and, in the 1780’s, little Nevis was a commercial center even more important than New York. Due to such prosperity, the island began to be known as the Queen of the Little Antilles.

The road to independence was long and tortuous. In 1967, the three islands of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla were merged to form an Associated State of the United Kingdom. Latter on, Anguilla separated from St. Kitts and Nevis, returning to his old rank as a colony of the British crown.
St. Kitts and Nevis, that never have being good friends, wrote a Constitution that was the first step to independence, which finally arrived on September 19, 1983. 

Nevis feared having to depend, in economy and administration, from St. Kitts, that’s why they demanded enough guarantees to have some political autonomy, and even ordered the inclusion of an “escape clause”, in case the union failed. Most of the inhabitants in Nevis agree that the union has brought no benefit at all for the island, and in the last years, separation has being included in the political debate of this federation of neighboring islands. Though some think separation will be a setback at a time when the economy of nations tends to globalization, arguments of those in favor of a hypothetical separation are strong. In August 1998, the people of Nevis were convoked to a referendum to decide the political future of the island. The 62 % of the votes in favor of independence was not enough, cause two thirds of the total votes were needed for approval.